Things to Ponder

As we have gone back to a mini base and recovery phase after the indoor season it has reminded me of things that make "professional track" so different then college and high school. 

 1. The post collegiate season is completely different and has no definitive end, it differs athlete by athlete and event to event, being too influenced by the collegiate calendar can be very detrimental

2. The travel has a huge effect on performance and success is finding ways to train and compete at a high level while dealing with jet lag and over 20 hours of travel 

3. During World championship and Olympic years the trials is just as important as the actual championship, so first you must achieve the standard and second you have to perform at the championship

4. Don't underestimate the importance of securing a big mark, to play with the big dogs you have to show you belong there

5. The Diamond League is a broken system but it's the only system we have, so meet directors and agents can determine world rankings more than the performance of an athlete, you can get more world ranking points for a 5th place finish and 7.90m jump then an 8.20 jump at Mt Sac

6. You need to find an environment that helps the athlete and is athlete centered, in the end all college coaches get paid for coaching the collegiate athlete so that will always be their priority

7. In the jumps and sprints, most Olympians and Medalist come from south of the 38th Northern parallel

8. Male Olympians in track are roughly 27.5 years of age and women are 28.5 years of age, so college should not be the end of the road

9. You have to be Eurocentric, meets will fly you while your in Europe but if your not a medalist they are not going to fly your from the states

Just some various thoughts and contemplations as we head into outdoors and establish our world and national rankings. Cheers