Cajun Men Struggle To 4th Place Track Finish

[VObserver]

Ten? I only count 8 total field events, 10 if you count the Dec and the Hep as field events. Are you telling me that of these events:

Shot, Discus, Javelin, Hammer, LJ, TJ, HJ, PV, only two are coached by a paid coach?

I know we have a volunteer in PV, and I assume we still do in shot/discus. What other events are volunteers coaching?

[GetTheFacts1st]

Women man women --- multiply everything by 2. The one u mentioned x 2

[Benchwarmer]

Hey, what is the word on hiring the new distance coach. Rumor has it that eyes are set on a coach from overseas. Most teams sell out and go after the foreign runners, I guess it's fitting that UL go after a foreign coach, especially with two of the best runners the cajuns have produced, Kevin & Kelly, still coaching in town. Who makes the decision for the cajuns, Coach Mahfouz or "?". If it is "?", who is "?" and is he/she going to interview Kelly & Kevin before going a broad or is it a done deal like usual where they throw a bone to a couple of locals, give a reason for not hiring them and then bring in the one they wanted in the first place?

[Boomer]

_ Hey, what is the word on hiring the new distance coach. Rumor has it that eyes are set on a coach from overseas. Most teams sell out and go after the foreign runners, I guess it's fitting that UL go after a foreign coach, especially with two of the best runners the cajuns have produced, Kevin & Kelly, still coaching in town. Who makes the decision for the cajuns, Coach Mahfouz or "?". If it is "?", who is "?" and is he/she going to interview Kelly & Kevin before going a broad or is it a done deal like usual where they throw a bone to a couple of locals, give a reason for not hiring them and then bring in the one they wanted in the first place? _

Does anybody know more about distance running then Tom Hopkins??????

[GetTheFacts1st]

1. Benchwarmer, what's this about a "new distance coach?" There's FINALLY an opening? When was THAT announced? I don't get the "Disappointment" so I would not have seen that.

2. Boomer, as for Tom Hopkins, I used to watch him run at McNaspy when I was a kid but didn't know he was a coach. Where did he go after graduating? Does he have collegiate recruiting experience? (i.e. a network for HS distance runners) He might know some young up and comer assistant who could light a fire at UL, IF there really is an opening.

3. Benchwarmer, if there IS an opening, and if choosing between the aforementioned Castille and Brown, that would be an easy choice. It would be Brown in a heart beat. When I'm in Lafayette I see her kids running everywhere. She seems to be intense, she is a good communicator, she is dedicated, respected and she is SMART. I think she won a state championship indoors this year and would be an excellent choice as an up and comer. Having also been to the rodeo herself, she would bring a lot to the table in the way of resurrecting a down-trodden program. MANY positives there for Coach Mafoutz to seriously consider and INSTANT credibility (IMHO).

4. Equally impressive, if not more so, would be Robin Judice who was an all-america collegiate runner (I think in the ACC) and a former (and outstanding) coach with Charles Lancon. Either of them would be an excellent choice, and either would light a fire in the distance program AND under the coaches who are already there.

5. Would any of the above be interested?

6. If there IS an opening, it seems I got the facts LAST. LOL! Any opening would have to occur before seriously discussing any of the above.

7. Just saw where McNeese beat us in Baseball. BUMMER!

[Benchwarmer]

The opening is there. Will it be filled, I don't know. If an offense lineman can become an offense coordinator, then I guess a Field Event Coach can become a distance coach.

Hopkins will always be the behind the scene Granddaddy of all local distance coaches. I would think his role would be an advisory one to the runners he has tutored over the years. I don't see him as wanting to be the coach. His knowledge and experience is unquestioned.

As for Judice, I don't know her but she does carry a fine reputation and has a good history with the cajuns.

Castile and LaMason both have been successful in bringing runners to the top. Kelly would seem the first choice as she is closer to the current coaches. The question is will they give her a chance to move up. Both have had runners sign elsewhere because of UL's lack of recruiting interest. 3 LHS runners going to SLU. Kevin has 2 runners in college, adding 2 more next year both going to UL. Nobody does more for distance runners in acadiana than he does. UL washed their hands of him during the Silvey years and I don't think Mahfouz has reopened the door. I want get started on the reasons as my blood pressure is high enough. Thus, for distance fans of Lafayette, Kelly remains the most likely local candidate but again the question remains, who makes the choice, Coach M or "?". If it's "?", then my bet is someone else most likely with a non cajun accent.

[VObserver]

_ The opening is there. Will it be filled, I don't know. If an offense lineman can become an offense coordinator, then I guess a Field Event Coach can become a distance coach.

Hopkins will always be the behind the scene Granddaddy of all local distance coaches. I would think his role would be an advisory one to the runners he has tutored over the years. I don't see him as wanting to be the coach. His knowledge and experience is unquestioned.

As for Judice, I don't know her but she does carry a fine reputation and has a good history with the cajuns.

Castile and LaMason both have been successful in bringing runners to the top. Kelly would seem the first choice as she is closer to the current coaches. The question is will they give her a chance to move up. Both have had runners sign elsewhere because of UL's lack of recruiting interest. 3 LHS runners going to SLU. Kevin has 2 runners in college, adding 2 more next year both going to UL. Nobody does more for distance runners in acadiana than he does. UL washed their hands of him during the Silvey years and I don't think Mahfouz has reopened the door. I want get started on the reasons as my blood pressure is high enough. Thus, for distance fans of Lafayette, Kelly remains the most likely local candidate but again the question remains, who makes the choice, Coach M or "?". If it's "?", then my bet is someone else most likely with a non cajun accent. _

If you want to win in collegiate distance [unless you are Stanford] you do it with foreign athletes. Whoever you hire, if you are serious about winning, must have overseas connections for recruiting. I DO have concerns about local hiring, as Louisiana is not exactly a hotbed of distance runners at the HS level.

[Benchwarmer]

"If you want to win in collegiate distance [unless you are Stanford] you do it with foreign athletes."

Selling out. Give up on 17-18 year old american kids, go after the 25-27 year old Kenyans or whatever, and make your name as a great coach. What a cop-out, which I guess is becoming the American track and field way: Foreign Countries, give us your second layer talent and we will turn our back on our best talent and give our hard fought money to your discard so that we can win without effort using yours rather than take the time to improve and win with ours. Give me a break!! How about, recruit hard working american runners, develop them over time into a higher quality runner that can score points for you. The NCAA T&F has done nothing about our kids racing against these overaged foreigners all because coaches have become so lazy that they seek the instant gratification of winning with foreign runners rather take the time honored tradition of training a kid who wants to compete and getting him in a position to compete against anybody. That would be to difficult for most as it would require track knowledge and coaching ability.

So I think your right, UL should sell out like Lamar and some of the other schools just to win. Don't give scholarships to local kids who will stay around to support their school when you can give it to a guy that never gave a thing to the school or the community before, now or for that matter after graduation.

[VObserver]

_ "If you want to win in collegiate distance [unless you are Stanford] you do it with foreign athletes."

Selling out. Give up on 17-18 year old american kids, go after the 25-27 year old Kenyans or whatever, and make your name as a great coach. What a cop-out, which I guess is becoming the American track and field way: Foreign Countries, give us your second layer talent and we will turn our back on our best talent and give our hard fought money to your discard so that we can win without effort using yours rather than take the time to improve and win with ours. Give me a break!! How about, recruit hard working american runners, develop them over time into a higher quality runner that can score points for you. The NCAA T&F has done nothing about our kids racing against these overaged foreigners all because coaches have become so lazy that they seek the instant gratification of winning with foreign runners rather take the time honored tradition of training a kid who wants to compete and getting him in a position to compete against anybody. That would be to difficult for most as it would require track knowledge and coaching ability.

So I think your right, UL should sell out like Lamar and some of the other schools just to win. Don't give scholarships to local kids who will stay around to support their school when you can give it to a guy that never gave a thing to the school or the community before, now or for that matter after graduation. _

Give me a break, here. I made a statement of FACT. I do not see you refuting that fact, either. The depth of field of quality distance runners in Louisiana is just about ZERO most years. The depth of field of quality distance runners nationwide is insufficient for very many quality domestic runners to funnel down to any SunBelt school. Hence the "unless you are Stanford" remark.

On the Men's side how many sub 9:30 2 milers are there in Louisiana HS track this year? Sub 4:20 milers? Of those, how many can UL get?

Even if we CAN recruit quality domestic runners, they won't be local very often.

I AGREE that our best policy is to utilize the best available local [S. LA] performers whenever possible, and that is exactly what we do. We load up on good to very good throwers and jumpers from this area and win with them. When sprinters and distance runners from S. LA catch up enough to make us competitive with local athletes, I'm certain we will win with them, too. [As we have in the past]