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T&F a major loss - Printable Version

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T&F a major loss - BobK - 06-27-2019

Our head track and cross country coach Chris Miltenberg is off to North Carolina

Big time disappointment

He does have young kids.

RE: T&F a major loss - GK3 - 06-27-2019

(06-27-2019, 03:10 PM)BobK Wrote:  Our head track and cross country coach Chris Miltenberg is off to North Carolina

Big time disappointment

He does have young kids.

Very bad news!  I assume we paid a competitive salary, but the money goes much further in North Carolina compared to the Bay Area.

RE: T&F a major loss - botech - 06-27-2019

Brother, it's one thing to have your associate head coaches getting poached, you can chalk that up to flattery, but your top people! It's not the best of looks. Track and Field is an important cog in the Card cache, yet it seems that Muir is getting a lot of practice, too much so, in trying to hunt down these replacements.

It's an art, not a science and I have yet to find anyone who has perfected it.

RE: T&F a major loss - unclechuck - 06-27-2019

(06-27-2019, 03:58 PM)GK3 Wrote:  
(06-27-2019, 03:10 PM)BobK Wrote:  Our head track and cross country coach Chris Miltenberg is off to North Carolina

Big time disappointment

He does have young kids.

Very bad news!  I assume we paid a competitive salary, but the money goes much further in North Carolina compared to the Bay Area.

NC not much of a track powerhouse, so this seems lateral at best. Chris is from NY, plus ran & then coached @ Georgetown so the geography seems like it was compelling. Big loss indeed.

RE: T&F a major loss - Mick - 06-27-2019

(06-27-2019, 07:07 PM)unclechuck Wrote:  
(06-27-2019, 03:58 PM)GK3 Wrote:  
(06-27-2019, 03:10 PM)BobK Wrote:  Our head track and cross country coach Chris Miltenberg is off to North Carolina

Big time disappointment

He does have young kids.

Very bad news!  I assume we paid a competitive salary, but the money goes much further in North Carolina compared to the Bay Area.

NC not much of a track powerhouse, so this seems lateral at best. Chris is from NY, plus ran & then coached @ Georgetown so the geography seems like it was compelling. Big loss indeed.

i think his parents live in the area.

RE: T&F a major loss - StanfordMatt - 06-28-2019

I’ll take the contrarian perspective and argue that it’s not necessarily a “major loss.” Given the pedigree of our men’s and women’s cross country programs, the standard for success is national championships. In seven years, Milt didn’t deliver a single one. The talent was definitely there, but our XC teams consistently underperformed when the lights were brightest at nationals.

For some perspective on the history of the program, from 1996-03, our men won five national titles including the 2003 XC team, dubbed “The Machine,” that was the most dominant team in XC history. From 1996-07, our women won five XC national titles as well.

Milt got the job because he worked with Muir at Georgetown. Plain and simple. I’m not going to say that anyone can just walk into the job and produce national champions, but there’s a reason why it’s one of, if not the most coveted jobs in the country. I’m optimistic we’ll be able to land a new coach who will return the program to greatness.

RE: T&F a major loss - BobK - 06-28-2019

Stanford Women last season the Track XC program of the year
This year the Men were program of the year for the same three XC, Indoor , Outdoor

That’s not poor coaching

Matt are you suggesting that 25 or so Stanford coaches leave because they haven’t won a championship? Trying not to be too critical of your post but if winning championships is all that matter we are so very spoiled

Our women’s distance coach is not on the XC roster so maybe she’s going with Chris

Our XC schedule is out BTW

As a brobdingnagian track fan I’m very upset
One more add. Chris’s Women’s XC team at Georgetown won the National Championship
It wasn’t just that he had worked for Muir he won a national championship

RE: T&F a major loss - StanfordMatt - 06-28-2019

(06-28-2019, 07:08 AM)BobK Wrote:  Matt are you suggesting  that 25 or so Stanford coaches leave because they haven’t won a championship?

Definitely not, Bob. Context matters. For example, I think Jason Borrelli is doing a fabulous job with our wrestling program even though they haven't won a national championship. But for XC, I believe a national championship is a very realistic goal. Over a 12-year period from 96-07, we won nine of them (9-for-24). In seven years, Milt went a collective 0-for-14.

I'm not saying Milt should've been fired; just that I don't believe he did anything that should be considered exceeding expectations with respect to XC. I also realize that he oversaw the whole T&F program, of which XC/distance is just a piece. I readily admit that I don't follow indoor and outdoor track closely enough to know if he exceeded expectations for those sports and I'll defer to you on that point. However, I'd also contend that given the history of our T&F program, our XC/distance running is the most significant component given that this is where we've had the most success historically.

RE: T&F a major loss - unclechuck - 06-29-2019

Vin Lanana coached the distance programs from 1992-2003. The men's team was 0 for 54 years (event started in 1938) prior to Lanana's 12 year tenure. All 4 of LSJU's national championships for men were won during his time; none since.

The women's team was 0-11 prior to Vin; won 2 during his tenure, and 3 more in the next 4 years with athletes mostly recruited and originally trained by Vin. They have not won again since 2007.

I think an argument can be made that the "rich history" of Stanford distance running that Stanford Matt refers to was a small sample, that was more of a function of a unicorn coaching hire than a confluence of other factors presumed to be inherent or persistent in the Stanford ethos.

I would of course be delighted if the new coaching staff were able to return the programs to the lofty status of Lanana days, but in this case I think those are unfair and unlikely expectations. I think Miltenberg's accomplishments, as cited by BobK, were more than respectable, and there is genuine risk that we may see a step back in the programs going forward. Just my 2 cents.

RE: T&F a major loss - 82lsju - 06-30-2019

article in the Daily

https://www.stanforddaily.com/2019/06/28/cross-country-track-and-field-coach-chris-miltenberg-leaves-stanford-for-unc/

RE: T&F a major loss - martyup - 06-30-2019

That name Lanana makes me think of that song The Name Game.