Ajee' Wilson Puts College On Hold

[guru]

Just a one year deferment at this point, to concentrate on making next year's WC team.

http://nj.milesplit.com/articles/91010- ... enrollment


I suspect a successful campaign to make team results in her never stepping foot in Tallahassee

[dl]

Bold move. Without knowing anything about her or her particular circumstances, I'd say the best way for a 19-year-old to make the World Champs team would be on top of a solid freshman college season.

[mal]

Really?

College coaching is a crap shoot. Even a good coach has got to overcome a kids dislocation from home and current successful coaching. (And HS coaching is an even bigger crap shoot.)

The adult/kid is 19? Seems like old enough to make what appears to me to be the correct decision. If she runs well, next year she can bypass college altogether.

[gh]

Waaay bold move for somebody who didn't even make the OT final last year. My guess is she'll regret the lack of real-race experience that's about to become part of her life. Zackly when/where is she going to hone her actual racing skills?

[lonewolf]

Big mistake, imo.

[Conor Dary]

Some bad advisors out for themselves. So what else is new?

[az2004]

i see her race frequently in the hot bed new york, north jersey area

at penn, she raced the jamaicans reqularly, and the past 2 years had several races with mary cain...

she's got a fantastic last 200, and her strength is improving

as i ran with kim gallagher at ambler, ajee is the closest to her at 800

college coaches will race their kids into thw ground

ah, the benefit of scholl, often comes first

mary cain isn't running with her hs, as of last year

if ajee has MOSCOW as her main focus next year, fine, but i see usa 800 as a very tough team to make

at 2011 wc trails in eugene, all the west coast people were hyping weissenbach

i said this girl wilson is beteer at 800, and ajee beat her at trials and youth worlds

[mal]

Waaay bold move for somebody who didn't even make the OT final last year. My guess is she'll regret the lack of real-race experience that's about to become part of her life. Zackly when/where is she going to hone her actual racing skills?

Is college the only place peoeple race now?

The US is one of the few places they even have this college opportunity, yet other countries seem to do ok on the international stage.

Maybe Bold is a characteristic more needed in athletes than conservative.

[ExCoastRanger]

Zackly when/where is she going to hone her actual racing skills?

Marlow is fond of "Zackly" or variations of it.
I swear it's like fingernails on a chalk board every time I read it.

I tend to agree she may miss the racing experience college can offer. On the other hand, without checking, I seem to recall her running against some of the big dogs indoors and out earlier this year.

[gh]

...
Is college the only place peoeple race now?..

Oppportunities for finding meaningful racing, particularly outdoors, are almost nonexistent.

[fourjz]

Waaay bold move for somebody who didn't even make the OT final last year. My guess is she'll regret the lack of real-race experience that's about to become part of her life. Zackly when/where is she going to hone her actual racing skills?

Philadelphia Area.

[enpsalmx]

Several years back Allison Felix did the same and never looked back. She hasn't done to shabby. As a collegian, Ajee would have been committed to a greater race load and would be spent by the time the world championships arrived. Look at the production of the college athletes that made it to the USOT last June.

[MightyBurner]

I saw this coming and I actually think it's a good decision.

If she wants to be a great 800 runner, I don't see the benefit of running XC, which they'd probably want her to do.

[Marlow]

Marlow is fond of "Zackly" or variations of it.
I swear it's like fingernails on a chalk board every time I read it.

You know what REALlY bugs the pee outta me? People who start an opinion with "I tend to agree'" . . . nah, I'm just funnin' ya. Think of 'zackly' as a pet word of your grandmother and you'll be fine.

I tend to agree she may miss the racing experience college can offer. On the other hand, without checking, I seem to recall her running against some of the big dogs indoors and out earlier this year.

I 'very much' disagree with her choice, but it is indeed her (and parents') choice, so that's that. I wish the best for her, but FSU would have been a great place for her athletically, and more importantly, in the opportunities for personal growth that a college experience like FSU (2 of my kids went there, wonderful experiences both) provides.

[gh]

Several years back Allison Felix did the same and never looked back. She hasn't done to shabby. As a collegian, Ajee would have been committed to a greater race load and would be spent by the time the world championships arrived. Look at the production of the college athletes that made it to the USOT last June.

I was waiting for somebody to raise this, because it's not remotely comparable. Sprinters can train in complete solitude if they want and never race anybody very often. Such is not the case with a halfmiler, an event where perhaps more than any other, racing is so key to success.

You've got to learn to run at varying paces, at being stuck in a box, etc., etc. I just don't believe you can get that in an isolated environment, which is what I fear she is being painted into.

[ExCoastRanger]

Marlow, I consider it part of your oddly irresistable charm.
Now picturing you as my grandmother is going to create some other problems.

[aaronk]

I don't see what's wrong here.
She IS one of the top 800 women in the USA, and has a "NAME" from her HS exploits (Something not all college frosh have in the beginning!!), and I see her being invited to fill some "elite" fields.

If not, as has been suggested, there's plenty of races available for her in the northeast US!!

As for HS grads NOT going to college, or at least not COMPETING for their college, there's numerous examples I could name.

But, IMHO, I believe she should go PRO.......now!!
She can go to college and go to classes, just without a scholarship (but maybe an academic scholarship??) or the chance to compete as a collegian!!

Look at all the sophs or juniors in college who forsake their last 1 or 2 years as a collegian, and go pro early!!

And then there's people like LeBron James!!

[gh]

....
If not, as has been suggested, there's plenty of races available for her in the northeast US!!...)

Please provide a list of these for the crucial months of April, May and June.... there are many people who would like to know when and where these are.

[j-a-m]

I was waiting for somebody to raise this,

So was I; and I agree that the situation for Ajee is quite different from AF because it's a different event. Question remains, though, could the situation at least be similar from a marketing perspective?

[aaronk]

....
If not, as has been suggested, there's plenty of races available for her in the northeast US!!...)

Please provide a list of these for the crucial months of April, May and June.... there are many people who would like to know when and where these are.

Waaay bold move for somebody who didn't even make the OT final last year. My guess is she'll regret the lack of real-race experience that's about to become part of her life. Zackly when/where is she going to hone her actual racing skills?

Philadelphia Area.

[quote="az2004"]i see her race frequently in the hot bed new york, north jersey area

at penn, she raced the jamaicans reqularly, and the past 2 years had several races with mary cain...(quote)




GH, you'll have to ask what those people meant when they suggested ""New York/New Jersey area" or "Philadelphia", but what about these:

Penn, Drake, Kansas, Texas, Florida Relays.
Canadian meets??
Collegiate meets where they might allow her to run as a "guest"??
Indoor meets. (Millrose, Boston.)

Does she have to race EVERY week to hone her racing skills??
Would 2 races a month do??

And what about her training partner(s)........if she'll have any??
They could help her.

Anyway, I don't see her being isolated out there!!

[Marlow]

Marlow, I consider it part of your oddly irresistable charm.
Now picturing you as my grandmother is going to create some other problems.

Oh, sorry,
How about your Uncle Bob then? Y'know the one that's a little 'off', but he means well?

[gh]

[....
GH, you'll have to ask what those people meant when they suggested ""New York/New Jersey area" or "Philadelphia", but what about these:

Penn, Drake, Kansas, Texas, Florida Relays.
Canadian meets??
Collegiate meets where they might allow her to run as a "guest"??
Indoor meets. (Millrose, Boston.)

Does she have to race EVERY week to hone her racing skills??
Would 2 races a month do??

And what about her training partner(s)........if she'll have any??
They could help her.

Anyway, I don't see her being isolated out there!!

No, I'm asking you, because you're the one who said there were "plenty of races in the Northeast." I'm still waiting for your list, particularly during the critical outdoor months of April, May and June.

(and guess what, you can't even start with Penn, because it doesn't stage an 800)

[aaronk]

[....
GH, you'll have to ask what those people meant when they suggested ""New York/New Jersey area" or "Philadelphia", but what about these:

Penn, Drake, Kansas, Texas, Florida Relays.
Canadian meets??
Collegiate meets where they might allow her to run as a "guest"??
Indoor meets. (Millrose, Boston.)

Does she have to race EVERY week to hone her racing skills??
Would 2 races a month do??

And what about her training partner(s)........if she'll have any??
They could help her.

Anyway, I don't see her being isolated out there!!

No, I'm asking you, because you're the one who said there were "plenty of races in the Northeast." I'm still waiting for your list, particularly during the critical outdoor months of April, May and June.

(and guess what, you can't even start with Penn, because it doesn't stage an 800)

I surrender!!
I admit I don't have a list of meets in the northeast.
I was going entirely by the comments about "NY/NJ area" meets and the person who suggested Philly.
So maybe that's more reason for her to go pro now.
Let her agent get her into meets.
As for Penn not having an open 800, I didn't know that.
But she could still run an 800 in a relay (4X800 or DM or SM).
Yeah, I'll admit that maybe this "limbo" act is a bad idea.
Either go to college or go pro.
Guess we'll have to wait and see.

[bruce3404]

Big mistake, but I also thought FSU wasn't the right place to run for an 800 runner. In this year's NCAAs, they did have a 7th and 8th in the 1500 and no entrants in the 800, so I guess there's at least some middle distance presence but TN might have been a better fit and, of course, Oregon would have been the best fit Maybe it's not the same thing, but Robby Andrews didn't run collegiately this year so he could make the Olympic team. How'd that work out?

[jlanza]

Just amazing to me the reaction on this board, Lets Run and TrackTalk. You'd think she decided to turn to the triathlon or something.

Academics: Ajee is excellent academically. She WILL get her college degree. Plenty of kids take a year off after high school but this one is highly visible in the sport we love. No one would think anything of my friend's son who wasn't an athlete, was admitted to Harvard and deferred for a year. It happens. Both she and her family value education and it will get done.

Track: Just because something isn't being done the "traditional" way doesn't mean it's wrong or that it won't work. She's trying something different. Maybe she succeeds, maybe not but there seems to be many people saying she'll fail, she's stupid, she made a dumb decision, etc and then hoping she does fail so they can be right. That's sad.

Someone said it before on here or somewhere else: there seem to be more and more track athletes taking different paths. Is that so wrong or bad? Does the NCAA route have to be for everyone or is it just what we know and anyone who chooses a different path has to be wrong? Are we all so expert because we have been around for a long time that we KNOW she'll fail.

I don't know her well but I do know her and her family and they are 100% behind her, knowing that what? She tries something and it doesn't work and she's lost a whole year? Is that really a big deal? I'm sure she'll have a ton of trouble getting a college to provide a scholarship.

Joe Lanzalotto

[KevinM]

Maybe it's not the same thing, but Robby Andrews didn't run collegiately this year so he could make the Olympic team. How'd that work out?

Nope, not remotely the same thing. Other than possibly questioning his event choice, it's worth remembering Andrews was fifth in a race that included a 3:30 guy, a WC bronze medalist, and the future OG silver medalist.

[Conor Dary]

Robby Andrews didn't run collegiately this year so he could make the Olympic team. How'd that work out?

Right. I had the same thoughts when I read this thread.

[TrackFan4Ever]

Several years back Allison Felix did the same and never looked back. She hasn't done to shabby. As a collegian, Ajee would have been committed to a greater race load and would be spent by the time the world championships arrived. Look at the production of the college athletes that made it to the USOT last June.

Allyson Felix did not do quite the same thing. She was a student at USC, but did not run for them. She was able to do that because she had a contract with adidas. Ajee, get your education. The decision to run for the college or not is yours, but do not stop being a student.

[Blues]

Not everybody has a lot of compassion for collegiate athletic programs, but I definitely feel bad for the FSU track and field staff. Especially to find out that their star recruit backed out at the beginning of the school year after all the effort and money they spent to recruit her, and after supporting her in international meets this summer, and considering that she now appears to be noncommital about where she'll attend college when she does decide to go. (Although if she's no longer looking for a college for athletic purposes, then obviously her field of educational possibilities widens significantly...)

[vip]

I find it hard to believe that FSU would not have bent over backward to accommodate Wilson and her desire to pattern her indoor/outdoor season toward making the WC team. Yes, some colleges do run their athletes into the ground in order to get a return on the investment. But in this case, why would FSU take such risks with one of the greatest talents to emerge from high school in years?

Whatever factors that weighed on Wilson as she made her decision is fine with me. But any suggestion that the decision to skip college was done for fear FSU might "ruin" her for the WC, I believe, is probably faulty.

By the way, I've watched Wilson run since she was 12 years old and no matter what path she chooses, I strongly believe she'll make it to Moscow regardless. She's that driven.

[ATK]

The fact that she is not even going to school is just a completely wrong move.
I think there are so many things that can go wrong or right that would delay her college plans longer than she expects.

Will she still go to Fl St after worlds?
Will they even want her after what she is doing to them so soon?
If she stays with her coach will she go to a local college?
What if she changes coaches and location?
What if she doesn't make the team?
What if she does make the team?
What if she medals at worlds?
What if she goes pro?
What if she gets Injured?

[jlanza]

I find it hard to believe that FSU would not have bent over backward to accommodate Wilson and her desire to pattern her indoor/outdoor season toward making the WC team. Yes, some colleges do run their athletes into the ground in order to get a return on the investment. But in this case, why would FSU take such risks with one of the greatest talents to emerge from high school in years?

Whatever factors that weighed on Wilson as she made her decision is fine with me. But any suggestion that the decision to skip college was done for fear FSU might "ruin" her for the WC, I believe, is probably faulty.

By the way, I've watched Wilson run since she was 12 years old and no matter what path she chooses, I strongly believe she'll make it to Moscow regardless. She's that driven.

To be clear, Ajee has made no negative statements about FSU nor does she have any negative feelings about the school. Nothing. Zero.

As for people who keep insisting that not going directly to college is the wrong choice for academic reasons, there are many different ways and she's chosen the path that she and her family believe is best for her. Statements that she is "wrong" are simply the opinions of internet posters who don't know her or what is going on in her life. It always makes me chuckle when anonymous internet posters infer or say that they know better than the parents and somehow are tryng to protect the athlete.

Joe Lanzalotto

[mal]

The days of high school, 4 years of college and a job are gone.

People say youth is wasted on the young. I think you have to follow your goals, when you're best able.

She can always go to college. Sure she may have to pay, but she can always go. She won't always run fast.

[preston]

Amen to the posters not denouncing her choice to eschew a college scholarship for a year. Even if she -heaven forbid- was injured it would have to be permanent for her not to get a scholarship. She's just that good! Also, look around the world and you see teenagers and early 20 athletes MORE prepared for international running who never stepped on a college campus than those who have - who really needs to learn to run like an American? What she needs to learn to run like is a medallist; something that America has failed to supply in the 800m at an outdoor championship and in only the rarest of instances indoors. But, for that she might have to forego college competition altogether if past is prologue.

[Marlow]

The X-factor here is how much she 'needs' her coach, and in what ways. Many HS phenoms fail in college simply because the HS coach knew exactly how to motivate the athlete and the college coach has too many 'stars' to devote all his/her energy towards THIS athlete, as the HS (or club) coach was doing. It may therefore be 'necessary' for her to stay where she is to progress further.