Thoughts on Jenny Barringer's Coaching Change
 | posted by AnnGaff, a Women Talk Sports blogger About AnnGaff: Chief Technical Officer, Women Talk Sports. I competed in Track & Field and Cross-Country in college at the University of Nebraska and competed professionally in Track & Field (3000m Steeplechase) fr...more |
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The news broke on Thursday that Jenny Barringer will no longer be working with her college coach Mark Wetmore of Colorado. This comes as a shock to many because Wetmore's careful handling of Barringer throughout her career is one for the books, from her freshman year surprise win at the NCAA Championships in the 3000m steeplechase to her absolutely incredible final track season last spring where she set NCAA records for 1500m (3:59.90 - also one of only 4 Americans at the time to ever break 4:00), the indoor mile (4:25.91), indoor 3000m (8:42.03), 5000m (15:01.70), and steeplechase (9:25.54). She then capped it off by placing 5th at the World Championships in the steeplechase, lowering her own American Record to 9:12.50.
There was much hype about who Barringer would choose as her sponsor but the general assumption was that she wouldn't dare leave Wetmore, as he obviously works well with her and who has NCAA records to his own name, including being the only DI coach to have won both the men's and women's team AND individual championships in cross-country. From cubuffs.com:
His graduates have experienced post-collegiate success that is unrivaled by any NCAA distance program. Twenty-two of his athletes have earned professional running contracts and have combined for 10 USA Cross Country National Titles and 37 berths on USA teams that compete at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. On the track, CU graduates have won 11 USA Championships and nine individuals have represented the U.S. at the IAAF World Track and Field Championships. Since 2000, eight graduates have combined for 11 spots on the U.S. Olympic Team roster.
So why would an athlete leave that situation? There have been all kinds of criticisms popping up on messageboards, claiming this is a terrible mistake. I beg to differ.
The coach Barringer has chosen to work with as she begins her professional career is Juli (Henner) Benson, a 1996 1500m Olympian for the US, who has coached a few notable milers so far in her young career, including Chris Lukezic, Kevin Sullivan, Anne Shadle and Treniere Clement. She now is the head cross-country and assistant track & field coach at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. To my knowledge, she no longer coaches the aforementioned athletes, leaving her free to take on someone new.
Benson is a perfect choice for Barringer. First of all, she is a young female. Barringer seemed to respond well to Wetmore's assistant coach Heather Burroughs while at Colorado. She consistently mentioned Burroughs in interviews and seemed to credit her equally with her success as she did Wetmore. This factor may not have been the #1 reason for choosing Benson, but there is a difference between men and women and Barringer may have felt more comfortable choosing a coach she would be able to relate to and discuss more personal issues with when necessary. If you're a female, you probably understand this (though of course it is not to say a man can't effectively coach women).
Secondly, Benson is not the head coach at Air Force. Also, Air Force is not as intense of a program as the legendary Colorado program. Therefore, she may have more time and energy to give to Barringer. Why wouldn't Wetmore have enough time if he had it when Barringer was in college, you ask? Because she's not on the team anymore. Her competition schedule will be entirely different, and therefore so will her training schedule. Trust me, I've been there. You think everything will be able to just continue as it always has but it can't. That means the coach has to make time to write and monitor your workouts in addition to the team's workouts. This is difficult, as a college coach is already buried in work.
Thirdly, it is Wetmore's job to coach the University of Colorado Buffaloes. The Buffs write his paychecks and he has made a commitment to them. The article announcing this change in coaches makes it sound like it was almost more Wetmore's decision than Barringer's. For this, I admire him greatly. This means he knew where his priorities had to be and that it would be unfair to let Barringer expect that things would be able to stay the same. Sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is let them go. Barringer deserves to be in a situation where she can get the attention she needs, have a coach who can travel to her competitions, watch every single workout, and talk to her about the rest, nutrition and physio treatment she is getting.
There are also criticisms being thrown at Benson: Why her? She does not have the record other professional coaches have. Who would Barringer's training partners be? Does Benson have enough experience? Only time will tell but it sounds like Barringer was as careful about her coach selection as she was about her sponsor selection. She seems to want to form strategic one-on-one partnerships as opposed to becoming part of an established team. And more power to her; she knows herself the best and what her needs are. She has an amazing gift and could quite possibly become the greatest American distance runner ever...maybe even the greatest in the world...if she plays her cards right.
Watch Flotrack's highlight reel of Barringer's accomplishments:
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- Track & Field, Sports, SportsPLUS, OpEd, Coaching
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