Geez - I hope not. I would hope A&M could convince her to stay for a year and master's if they could. Perhaps if she would consider using another year for another school who offered her an NIL deal then that might be an impetus for Henry to consider the new age more seriously. I think having Zhane, Laila, Immanuela, and Dickson on the relay next year would be a good squad (42.5) if we could stay healthy and simply progress. By progress I mean our natural body growth maturity and not technique/skill development from coaching. I am not in a position to make good nor bad judgements on coaching of sprinters at this point. I just know that we have had way too many injuries to women's sprinter's under 3 separate squad group coaches (Anderson, Honn, and Henry).
We could have actually had pretty good coaching under all 3 ( or maybe not) or it could be the weight/strength conditioning beeing too aggressive or underperforming for certain body groups. The course of developing strength in the right body parts at the right time and order of the season for the duration of the season is NO small task. It could be an misappropriation of plyometric training and it sequencing which would be a joint or sprint coaching decision.
I have noticed that our most successful sprinters over these few seasons have been our jumpers(even Aquah) ran as well as any sprinter we had. Perhaps we are seeing a notation that singles out plyometric training; it may need to be up-ed for our non jumping sprinters. Our hurdlers and jumpers have been our top sprinters over these seasons and FOR ME this points to the question: How are we applying, scheduling, developing strength based training over the season throughout workouts each semester in regards to plyometrics. Our jumpers and hurdlers are outshining our core sprinters in SPRINTING as they comprise our short relays. It is time to carefully CARE for the health and longevity of our sprint squad.
To have started the year without your A team 4x100 and run a 43.12 in the spring break meet SPEAKS VOLUMES. So to not progress upon this opening time but digress towards > 75% of your sprint squad being injured is RED RED FLAG. So for me this is not about "Coach A" nor if "Coach B" is a good coach or coaching well but rather to a bigger question: WHAT IS THE OVERALL A&M COACHING PHILOSOPHY on sprint development, its maintenance, its emphasis indoor as opposed to outdoor, and the training regimen required.
Obviously Pat is a premiere coach in long sprinters undoubtedly but no blame is really justifiable against anyone at this point of having 3 new coaches in sprints. Going forward though if any trending issues continue then you have to really look at the top and "reevaluate" some things that may have worked for you during other phases: LSU, A&M heyday, Anderson end-tenure, post Anderson - today.
Other schools are doing well to develop their talent. Virginia Kerley was here and was let go for whatever reason. I told Virginia to her face her freshmen year that based upon what I saw her freshmen year that she would run 11.2 before she left college. Look folks, there it is. I am disappointed but not angry. Concerned, is the better word because even if our coaching is accounting for these things and it is a moot point, we are giving the PERCEPTION that we can't progress sprinters from a recruiting point of view and this is what worries me most; that A&M is being left behind in the minds of sprinters as inept (for even the ones who are here) as some will never come here or transfer when they get here, else die when they get here.
NEXT YEAR I will have a more definitive appraisal and this year I blame no one specifically. It's an A&M issue and not a sprint coach/head coach issue right now. That may change next year but we have to give grace for a new sprint coach and not be hasty. I believe God has blessed Henry(Pat) and He has to step up also as a steward to 'follow the cloud' cause Coach Gilbert, TU, UT are coming with great sprint programs and have accelerated out the pit and we are still putting on the clamps. Whether we have lost the race already in the pit stop may be the more important issue for A&M going forward.
Yet all things are possible. Coach Flo was the best thing to happen to that program and that institution has so underperformed over years and years. We just can't let our own in-house issues cast us back in the midst of all these other programs and their development.