After watching the US Trials on NBC, one of the sport songs that came to mind was a song by Rod Argent, a former Zombie with hit songs “She’s Not There”, “Tell Her No”, and “Time of the Season”.
If I was Casey Kasem, I would dedicate the song “Hold Your Head Up” by the artist Argent to Alan Webb.
Alan Webb burst into the track scene as a high schooler in 2001 and broke Jim Ryun’s High school mile record.
Webb did compete in the 2004 Olympics, but finished 5th at the 2008 Trials in the 1500m this past weekend. He did not run the 800 meters.
I’m sure he’s shaking his head and contemplating what went wrong, and even considering a coaching change.
Don’t worry, 4 years may seem like a long time, but as a professional athlete, you still can make your paycheck in Europe this summer. 2012 is not that far away. I hear London is a great place to visit. Prince Charles, the man yet to be King, will still be Prince Charles.
The song isn’t exclusive to Alan Webb. Triple Jumper Walter Davis and Long Jumper Dwight Phillips both finished fourth when I had them picked as favorites to win the Trials, let alone just make the team. Even my pre-race favorite Xavier Carter failed to make the team in the 100 meters or 200 meters
Here are the lyrics to that song:
Hold Your Head Up
And if it’s bad
Don’t let it get you down, you can take it
And if it hurts
Don’t let them see you cry, you can take it
Hold your head up, hold your head up
Hold your head up, hold your head high
And if they stare
Just let them burn their eyes on you moving
And if they shout
Don’t let them change a thing what you’re doing
Hold your head up, hold your head up
Hold your head up, hold your head high
Jimson Lee
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Agreed. Argent wrote some pretty nice songs. What the heck went wrong with Mr. Webb? Having read numerous books, interviews and articles by Seb Coe and his father, it seems like Alan has been deficient in his vision and preparation or he simply doesn’t have the talent to break into the top 3 in the world, much less the U.S. team. I , like many others, had him as a sure thing just a few years ago.
@Fred – there are plenty of rumors on other Track forums that he was “supplementing” last year.
My advice to Mr. Webb is to take some time off to reflect AFTER this season, and get more hungry in 4 years.
The Olympics isn’t the only track meet this summer.
Interesting about the supps. Chemists and biologists have certainly pushed the envelope and increased the options for all athletes. My concern is for the youngsters. Do we start supplement and related testing when a competitor reaches thirteen years of age?! Do you know of any coaches who condone or encourage usage and what can be done to effectively educate the next generation?
Speaking of “isn’t the only track meet this summer”, in a separate article I’d like to hear your take on the July 25th London Grand Prix concerning the planning and psychological implications of Tyson Gay’s expected appearance and his encounter with Powell. What particular aspects are we looking at and what would you be focused on if you were his coach?
I’ll be interested to see how Alan runs throughout the rest of the year. If he runs low 3:30s again in a couple months, then it was probably just the case that he plateaued and fatigued himself (as his explanations seem to indicate, for he continues to talk about how hard he has trained). If he doesn’t come close, then I think we can speculate as to why last year was so much better given his continued hard work.
In any case, this is going to be an interesting chapter in his career. It seems to be the curse for America’s best milers to be known more for their shortcomings than their successes.
http://www.squidoo.com/alan_webb
@Fred – I always try to focus on food for athletes, rather than supplements. College kids are the toughest to educate as “shopping and cooking” always takes a backseat to exams. Especially during Finals.
As for Tyson, well, I would have rested him after running 4 races in 2 days, especially the 9.77 QF and 9.68. Wind or no wind, his BODY still ran 9.68, a WR.
The amount of stress on the CNS and muscles was too much for him.
I truly believe in the 10 day taper AFTER a WR. Look at Asafa Powell the last 3 WR of 9.77. He took 7-10 days off each time. He didn’t rush back into racing.
I know, skipping the 200m at Trials means 2 Gold medals (100, 4×100) and not 3 (100, 200, 4×100) or even 4 as he first wanted.
The human body can only do so much.
@Bryan – Alan Webb is a PROFESSIONAL athlete, win or lose. He is still very young, and can easily compete 4-8 more years. … even more years if he moves up to the 5000m (like Lagat) or road racing.
I like the guy.. he has nothing to be ashamed about. There were a lot of hungry athletes at the Trials who just wanted it more. And maybe better prepared.