<p>From what I have read- the running teams are quite good at W&M and I was wondering if anyone had info about how the school handles walk-ons. </p>
<p>Does anyone run for W&M, or know someone who does and could give me some insight into the program and coaching? I could always email the coach, but that may be a little premature, so I thought I would ask here.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Unfortunately the student athletes who volunteer with our office play for other varsity teams. </p>
<p>Each team has different policies regarding walk-ons. If you’re an admitted student you can certainly contact the coach about whether or not the Cross Country team takes walk-ons. That’s not at all an unreasonable question to ask. You can do the same if you’re a prospective student.</p>
<p>I’m sure you could email the coach, or look up some of the running times that W&M athletes have for whatever distance you are interested in, so you can see if you are in the ballpark.</p>
<p>Yes, the XC and track (middle- and long-distance, primarily) teams are pretty elite. The men regularly win the conference and are fixtures at NCAAs and while the women are not as consistently great, they are good nonetheless. The recruits are all highly accomplished high school runners, though not quite the same quality as what powerhouses like Oregon or Stanford get, and the program’s earned a reputation for being able to develop them into nationally competitive–and occasionally world-class–runners. I attended W&M with the former coaches but I don’t know the current one, and like the previous poster stated, each coach has a different walk-on policy or philosophy. That said, the program has historically been pretty friendly toward walk-ons, and they keep a bigger roster than a lot of other schools. During the tryout period (usually the first few weeks of the fall that includes the first time trial), you practice with the team and basically have to show that you can nail (or at least survive) all the workouts and then put in a good performance at the time trial. If you can beat the recruited guys, even better. The program’s also known for being pretty high mileage–guys often break 100 miles/week in-season and the baseline tends to be in the 70s. </p>
<p>A quick check of the rosters will let you know if your PRs are in the ballpark for the team (typically sub-2:00 for the 800m and sub-4:20 for the mile). But if your times are close, you shouldn’t be discouraged about trying out. My best friend was a 2:02 runner in high school, wasn’t recruited, and ran on his own our freshman year. He got in great shape the summer before his sophomore year, ran with a chip on his shoulder during tryouts, and impressed the coaches enough to make the roster. He really blossomed with the training and ended up making all-conference and running at nationals by the time he graduated. This was about three coaches ago, mind you, and he was a good runner to begin with, but it shows what a healthy serving of want-to can do for you. </p>
<p>Finally, it’s never too early to contact the coach if you’ve already been admitted. It’s the best thing to do, really. You’re eventually going to have to talk to him, and the sooner, the better. Most coaches will be pretty straight with you about the walk-on process and your chances of making the team. If you still have your senior track season ahead of you, you can get some times to work towards this spring, and–this is probably the most important thing if you’re serious about trying out in the fall–the coach might even suggest a summer program for you. You’ll want to have a solid base once you get to campus, and you don’t want to have done 40 miles/week when all the other guys were doing 70.</p>
<p>BTW, I recommend contacting the XC coach and not the T&F director. Stimson’s a nice guy but he works much more with the sprinters and throwers and isn’t that actively involved with the distance teams. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Great post hxhsux. We learned a lot from it. We’re so grateful to have W&M alumni and current students on this thread to help fill in the knowledge gaps we’re not always privy to as administrators.</p>
<p>Here’s the coaching staff for men’s/women’s cross country ([Men's</a> Cross Country - Coaches - William & Mary- Athletics at William & Mary](<a href=“http://www.tribeathletics.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=25100&SPID=83403&SPSID=608456]Men’s”>http://www.tribeathletics.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=25100&SPID=83403&SPSID=608456)). If you click on the individual coaches you’ll get bios and contact info</p>
<p>Yes. Thank you hxhsux. This is some great info!</p>