Conner Peloquin races the 10K at the NCAA Regional Championships. Photo used courtesy of BYU Athletics.
Conner Peloquin hails from Gig Harbor High School on the western side of Washington State. All who know him, know that he is a genuine good guy. He is always the first to greet someone new, as such he has had a lot of experience hosting recruits at his college...Brigham Young University. At BYU he has been a part of two 4th place and one 6th place NCAA Division 1 cross country teams. On the track he runs the 10K and has qualified for the NCAA regional meet the past three years. This might seem strange for someone not to run the steeple at BYU, however, not only is he a 10Ker at Steeple U, he is a Catholic at a Mormon school. So why was BYU a good fit? Conner graciously took some time out of his busy training schedule to sit down and chat with Arizona Milesplit about how to pick a college that is a good fit for you.
Arizona Milesplit: On paper you aren't a fit at BYU, 10K specialist at steeple U, Catholic at a Mormon school. How did you know BYU was the right fit for you?
Conner Peloquin: Initially I cared about going to a school that was strong in both athletics and academics. Thankfully I had a lot of options. There are a lot of good schools out there. With my siblings just have gone through the process I'll tell you what I told them. Finding a good fit happens on an official visit. You get to meet the coach and see what they are like. You will be able to see if you can see yourself working with them for the next five years.
I also told my siblings that the biggest factor is that you have to be close to your teammates. Make sure you get along. I think most schools you can find what you need. You can work hard, study hard and that will inevitably open lots of options. Students from both XYZ state school and Harvard both go to medical school every year. The big differential is really your teammates. The majority of the time you are either sleeping, in class studying or at practice. A lot of your social functions will be with your teammates. Your team really becomes your family.
I was able to come to BYU. I knew that Coach Ed Eyestone had a great track record, which really helped a lot. However, I knew the kids on the team didn't care whether I was Catholic or LDS; they treated me like family. Your happiness comes from your teammates and you spend the most amount of time with them. It is very important that you get along well.
AZ MS: People are always going to be nice to you on a recruiting trip, how can you tell if it genuine or not?
Conner: Some schools put up a front on recruiting trips. What you see from them is not necessarily genuine. Be nice one week and then get back to how they were. That's a tough one, you just have feel it in your gut. You have to make sure you feel like people are being genuine with you.
I recall Coach Eyestone taking me aside on my recruiting trip and him letting me know that he appreciated people from other faiths. Coach Robison (editors note: he is the former head track coach) talked to me when I arrived on campus and told me if anyone made me feel uncomfortable to let him know and he would take care of it.
On your recruiting trip, talk to your host and other members of the team. You know, just see who they are as people. Are they getting your phone number and adding you on facebook after the trip? The interaction post visit was really big for me. The guys were checking up on me to see how my races went. I thought "they already care about me, they must really want me." Make sure your host takes you around so you can feel it out. You just have to go with your gut. It's sometimes hard to know.
AZ MS: How do you judge whether the school itself is going to be a good fit for you?
Conner: On your recruiting visit sit through a class or two. Some schools have classes with 500, 600 or even more students. Some school shave classes in the 30 to 40 range. When you are on your visit talk to academic advisors, see what support systems they have in place for student athletes. Ask about things like free tutors for student athletes, priority registration, and student athlete academic buildings. Also check to see if they have the right major. I am hesitant to say that since so many people change majors, but at least see if they have the options to get you where you want to go in life.
Also make sure to ask your host and other student athletes about homework, class workloads and tutoring. Some schools are easy, some are hard. I have heard that once you get into some prestigious schools like Stanford the classes aren't that hard since they want to keep the attrition rate low. The hard part is just getting in. On your visit you can find out for certain about what the school can offer academically.
AZ MS: You came to BYU, a school known for its steeplechaser, as a guy looking to run the 10K, but you found a match. How do you know if a coach is going to be a good fit?
Conner: You need to look at their past performances with other athletes at that school. You also need to look at the coach himself. What was their track record both as a coach and as a professional athlete if they were one.
When I got here BYU was big in the steeple, mile and 800m, but not as much 10K. I knew Rohat (editors note: Josh Rohatinsky had won the 2006 NCAA XC title) had graduated not that long ago and he was an NCAA Champion. I knew that Ed was a 10K/marathoner so he knew his stuff with the longer distances. I knew the program was good across the board because of that. You look at some programs, like Portland or Penn State. By in large Portland is a 10K or bust type of team. Penn St has lots of good athletes but really focuses with the 800m and middle distance athletes. It just depends what your goals as an athlete are
Look at the reputation of the school past athletes. Who has the coach coached in the past? I knew with Ed if he was capable of developing All-Americans from guys that maybe weren't the best but were willing to work hard. You have your coaches out there that get good athletes that are ready to go from day one. Those type of coaches as long as they don't mess up will look good. Their job is just not to hinder the athlete. Some coaches on the other hand develop good athletes. Some school have blue chip athletes like Ben Saaral or Edward Cheserek, but I looked at Coach Eyestone and he developed Miles Batty from a 4:24 miler in high school to a 3:54 miler in college.
I appreciate the coaches that can both develop and facilitate. I was solid but not amazing in high school. I knew if Ed Eyestone could take Josh McAdams from a walk on to the Olympics, he could develop me. There are others too. Rob Conner up at Portland really develops a lot of solid athletes. Wetmore, while he does get his Saarels, has developed a lot of his own stars. I don't mean to knock any program here, but you look at Iona and Oregon, a lot of their athlete's just show up ready to go. It is less about coaching and more about getting them ready to go. All they really have to do is facilitate success.
High school athletes should assess the situation they find themselves in. Look at the coaches past to know what coach would be the best fit for them as a person. It's going to be different for everybody.