Stick - I think you are perhaps missing one aspect of this. I have coached a long time, and I would say, I have almost always went with the philosophy of "run the kids at districts in the events you plan to run at state, and leave them there."
Now, there have been some occasions when I have tried to run kids in some different events at districts and then switch them at state. However, you seem to think that the reason a coach would do this is so they can "use" the kid with less ability in order to help out the "better" kids, and then put your better kids back in at state. I can honestly say I have never done that. The times I have switched things around at districts it has been in years where we had very strong teams, and I was trying to qualify an event or two in order to INCLUDE the kid who really would not have had a very good chance otherwise. I have run 3 legs of a 4x4 with our #5, and put a better kid on the anchor of the D-med in hopes of qualifying both, and then switching the better runner back into the 4x8 and having the #5 run the D-med. I have done this on a few occasions. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes it didn't.
Years where it did not work out, I put the better runner back in the 4x8 and the #5 did not run. I don't do this anymore, simply because the parents of the #5 kid would always lose their mind -saying "their kid qualified" . . . . . It was NEVER the parents of the better runner complaining that their kid had to help their teammates out. In a case like this, the #5 kid had ZERO chance of qualifying and participating on their own. At the time, I saw this as a way of getting other kids the chance at the state experience. I certainly was never "using" kids of lesser ability in order to get kids with more ability qualified in a bunch of events.
Doing what I did may be right or wrong depending on how you look at it. Like I said, I don't tend to do that anymore because the kids I was trying to "help" never seemed to figure out that what was being done was for them - or at least their parents sure couldn't figure it out. And, I would say my philosophy has changed somewhat too, and I don't think I would want to qualify events that would take someone else's spot, and then switch a kid out, running a less competitive relay.
Just saying - for the most part - coaches are not out their trying to "use" kids for their own gain. Generally, coaches are trying to help as many kids on their team have as good an experience as they can. Sometimes it works out, sometimes maybe not.
Now, there have been some occasions when I have tried to run kids in some different events at districts and then switch them at state. However, you seem to think that the reason a coach would do this is so they can "use" the kid with less ability in order to help out the "better" kids, and then put your better kids back in at state. I can honestly say I have never done that. The times I have switched things around at districts it has been in years where we had very strong teams, and I was trying to qualify an event or two in order to INCLUDE the kid who really would not have had a very good chance otherwise. I have run 3 legs of a 4x4 with our #5, and put a better kid on the anchor of the D-med in hopes of qualifying both, and then switching the better runner back into the 4x8 and having the #5 run the D-med. I have done this on a few occasions. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes it didn't.
Years where it did not work out, I put the better runner back in the 4x8 and the #5 did not run. I don't do this anymore, simply because the parents of the #5 kid would always lose their mind -saying "their kid qualified" . . . . . It was NEVER the parents of the better runner complaining that their kid had to help their teammates out. In a case like this, the #5 kid had ZERO chance of qualifying and participating on their own. At the time, I saw this as a way of getting other kids the chance at the state experience. I certainly was never "using" kids of lesser ability in order to get kids with more ability qualified in a bunch of events.
Doing what I did may be right or wrong depending on how you look at it. Like I said, I don't tend to do that anymore because the kids I was trying to "help" never seemed to figure out that what was being done was for them - or at least their parents sure couldn't figure it out. And, I would say my philosophy has changed somewhat too, and I don't think I would want to qualify events that would take someone else's spot, and then switch a kid out, running a less competitive relay.
Just saying - for the most part - coaches are not out their trying to "use" kids for their own gain. Generally, coaches are trying to help as many kids on their team have as good an experience as they can. Sometimes it works out, sometimes maybe not.
