Seed Times: whole lies out of half truths   How many times have we seen this?   A Coach has entered a seed time for his/her Athletes that were listed as a race result. You can�t verify that they didn�t run what was put as a seed time, but it seems unlikely based on their past performances and races since the start of the season. Maybe they�re just being optimists when it comes to estimating their Athletes future performances because of good health, hard training, or whatever or maybe it�s the story of the underdog being thrown into the bullpen in hopes that they will miraculously come out unscathed or maybe it�s another fairy tale story of their athletes running big PRs ...   whatever the reason ... when the guesswork fails, the error is blatant and large. It ends in embarrassment for the coach and the athlete, and frustration for those bumped out by the exaggeration.       The perception of track and field is of a sport painted in the tones of black or white. Either athletes qualify for the championship, run a specific time, break records, or they don�t. Time is a simple cut-and-dry output. In mathematical terms, on a graph, the time �Y� is a result for the input of athlete �X." However, while the stopwatch does not lie, the athlete�s journey to achieve the time has become mired in a lack of integrity.   As an increasing number of blind eyes are being turned towards the USATF Code of Ethics - namely the �submit entry marks with complete honesty and integrity� part - athletes with candid coaches are being forced out of their proper heats. We see it every day: Coaches using "inflated" performances to enter his/her athletes into an elite line-up, lying about their ages, lying about their times, so on and so forth. In the age-group ranks of track and field, a big concern is the lack of honesty on the part of the coaches for their athletes� seed times. For a coach, a lot of stress goes into weighing not only the competition, but also the hyperbolic nature of the attending coaching staffs, and determining the limit of exaggeration needed for an athlete to run in his or her proper heat.   It�s important for coaches to understand that the use of seed times was introduced to insure that the right people get into the right heats per the USATF rules that we operate under. Seed times should be earned making athletes work harder and adding incentive to strive to make each race faster than the one before. The benefit? Athletes race against other athletes who have similar PRs, causing races to be closer and closing the gap from first place to last in each heat.   Now as with doping, sportsmanlike competition and many other factors, we are dependent on the integrity of the entrants. And if that is lacking than we depend upon peers of the entrants to emphasize that integrity. Even if it means some people are shamed into doing it correctly if it is pointed out. Peer pressure is more effective here than any other practical approach and worth eliminating the resentment exaggerated times can cause for honest coaches.   Although everybody speeds, double parks and rolls through stop signs every once in a while ... you know... those low hanging offenses. The right thing is to be very straight-laced about following the rules and being "moral" .... and just maybe we�ll all be able to to sleep well at night and question-less, knowing that the only barrier between an athlete and a faster time was personal preparation!   By: Alexander Hill   The "Win With Integrity" Pledge   I pledge to make good decisions in my life. I will be an enthusiastic and positive person. I will live with integrity every day; I will lead a healthy, active lifestyle. I will take pride in my successes on the playing field and in the classroom; I will be honest and drug-free, knowing cheaters never win. I am a Champion!