Eric Cooper

@SharpFootball @IainMacBets

28-3 type comeback

Audra’s Cave Trail gets all the attention, but have you seen how pretty the Middle Fork River is? 😍 📍Audra State Park 📸 IG ashwoolsey

April 26, 2026. Sabastian Sawe does it. The first man to break 2 hours in a record-eligible marathon. 1:59:30 to win the most incredible London Marathon in history. Yomif Kejelcha runs 1:59:41 IN HIS DEBUT and finishes 2nd! letsrun.com/forum/flat_rea…

In all aspects, @HerdWBB & the community showed up & showed out! A memorable win to cap a record-setting year for the Herd. Kudos to @Juli_Fulks & our senior class for raising the bar! Also, 👏 to Illinois St. & their fans who traveled! Was an awesome day at a sold out Cam! 🤘

He ran a 4.25 and vertical jumped 47 inches—and that’s only part of what made a frigid day in 1998 in Huntington, WV so mind blowing. The oral history of Randy Moss’ Pro Day, a show like the NFL had never seen before or since. Free story: nytimes.com/athletic/71405…

Marshall was 5-7 in year one under Head Coach Tony Gibson. Coach Gibson is looking to get the Herd back on the right track and the 2026 Recruiting Class will go a long way in rebuilding the program. The 2026 Marshall Thundering Herd recruiting class is the BEST IN PROGRAM HISTORY by AVG Recruit Ranking. The class is led by some massive Offensive Linemen. 3 star IOL Justin Lyles and 3 star OT JT Fagan could both contribute early. 3 star WR Brennan Chambers and 3 star ATH Drew Williams are two underrated players I see upside in. Coach Gibson is trying to rebuild Marshall back into a #SunBelt contender and this 2026 class is a good start.

Johnny Gaudreau's legacy was with Team USA all the way to gold, and ended it with his children at center ice at the #WinterOlympics. 🇺🇸

It’s a winter wonderland ☃️❄️

There is an inverse relationship in youth sports between focusing on winning and developing players. You cannot do both optimally at the same time. The more you prioritize winning, the less resources you have to dedicate towards development. The adult desire to win puts a focus on structure & schemes, wasting valuable (and already limited) practice time that could be better spent in dynamic skill building environments. It breeds early positional specialization which limits well rounded development opportunities for all kids. It forces young kids into a performance mindset that inhibits creativity & risk taking. Long term growth is sacrificed for short term results. Remember, selection bias is what creates the illusion that players on youth ‘elite’ teams are developing at faster rate than they otherwise could be in an environment that prioritizes development.

@IainMacBets Seeing golf picks is a beautiful sight. Let’s have a year @IainMacBets.

My Sony Open outrights: 🏌️‍♂️Ben Griffin +1600 🏌️‍♂️Robert MacIntyre +2400 🏌️‍♂️Harry Hall +3000

Curt Cignetti has a fascinating philosophy...don't waste anyone's time, coaches not expected to work nights just get work done, limited practice to keep players healthy

365 days can go fast… But memories last forever 🥹 Thank you 2025 From The Herd 💚

At just 16 years old, Cooper Lutkenhaus rewrote the record books 🤯 On August 3, he ran 1:42.27, breaking the U20 American record and qualifying for the 2025 Tokyo World Championships, becoming the youngest athlete to ever represent the United States. A U18 world record. The fourth fastest in American history. What a breakout moment. 🙌 @CooperLutk68303 | #USATFBestOf2025

Why Coaching Is Harder Than People Think (A Holiday Reminder)… Because coaching isn’t just about plays, drills, or game nights. It’s about people. It’s about walking into practice every day and managing emotions you didn’t create but are responsible for. Your own. Your players. Your assistants. Parents. Administrators. Fans. It’s about teaching kids who are all at different stages. Different maturity levels. Different confidence levels. Different home situations. And somehow holding them to the same standards while still meeting them where they are. It’s about decisions that look simple from the stands but feel heavy from the sideline. Who plays. When. Why. How you communicate it. And how that decision might land on a 16-year-old who ties their identity to minutes. It’s about losing sleep over kids who won’t buy in. Over conversations you need to have. Over mistakes you replay in your head long after everyone else moved on. It’s about being judged by people who see the outcome, not the process. The scoreboard, not the hours. The result, not the relationships. And yet, you show up again. You plan. You teach. You model. You care. As the season slows and the holidays arrive, this is the reminder: What you do matters. Even when it goes unseen. Even when it feels heavy. Even when it’s hard. Coaching is about influence. And influence lasts longer than any season. That’s why coaching is harder than people think. And also why it matters so much. As the year winds down, I hope you find a little rest, a little perspective, and a lot of pride in the work you’re doing. 🎄Happy Holidays, Coach.

For performance, the tortoise really does beat the hare. A big new study looked at 34,000 elite performers found that: Early success rarely predicts adult achievement. Exceptional young performers peaked quickly but narrowly mastered one thing. Exceptional adults reached their peak gradually. They engaged in broader, multidisciplinary practice early on.

New meta-analysis finds that taking an ice bath after strength training impairs gains. The inflammation, damage, stress is the SIGNAL for adaptation. Take it away...we blunt the response. Sometimes, damage is a good thing...

The GOAT making world’s greatest sound.

@stevemagness 100%. I liked hearing Tom Brady talk about modern day QB development.

It makes you wonder about quarterback development. Does the win now nature of college and NFL lead to paths that get potential quick success at the expense of long term development and a higher ceiling.

This is where youth sports often get it backwards. Kids don’t need more sport-specific training. They need more athletic development. Somewhere along the way, we convinced ourselves that earlier specialization meant better outcomes. More reps of the same skills. More drills. More structure. More pressure. But strong, fast, coordinated, resilient athletes are not built by narrowing movement early. They’re built by expanding it. Before worrying about a child’s shooting form, throwing mechanics, or position-specific skills, we should be asking: Can they run, jump, stop, and change direction? Can they balance, rotate, climb, crawl, and fall safely? Can they move with rhythm, coordination, and confidence? Athletic development is the foundation that sport skills are built on—not the other way around. Speed, strength, power, and durability don’t magically appear because a kid played one sport year-round. They come from movement variety, free play, and exposure to different physical challenges across multiple planes and environments. When we skip this phase and rush into specialization, we don’t create better athletes—we create fragile ones. Develop the athlete first. Then layer the sport on top. #LTAD

Jordan on a Chicago playground. Iconic.