It's a little disappointing that someone got all the way through pitching, writing and publishing this story without a serious look at whether the serious amateur runner is being diverted to other sports. Sure, they included a stupid throwaway line about gimmick dodgeball - but where's the analysis of high school or college level running, or the question of whether kids are playing soccer instead of focusing on distance running? I suppose it's more satisfying to just assume it's a kids-these-days-and-their-facebooks problem.