12/31 update

Braves,

I hope you all have a happy new year and that you are ready to get back at it on Tuesday. Over the break we had some solid practices with those who were able to make it. I can confidently say that everyone who came to those practices got better each day, because of the quality of work they put in. On Friday we did 20 short rest 200s and there was some outstanding consistency and effort. I was impressed by the entire group, both the attitude and the determination to give their best on each rep. I couldn’t help but notice a few of our young runners, Grady, Olivia, and Karalyn, all doing an outstanding job of finishing, then simply getting back on the line. When you have a tough day it is easy to try and make excuses for why it is too difficult, why you’re having a bad day, or why you can’t finish the workout, etc. These athletes (and many others that I haven’t mentioned here) avoided those excuses and simply walked back to the line to get ready to go again and again. In fact, our entire team did just that on Friday, and it was awesome to see. This team keeps showing what it takes to get better every day, and that is the key to our, and any team’s, success.

This week we compete at the BYU invite, which has events on Friday and Saturday. Field events and the 3200m are on Friday, and everything else is on Saturday. I have included the links to go on and register, the meet information, and the map to the meet at the end of this email. In the past, this meet has lasted into the evening hours. At the meet info link you can see at what time each event was competed in years past. This year, I anticipate it ending significantly earlier because they are starting earlier, and the two mile is on Friday. The meet director’s goal is to be done by 4 pm on Saturday, but that may or may not be the case, so I plan on a long day.

Indoor track meets can be long affairs due to the huge popularity around the state, and the limited track space. We encourage you to make the meet fun between your races by supporting your teammates in their races, and bringing things to pass the time like homework or games. These meets are way fun, in my opinion, and I thought that as an athlete years ago, and now as a coach.

Because indoor track is a club sport (outdoor track is a school sport) each individual will have to sign themselves up. Before you sign up, talk to your event coach (either through email or at practice on Tuesday) about what events you should be doing. Coach Caitlin can be reached at cpjacobson19@gmail.com. Registration closes on Thursday, but don’t procrastinate or you may end up like a few kids last year who kept procrastinating then missed it all together.

Lastly, BYU’s indoor track is 321.5m around. At the end of the meet they do a 4x1 lap instead of a 4x400 for simplicity. We hope to have as many of you as possible run the 4x1 lap at the end of the meet. Last year we had 5 Bountiful teams compete, which was the most from any school, and this year we would like even more. The relay at the end is one of the most fun parts of the meet, and it is a fun and great opportunity for sprinters and distance runners to get better and race together.

DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THE RELAY ONLINE. We will sign up the relays and pay for them. EMAIL ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN A RELAY. I ask you to email me so I can get a count of how many teams I need to register and pay for. Again, we want to have an awesome group there this next weekend competing and getting better. Last season we had the second biggest team in the state at these indoor meets and I hope that we can continue that tradition of dedication and determination.

If you have any questions about the meet, don’t hesitate to ask.

Coach Jacobson

Registration: https://www.runnercard.com/e/runner.Main?meet=1001576

Meet info: http://www.byutrack.com/various/Special/Meet_Info/2017-18/BYUHSIndoor/Coug-HSIN18.htm

Map to the meet: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Smith+Fieldhouse+(SFH)/@40.2473836,-111.6552114,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xe988d551777d2390!8m2!3d40.2473836!4d-111.6552114

12/24 update

Braves,

I hope you have all had a great time during this break. With the extended time off I began reading the book “Mindset” by Carol Dweck, who is an important person in educational psychology, particularly over the past few years. There is too much in the book to give a complete rundown here, but in my reading a certain paragraph stood out to me which I felt was applicable to our team.

“Billie Jean King says it’s all about what you want to look back and say. I agree with her. You can look back and say, “I could have been…,” polishing your unused endowments like trophies. Or you can look back and say, “I gave my all for the things I valued.” Think about what you want to look back and say.”

When she says “endowments” she means natural abilities. In other words, we can look back on any facet of our lives and say “I could have been… if only….” (I could have been a brain surgeon if I had wanted to) or we can look back and say “I became a… because I gave my all…” (We became region champions because we gave everything we had day in and day out). This is a simplistic explanation, but the first response is said by those who are afraid to try, for fear of trying and failing. For many of us it is a scary thought to try as hard as we can, and still fail. Instead, it is easier to not try so if we fail we have a built-in excuse (I could have won, but I didn’t try that hard). The second response is said by those who habitually give everything they have, without fear of failure, because they have an understanding that “failure” isn’t what they are, rather, it is something that happens on the path to improvement (e.g., I am a failure vs. I failed this time…). I hope that we can understand that failure is not something we are, but something that happens. May we always give our best effort each day recognizing that success is something found through consistent effort, and not something that is given to us because of our “endowments” (natural abilities).

We are excited for racing season to begin. Our first meet is next weekend (1/5-6). I will give a better explanation on how to sign up in an email later this week. Talk to your event coaches about what events to sign up for.

We will practice this week as a team on Wednesday 12/27, and Friday 12/29 at 8 AM. Your best bet is to enter the building on the third floor back doors by the fieldhouse/tech center. Hope to see all of you there who are in town. If you can’t make it, and on days we aren’t meeting, we strongly encourage you to get out and run so that you don’t take a step back before we get back next week.

Enjoy the remainder of the break!

Coach Jacobson

12/17 update

Braves,

This indoor track season is flying by and we have seen some pretty awesome improvement over the first three weeks of the year. As we approach the winter break it is important not to get complacent or to relax on your commitment. We have less than three weeks before our first meet, and a week and a half of that will be during the break. Let’s keep getting better one day at a time before that first race.

We will practice Monday and Tuesday but will not practice on Wednesday during the early out. During the break 3 times: Thursday 12/21 (this week), Wednesday 12/27, and Friday 12/29 of next week. I understand that you have things going on with family or being out of town so these practices are not mandatory, per se, but we encourage you to come if you are in town. We will be prompt so that you can get to the activities that you have planned during the day. We are deciding between 8 AM or 9 AM, so if you have a preference please let me know at practice today.

While we will only be meeting three times during the break, we encourage you to get out and run and be active so you don’t lose what you have gained over the past month. Spend time with family and friends doing things you enjoy away from school, and make sure to get plenty of sleep.

Again, we are extremely excited about this team and how well you have been working over the first three weeks. We are off to a great start, but as with every team, we certainly have room to improve.  Recommit yourself to give you best each day, starting today.

Coach Jacobson 

12/10 update

Braves,

We’ve had 8 practices and only have 11 or 12 practices remaining before our first meet at BYU. For the complete schedule please visit www.bravestrack.blogspot.com

Every year and team is a little different than the previous years, and this season we are impressed with how hard you are willing to work as a group. We have had some tough workouts, but as a group you show up ready to work day in and day out. Individually, each of us can improve in certain aspects. In order for our team to improve we have to find ways to improve on an individual level, whether it is effort on individual sets, taking advantage of long runs, putting in a few more reps on the weights or in the ring, getting enough sleep, or eating a little better. We can all find small things to do to make ourselves better, which will make the team better as well.

This upcoming week is our last full week of practice before we race, so be ready to get after it. We appreciate all your efforts to keep getting better and we are looking forward to a great week and a half before the break.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Coach Jacobson

12/2 update

Braves and parents,

We had a great showing during the first week of the indoor track season. With only two full weeks until the Christmas break we have to take advantage of every day. Our first meet will be the week following the break, which means we really only have three full weeks of training until we race. (to see the schedule please visit www.bravestrack.blogspot.com)

We were impressed with how hard you were all willing to work during the first week. The trick will be continuing to work hard day in and day out. It is easy to be good for one day, the key is to be good day after day, and week after week.

As a reminder, if you choose to order any clothes (the order form is attached here) please pay in the office and bring me the receipt by Monday at practice. Furthermore, be sure pay the $50 participation fee in the office by Monday as well.

We are excited about the team that we have. We have a good group that already is showing that they are willing to work hard and challenge themselves. I’m amazed at the work ethic that you have already demonstrated and if you keep working you will see a lot of improvement over the course of the season. Let’s enjoy this journey and keep getting better each day.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

Coach Jacobson

Indoor Track 2017-2018

Braves,

Our first meeting of the year will be held on Tuesday 11/28 in the commons area at 2:40 (3:15 for junior high students). We are looking forward to a great season and a lot of fun, highlighted by our trip to the Simplot Games at Idaho State University. The last few years in track and XC have been very successful, and we look forward to continue to build on that.

Indoor track is one of my favorite seasons of the year. It is a unique sport and is really fun once we get going.

Feel free to sign up using the link "indoor track sign up form" on the right side of this page.

See you Tuesday.

Coach Jacobson

5/14 update

Braves,

Congratulations again on the region championship this year. The meet was a tremendous success not just because we brought home a team title but because of the effort level I saw out there on the track and the field over and over. There were so many awesome performances that it will be impossible to highlight all of them, but I will try and make a more comprehensive list to share in the future. As I went through the events before the meet and considered all the places that we had a chance to steal more points I saw ten different events where I thought we could move up. I spoke to a number of individuals and challenged them to try and move up. In almost every case, they did just that. One example is when I talked to Sam and Austin about battling to make it into finals of the 300H. I pulled them aside at practice and told them that I believed that we could get 5 people into the final (4 were “supposed” to make it, on paper) and challenged them to displace the 8^th ranked runner and try and move up. On Wednesday it turned out that Sam and Austin were in the same heat right next to each other. Sure enough coming down the home stretch they were neck and neck and clearly pushing each other to try and claim that last spot in the final. Ultimately Austin made it into the final the next day, and I don’t think either of them would have made it had they not been challenging each other. Sam was happy for his teammate and ran a solid leg for us in the medley the next day. Austin finished 6^th the next day after fighting his way into the final. Bountiful had 5 of the 8 people running in the 300H final and we ended up with 22 points from the event, the most on the day.

Stobbe was entered in the high jump but had a rough day and ended up no-heighting and he was clearly frustrated. Determined to make up for the points that he lost we placed 3^rd in the javelin, ran a crucial leg in our 3^rd place 4x100m, and battled his way into 5^th in the 100m after he was ranked 8^th going into the final. Isaac Bills had an enormous meet coming into the shot put event ranked out of the top 8, but had a monstrous PR to finish second. None of the coaches were really surprised by that result as we have seen the type of work he has been putting in – like getting up early during spring break and making his way to the ring to get some more practice in while most kids his age were still sleeping or trying to keep their snap-streaks alive. Ashley had a huge meet qualifying for state in in both hurdles, and earning top ten honors all-time at Bountiful in both events. She took a hard fall at the end of the 300H final which messed up what seemed like was going to be yet another big PR. She didn’t allow anyone time to think as she quickly jumped up and finished the race, then ran a leg of our 4x400. I love seeing that kind of grit and determination.

The more I write the more I want to talk about everyone but I can’t do it. I will share more at practice tomorrow. The last thing I wanted to point out was the final race of the day, the girls 4x400. Due to some crazy occurrence they had to stop the race half-way through, which means that two of our girls had run, and would have to run again. Ashely ended up hurting her leg at the end so we were allowed a sub, and Amelia Tew stepped in, yet again, to run an awesome race. I don’t know how she can have a huge pr in the medley 800 and then be anxiously ready to run the 4x400. That’s a tough turn around but one that she clearly enjoys. Laurie was the one that ended up having to run two 400s in 30 minutes time due to the mix-up and she ran extremely well. I don’t know if many people could even finish a second 400, let alone excel at it. Rachel got the baton in 4^th place, and we needed to at least stay in 4^th to make it to state. She had run 6 races over the last two days and it was clear there was some lingering fatigue. I knew she was somewhat tired, but I also knew she was going to give every last bit of energy she had. After 150m into the race she was still in 4^th and I started to trot across the field to see the finish. While jogging over I said, to no one in particular, “she’s gonna get second; write it down.” I said it a few times to make sure I had witnesses. On the final straight away she and the 3^rd place girl had closed the gap on the second place girl and it wasn’t clear how it was going to shake out over the final 20 meters. For a moment it kind of looked like Rachel might not be able to pass them. As she has done countless times over her career she showed a mental toughness that is unique to her. She describes running the 400 like this, “you run as fast as you can, then at the end, you run even faster.” That is literally the only way to describe that race, and sure enough she went by those girls, finished second, and collapsed across the finish line. Half of our team then came over and gave her an ovation in what I felt was a gesture of appreciation, not just for that race, but for years of giving everything she’s got.

The kind of mental toughness that I have described in a few of our athletes here is present in so many of it. It is contagious, and our team has gotten stronger and stronger over the course of the year. Without some extreme mental toughness over those two days our team would never have won. I’m proud not just of what we accomplished, but of what our team is becoming. We are mentally stronger now than we were at the beginning of the year.

Moving forward, we have the jv region meet on Tuesday at woods cross. All those not competing at state are welcome to compete there. State is Friday and Saturday, and a list of those who have qualified for state is below. All our relays have qualified so some of you who did not qualify individually will still be entered in a relay.

On Monday the SBOs are hosting a pizza party for the track team in Mrs. Ludwig’s room during lunch. Come on up and enjoy some pizza and hang out with the team. On Wednesday, the Nielson’s have invited the team to their home for dinner. That will be at 5 PM, and I will send more information out on this in the next day or two.

Can’t wait to get back to practice tomorrow and be ready for an awesome state meet.

If I have left anyone off this state qualifying list, please let me know.

2017 State Qualifiers by athlete 

Rachel Whipple 

100H 

300H

High Jump

Tashena Ashby

                Discus

Norris Tukuafu

                Shot Put

Nathan Losee

                Discus

Adam Amott

                110H

                300H

Julia Miller

                Long Jump

Kohle Newbold

                400m

                200m

Ashley Wilkinson

                100H

                300H

Laurie Murphy

                1600m

                800m

Dallin Mason

                3200m

Anna Sophia Rorrer Warren

                3200m

Bailey Basinger

                Discus

                Shot Put

Ben Marlette

                110H

Hunter Munk

                300H

Blake Nielson

                400m

                800m

                High Jump

Davis Stobbe

                Javelin

Isaac Bills

                Shot Put

Nainoa Medeiros

                Discus

5/7 update

Braves,

We had a pretty busy week with meets Thursday-Saturday. The week was filled with pretty sweet performances. With the effort and work that was put in this week we are setting ourselves up for a great region meet on Wednesday and Thursday. It is crazy to think that region is here.

A few highlights from the week included taking two busses to the meet on Thursday, showing that we have a big group that wants to compete. Kiwi had a solid PR in the 300H on Thursday. It is fun to watch her race because she always has a big smile on. It turns out that her grimace/game face looks like a smile. Another highlight was watching Marcus run the 800 at East. He has been working hard for years and went out fast on the first lap to go get a PR. Even though he didn’t PR, he ran a tough race and looked spent – it was clear that he gave all he had on that day. After the race his one frustration was that he didn’t PR. He didn’t care that he was exhausted or in pain (because the 800m is straight up the most painful race ever created in Track & Field), what he cared about was his goal. To me that shows a determination and fearlessness that is required to be successful in this sport and in life during and after high school. Too often we are scared to give our all in practice or at a meet because we are scared to put ourselves through the pain of a race done with full effort. Too often we are scared to give our best effort because if we fail to reach our goal we won’t have any convenient excuses.

Goals are ever evolving (as we continuously set new heights) so failing to reach a goal is not the determination of failure, just as reaching a goal set too low is not the determination of Success. What you do and what you become in your journey towards reaching your goal is what really defines success or failure. Would any of us really consider 4^th place at the Olympics to be a failure? Yet I’m sure many Olympic favorites who don’t perform their best and end up in 4^th do not feel like it was a success. Goals are ever-changing and are different based on perspective. What is good for one person may not be for someone else. Marcus was disappointed by the 2:11, but many of us would be thrilled to run that time. Results cannot be the determination of success, only the process can. What you do day in and day out to reach your goals is the true measure of success. I’ve coached region champions who were not successful because they didn’t put in the work and squandered their potential. The 1^st place finished only fueled selfishness and rewarded a lack of effort, all because they had enormous natural talent. I’ve coach people who didn’t even qualify for region who were profoundly successful because they put in the work each day and as a result became a better athlete, a better teammate, a harder worker, and so forth.

Marcus came back in the 4x400 (another example of his work ethic) and ran a 56 split, which was an awesome result. It feels good to get the result, but he would have been successful with or without it. The fact of the matter is that most of us on our team (and every team for that matter) are not insane natural athletes, so everything we get is something we have to earn. The process drives the results. Marcus ran a great 400 because of the work he put in over the years.

Rachel Whipple set a new school record on Friday in the 100H. That was an incredible accomplishment. School records don’t come around every day or year. The last school record was in 2015, and before that 2013, and before that, 2009. Rachel is another example of what hard work every day can accomplish. I can tell you she didn’t earn that spot based on talent alone. She worked her way over a 3-year high school career to get there, and I would bet big that she worked as hard or harder than anyone else on that list – and that is how she got to the top.

Another highlight at BYU was Nate Losee finishing 6^th in the discus. Scoring at the BYU invitational is incredibly difficult given that you compete against the best athletes from 3A, 4A, and 5A, which is why only 3 people on our team did (keeping in mind that we didn’t enter them in all their events) – Rachel (100H, 300H), Adam (110H) , and Nate (discus). Nate didn’t have his best throw but still placed – that is a great performance. Again, it’s a testament to what our throwers do every day at the track. They have to get there earlier to practice every day so they can get some throws in before the baseball team gets out there. We’d let them keep throwing anyway, but they are getting so good we don’t want them hitting some poor kid in left field.

Norris came with us Friday at 5 AM and stayed the entire day to watch and support his teammates even though he no marked in the morning. Finding joy in your teammates success is an essential ingredient to a championship team, and this week is the week of our region championships. We will talk about entries and details of the meet on Monday at practice. Throwers, instead of getting out to the discus early come up in the stands so we can talk about the region meet briefly before getting to work. We have an opportunity in front of us that doesn’t come around every year. I don’t know how I am going to get through the next three days before the meet, because I just cannot wait. I am excited to put our team on full display and reap the rewards of a hard fought season. Come tomorrow ready to work and refine so we can be at maximum performance on Wednesday/Thursday. If we are going to win region, we have to make good things happen in each of our events. we can’t just hope that we have a good time by the time we cross the line, and we can’t just hope that we make it into finals. We have to put pressure on the athletes around us and will our way across the line and battle every step, or spin, or glide, and fight our way into finals or into the top 4 or top 8. If we make good things happen instead of letting things happen to us, we will have a chance at the end. If we are complacent or lack determination, the trophy will go to another team, most likely the one that made good things happen. Let’s be the ones that make things happen in our favor. Let’s be the ones who fight for every point and put pressure on the rest of the heat/flight to perform at our level or to miss finals. Let’s be the ones who are mentally tough and can fight through adversity. Let’s be the ones who put ourselves and our teammates in position to perform our best. If we can do those things we can win as a team.

Good things to come. See you all on Monday.

Coach Jacobson

4/30 update

Braves,

There were some pretty awesome performances at the meets on Thursday and Saturday. I won’t be able to highlight each one because it seems like nearly everyone had PR at some point this week. Updating the performance lists and all-time lists is going to take me longer than usual this week, which is what we love seeing. Given the performances, brace yourselves for along post. There are important announcements to be had at the end so please read them carefully.

We entered most of the team on Thursday, but a bunch of you couldn’t make it due to orchestra competitions, but many missed for unexplainable reasons. That is unfortunate given that there are only one or two meets left for those who do not qualify for region or state. There are two weeks before region, and three before state, and the end of the season. I have tried to convey a sense of urgency throughout the season, and if you haven’t felt it yet, now is the time to get it. The time for killer workouts is passed, and the time for fine tuning our speed and fitness is here. In general we have put in the work, but we can’t let up now. I have to work just as hard these three weeks, but we have to work smart as well.

With all the absences on Thursday I was pleased to see a number of you step up and ask to race in other events for people who weren’t there. For example Leslie threw the javelin and ran the 300H in addition to her normal events. We even had Isaac Bills run a 4x400 at the end of the day, and honestly he dominated it. The 400m has bested many men and women, but Isaac powered right through it. Our distance runners ran a 4x100 right after running a grueling mile. Andrew stepped in and ran a 400 in addition to his distance races. It is that kind of attitude that makes our team better. These kids who volunteered to do more are the ones who are working hard each day in practice, so it wasn’t really a surprise by any means. Essentially they epitomized what our team needs to be about to be successful. We cannot be a team of common people; we have to be uncommon. Their desire and work ethic makes them uncommon.

Saturday was an awesome day for track & field. Adam and Hunter both made the podium in the 300H after posting BIG PRs. Those two are poised to do some serious damage at the region meet in that race. Adam came back in the 110H in the afternoon and had another PR. He has improved 3 out of the last 4 times he has done that race, and cut off nearly a second. Ashley and Julia also PR’d in the 300H, with Ashley cutting off nearly a second, very close to the state qualifying mark, and finishing 3^rd overall for her second consecutive meet. In the boys mile Dallin decided to beast by some people over the final lap finishing in 3^rd with a 5 second PR. Blake did the same thing in the 800m, passing (or rather charging through) a group of people over the last ten meters to finish 4^th, but less than a second out of 1^st. Laurie ran yet another gutsy 800m race. With 200 to go a group was coming alongside her ready to pass her when I looked away so I could navigate to a better spot to see the finish. I totally thought I was going to look back and see her in 3^rd or 4^th, but I couldn’t see her there and for a split second I thought maybe she had been tripped or something. Then I saw Angry Laurie coming off the turn in the lead and flat out leaving the girls that had the audacity to try and pass her. I said/shouted in that moment, “oh man, Angry Laurie!” much to the confusion of the random kids around me. I say “angry Laurie” but a more accurate term would be “determined” or “driven”. I’m not entirely sure that she even has the capacity to be angry because she is always so nice and polite, but man, on the track when she is determined to compete, her expression is legitimately terrifying. Of course she finishes the race and is as kind to her competitors as ever, but for a moment in that race, her determination manifests itself as fury.

Rachel had 3 events in the invited section in the afternoon, but she ran the 4x400 in the morning. That team of Ashley, Kiwi, Laurie, and Rachel ran the second fastest time out of the relay teams I’ve coached here at Bountiful. If you haven’t seen Rachel race, you have missed out, and you need to pay attention the next time she steps on the track. She got the baton in 6th, 50m behind the lead runner (not an exaggeration), and proceeded to blow by 3 girls in the first 100m. Typically, running that aggressively that early in the race is a recipe for disaster, but when I saw her go by that first group I had no doubt that she was going to make this into an awesome race. She always finishes her races strong so I knew it was going to be interesting. She moved into second with little resistance and came up next to the lead runner with 100m to go. They ran side by side until about 15m left when Rachel couldn’t quite hold on and she nearly collapsed before the line, running herself into exhaustion. When I looked at the clock to see that she ran a 58.11, I was slightly surprised because she had never before run sub-60s in the 400. She had an enormous PR and coach of the team that took first looked at her and said, “wow, that was an incredible run.” I’m not sure Rachel heard that as she laid on the ground in agony. When you run the 400, pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional (that is Coach Caitlin’s mantra). I can tell you there was no suffering amidst the pain after running that hard for her team. I highlight Rachel’s effort in that race because it was exceptional, but her teammates ran hard and smart to even get Rachel into that position. If they hadn’t ran as hard as they had the team could have easily ended in 6^th as opposed to 2^nd. Great team performances are comprised of awesome individual effort; it takes the entire team.

On that note, it is going to take the ENTIRE team giving awesome individual effort for us to have a chance at winning region. I’ve said it before, we are not the favorites to win it, so we have to do something uncommon to come away with the win. Having coached this team long enough we can see that you all have the ability to do just that. The opportunity is there, but you have to embrace it. Each individual needs to battle and move up just a place or two. Obviously not everything will go our way, but if we have just enough people moving up instead of back, we can win this thing. We need people sneaking in to the top 8 when they weren’t projected to be there. We need encouragement from teammates when they are warming up or racing or about to throw. Whatever it takes, we just have to find points that we weren’t “projected” to get. That is one thing I love about this sport: it take innumerable individual efforts to make the team great. We have standout athletes on our team, but standout athletes cannot win a team title in track & field on their own. Everyone is needed. We need 8^th place finishes that were supposed to be 10^th. We need two people to go 1^st and 3^rd when they were projected 1^st and 4^th. We have to overachieve. And you know what? This team can do it; this team has what it takes; this team can overachieve. That is why we have made you run all the 400s at the meets. That’s why we make you run an extra set even when you’re not feeling it. That’s why we practice in the rain or even the snow. That’s why you come to practice each day ready to work even when you know you have loads of homework waiting for you. That’s why we did 20 short rest 200s inside. That is why Dallin ran a 1600, 800, and 2 400s yesterday.  That’s why Leslie ran an extra race or why Andrew volunteered for an extra 400 or why Isaac was willing to run a 400 when the team was a man short. That’s why Rachel nearly passed out at the end of the 4x400. That’s why Kohle snuck away from a wedding to get in a couple races yesterday. That’s why Losee and Amelia came back and forth from choir/orchestra competitions to compete in the discus and medley relay. That’s why Adam stays late to hurdle and improve his trail leg. That’s why Dodds ran hundreds of 400s to try and break 60, and when he finally did he raised his sites to 56. That’s why Stobbe asked me what he can do to get on the 4x100 team. That’s why coach Caitlin carries the baby all over the field while yelling splits and encouraging the distance runners. That’s why Dave goes back and forth across the field for hours with the Javelin throwers. That’s why Coach Magalei meticulously works with the discus throwers and finds time to communicate with his throwers even while trying to fulfill his familial obligations right now, and calls me nearly every day so we can talk about each of you and figure out how to give us the best shot at region. That is why the discus throwers get to practice early to get in some reps before the baseball team has yet another game to make up from the rain. That’s why our distance runners go for 50 minute runs or do seemingly hundreds of sets around the track. It’s why our sprinters do never ending 200s or 150s. That’s why our hurdlers are constantly setting up and taking down loads of hurdles. Everything we have done thus far was to make each team member better, and to give us a shot at overachieving. You’ve embraced what we have asked of you, now another opportunity awaits. Whatever the outcome, I’m confident that you will look back with positive memories of what we have done as a TEAM this year, because ultimately, while we work for a specific goal, it’s in the journey from day to day that we really find the joy in what we do. How lucky we are to still have 3 more weeks of the season.

We have a meet on Thursday at East High. Friday and Saturday will be the BYU invitational. This is a highly selective meet so only a few athletes will be going. We can only enter 25 events per team, meaning very few will be able to go. We will give more information about BYU over the course of the week, but most of the races, excluding relays, and competed on Friday, with finals and relays on Saturday. Everyone can compete on Thursday so I hope you all plan accordingly. Because of the difficulty of BYU, the meet on Thursday becomes even more important. Everyone can compete there so I hope you plan your schedules accordingly. Region is on Wednesday and Thursday of next week, meaning less than 14 days away. We have 5 – repeat FIVE – days of practice before region. Workouts will become more specific this week so please be on time and have your spikes and other necessary items so you are ready to roll.

Looking forward to a final 3 weeks of the season. Thanks for all you do.

Coach Jacobson

4/23 update

Braves,

We saw some great performances at the meet on Friday. We had a few more state qualifiers and some more PRs. Tashena threw 99’9” in the javelin for a big PR at the end of a long meet. She had to go throw and long jump in finals well after the track events concluded. Max Dodds had an enormous PR in the 400. All season long he has been aching to break 60, and on Friday he ran 58.9 to reach his goal. It was awesome to see his hard work paying off. Even better was when we needed him for the 4x400 at the end of the day and he was willing to step in. We only have a few weeks until region and I can tell you that those other teams are out there working each day trying to win it. We have to be the team that works even harder. We have to be mentally tougher, especially as the season gets closer to ending. Now is the time to step it up, not to step back. Challenge yourselves mentally each day, not just physically. When you have thoughts that are not moving you forward, change them. Be positive, and be willing. If you can do that you will get better, and we will have a shot in May for the region title. But it is going to take the entire team being stronger mentally and physically. Each day we have to leave the track better than the day before, both physically and mentally.

Thank you for the help this week during the junior high meet. We are going to need your help once again this Wednesday as we host some more schools. I believe Millcreek and Mueller Park are both coming, so it will be fun to host two of our feeder schools. Assignments will be sent out tomorrow or Tuesday.

I know that this time of year is extremely busy for everyone. You have AP tests and other things coming due as the school year comes to a close. We understand the demands that you have by being student athletes, so we ask you to use your time wisely. Don’t procrastinate, plan ahead, avoid wasting time instead of doing your work. Put your phones away when you need to focus. How often do your check your phone in a 30 minute period when you should be doing homework? Rhetorical question, obviously, but the point is that with all the demands on your time, including track, you must use your time wisely. Plan on the junior high meet running until 7 or 8 PM (earlier if we have everyone there helping). If you have homework, bring it and do it up on the hill by the finish line, so when your help is needed for a few minutes we can ask for it, then you can go back to doing it.

Thursday there is a JV meet at Box Elder. All those not competing at the Davis invite on Saturday will be able to race there. (Bring homework for the hour long bus ride, both ways). That is a good opportunity to compete in 4 events and set some personal records. Saturday is the Davis invitational. It is one of the premier meets in the state with an excellent facility and great competition. Entries will be finalized by Wednesday and we will let you know who was able to get in. There is a strict standard and only the fastest 48 or so in the state, in each event, make it into the meet. They follow a time schedule very closely.

Plan on rain this week. Don’t just miss practice because of poor weather. Again, if you miss practice don’t plan on racing. Make sure you mark the roll each day.

Thanks for your hard work. We appreciate and recognize your hard work to make the team better. We are excited about the opportunities ahead of us. Let’s get better this week.

Coach Jacobson

2017 State Qualifiers by athlete 

Rachel Whipple 

100H 

300H

High Jump

Tashena Ashby

                Discus

Girl’s Medley Relay

Norris Tukuafu

                Shot Put

Nathan Losee

                Discus

Boy’s Medley Relay

Adam Amott

                110H

                300H

Julia Miller

                Long Jump

Kohle Newbold

                400m

Boy’s 4x100m

4/16 update

Braves,

When I went to type the subject line of 4/16, I first typed “3/” before I realized that it is April. It’s crazy how fast this season is going, and kind of sad that there is only a month left. I say sad because of how much fun we are having coaching this team. We have a special group of kids that I am extremely proud of. This team is full of good people who want to do what is best for the team. One of the most difficult things to do as a track coach is getting kids to buy into doing what is best for the team, because there is an egregious misconception that track is an “individual sport.” This belief comes from the fact that each event, excluding relays, is done by yourself. What people spreading this belief fail to realize is that each individual event is a part of a larger whole, the team.

One person cannot win a region title or state championship alone. You have to have teammates contributing as well. Obviously track is different from team sports that use a ball, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t about the team, because it is. You can hear coaches everywhere complain about kids missing practice or not wanting to work hard. To me this is a symptom of the kid not understanding that their actions affect their teammates.

It is easy to not understand how missing practices, or failing to give your best effort, might limit how high you can place at a meet – especially when that meet is a month away. So, as teammates and individuals we have to help each other understand that there is no time to be missing practice, or to give anything less than maximum effort in the remaining practices. The season is just too short to not finish what we have started. Through the first month and a half of the season we have put ourselves in excellent position. But we cannot become complacent or mentally fatigued. Let’s start fresh on Monday, get back to the drawing board, and focus on the week ahead of us. Then we will do the same over the next 4 weeks.

A small group went down to Taylorsville yesterday at competed. Of the 16 kids that competed, 15 had a PR or seasonal best in one or more of their events, and the 1 who didn’t ran the 2^nd fastest time in their life. That is a pretty awesome accomplishment. Anna Sophia started us off in the freezing temperatures with a sweet 5 second PR in the 3200m (12:11), moving her the 10^th all-time at Bountiful. Laurie quickly followed that up with a 5 second PR in the 1600m (5:30), moving her the 7^th all-time. Laurie came back and had another 3 second PR in the 800m (2:25), making her 9^th all-time in that event. (Did I mention they are both sophomores?) Laurie lead the 800m wire to wire and beat the closest runner by 2 seconds. Before her races she is shaking her hands in nervousness, during the race she is gritting her teeth in fury, and after the race you see someone who not only ran hard in the race, but has been running hard day in and day out. The PRs from these two girls didn’t just happen. PRs don’t just happen because you run a race over and over, they happen when you put in the work at practice when you could be doing something else.

Adam Amott won the 110H with a new PR (15.69) making him 11^th all time. He came back in the 300H with an enormous 2 second PR (41.51) putting him 12^th all-time, and 3^rd at the meet. Kohle ran a sweet new PR in the 400m (50.77) out in lane 8, to place 4^th, qualify for state, and to move himself into 17^th all time. The boys 4x100 managed to qualify for state by .04s., moving our total state qualifier number by time for the season up to 8 individuals and 3 relays – with many more to come. I’ve included a list of qualifiers at the end of the email.

This week is a busy one. We host a junior high meet on Wednesday, a tri meet on Thursday, and the WX invitational is Friday. Those of you not competing Friday will run hard on Thursday. Those of you competing Friday will help us run the meet on Thursday. EVERYONE is needed to help run the JH meet on Wednesday. I am in the process of giving each of you an assignment to help this thing run smoothly. It is a pain to run a meet without proper help. It is a piece of cake, and fun, if everyone does their jobs. I will send out the jobs list asap, but it will probably be Monday before practice. You’ll have fun with it, working with your teammates and watching the JH kids learn the sport. We’ll talk more about this at practice this week.

We appreciate what you are doing to contribute to our team. Let’s keep making progress towards our goal. If you feel mentally fatigued, frustrated with lack of improvement in your times/marks, talk to your coaches, rely on your teammates, keep a long term perspective. PRs don’t happen every race, even though you rightfully expect them to. More accurately you run a PR, then you run similar times 2-3 times before having another sizeable PR. That’s just how it goes, so if you are in this boat, know that you are the norm. Let it bother you just enough to make you step up your game even more in practice each day, but don’t let it nag you or hold you back.

Coach Jacobson

2017 State Qualifiers by event

100H/110H

                Rachel Whipple

                Adam Amott

300H

                Rachel Whipple

400m

                Kohle Newbold

High Jump

                Rachel Whipple

Long Jump

                Julia Miller

Shot Put

                Norris Tukuafu

Discus

                Nate Losee

                Tashena Ashby

Boy’s Medley Relay

Girl’s Medley Relay

Boy’s 4x100m

4/9 update

Braves,

We officially have 4 full weeks until the region meet. I hope you all feel renewed after this long break we’ve had and are ready to get after it starting tomorrow at practice. Thanks to those who were able to come to practice this week. We had a good group each day ready to work hard and get better, and that is exactly what we need going forward.

No matter your talent level or whether you were lazy over spring break, or if you weren’t super dedicated before spring break, we want you all to be back at practice with a new determination to get yourself and the team better.

A few things to know for the week:

    1.       We are hosting a meet on Thursday and we will need all of your help to run it. You will be competing in it, but we will need all of your help to make it run smoothly. We need each of you to stay until the end to help clean up as well. This should be a pretty fast meet with only a couple schools coming, so I do not anticipate it running late.

    2.       We will be taking the team picture for the yearbook on Wednesday at practice (if that changes I will let you know), so bring your uniform. Several people will forget the uniform and feel sheepish, don’t let that be you.

    3.       The Taylorsville invitational is on Saturday (it was not on our schedule) but we have decided to take a small group to that meet. We won’t be able to take everyone, in part because it is a qualifying meet, so we will talk to individuals on Monday. If that is something you are interested in, let your coaches know.

Every week from here on out we have an invitational: Taylorsville, woods cross, davis, then BYU. After that it is region and state. Time is going fast so let’s enjoy it while we have it. Be positive at practice, encourage your teammates, trust your coaches, go beyond the minimum, and just enjoy the journey of the season. This is when it gets fun.

Coach Jacobson

4/2 update

Braves,

These emails are increasingly more difficult to send because if I try and do it while Jack is awake he just has to be on my lap banging on the keyboard. Somehow he made all the icons on the desktop super tiny. Another time he highlighted all the text in an email and deleted it in quick succession. Luckily I could hit the undo button and it all came back.

With that in mind I am going to try and keep this short and quick. This week we raced at the district championships and a jv meet. The boys finished 3^rd, which is their highest placing since at least 2012, which is as far back as runnercard.com goes. The girls were 4^th even though they outscored the boys team.  Our teams had a great showing highlighted by some spectacular effort from each person who competed. There wasn’t a single race where it looked like you weren’t ready to compete. Some of the greatest effort races came at the JV meet. It was awesome to see some of the hard work that Kaitlyn and Emmalyn have been putting in pay off as they both PR’d by around 10 seconds in the mile. Likewise with Jared, who had a huge 4 second PR in the 400m. We loved watching them improve and show off in a race how hard they have been working all season. They epitomized what our team is about: working hard day in and day out, then seeing the pay off in the race. It isn’t realistic to have a PR after every race, but you have to put in the work to give yourself a chance to PR in every race. This week really gave us hope for our upcoming region meet, which is only a month away. We really need to take advantage of every day between now and then to give ourselves a chance to bring home the region titles.

On that note, we will be holding practice over spring break for everyone who is in town. These practices are not mandatory, obviously, with many of you being out of town. We have heard that many of you will be around one or two days during the week, and others one or two other days. For that reason we will hold a practice every day this week, Monday-Friday at 10 AM. If you are in town for any or all of those days we hope you can make it out. I know a lot of you are on vacation or out of town. To you, we encourage running every day, even if it is just a distance run, or on a hotel treadmill. Some of you will be at a place with a pool, where you can do laps or “pool running”. Where every you are during the break, be active and be careful; the last thing we want is for someone to get injured over the break.

The clothing order came in on Friday literally as I was driving to the JV meet, so I’m sorry I couldn’t get it out to you before the break. I was pretty irritated that it didn’t come earlier in the day. However, the hoodies still have not come in. I will be in my classroom tomorrow at 9:30 before practice to give out some of the clothes if you can make it. The outside door by my room will be open.

I encourage you to visit our website if you haven’t yet. There is a lot of good information there. www.bravestrack.blogspot.com

Though the season is still very young, only 4 meets in, and the bulk of the races are ahead of us, we have had 7 all-time marks for the boys, and 12 for the girls – the girls team last year has 15 marks, they are at 12 already this year. Those are some impressive numbers. If our girls continue how they are going they are going to re-write the list. We love seeing that.

Whatever you do this week, have fun, get some of those nagging injuries to heal up, and let’s return to normal practices next week ready to make a run at the region title.

Coach Jacobson

3/26 update

Braves,

This was a pretty busy with three meets in three days, even though one of them was ultimately cancelled. We took a group to the super meet at Davis high and had some outstanding performances. Invitationals like the super meet are one of the ways that athletes can qualify for state. There are two ways to qualify for state, by reaching the qualifying mark (a list of those are on our website) in a “state qualifying meet” (aka invitational) or by placing in one of the top 4 places at the region meet this may. I will include a list of who has qualified for state at the end of each update.

We had 4 individuals qualify for state this week, some in multiple events, and both our medley relay teams made it. Those medleys were some crazy races. We knew going in that each runner would need to run a personal best, or really close to it, to have a chance at qualifying. Hitting the qualifying mark this early in the year is really difficult to do, because the marks are set each year at state, when teams are stacked for great performances, based on the 8^th place team from the past few years. Are girls team, Julia, Jazmin, Rachel, and Laurie got out and competed hard. If you’ve ever seen Laurie run you won’t soon forget the expressions she makes when she is determined to lay it all out there on the track. Her determination boils over into a scowl that would intimidate Apollo Creed. I love seeing that kind of drive and competitiveness, especially when you know she is doing it for her team. All four runners ran a solid leg that gave each other a chance. They ended up beating the qualifying mark by 0.4 of a second and placing second overall.

The girls’ team ended the meet finishing 7^th of 13 in a field composed of 1 other 4A school amongst 5A schools. The boys’ medley, Cooper, Hunter, Kohle, and Dallin, was almost the exact same story. We needed solid performances from each runner and that is exactly what we got. After Dallin got the baton, his first lap did not put us on pace to hit the mark, but with 300m to go he turned on the burners, leaving the field in the dust and blowing by 2^nd place Davis to win the event, negative splitting his 800 (63-61) and saw his team through the line, making the qualifying mark by 0.25 of a second.

The relays were highlights of the meet because of the effort of each teammate, and also the enthusiasm of the teammates who were there in support. I love seeing our team excited for each other. It shows that we are about something bigger than ourselves and that we are in this together.

Our first invitational of the season is passed, with many more to go. As we look over the results we see the potential of a region championship for both the boys and the girls. We have a solid core, but it is going to take more from each one of us. We have athletes that are projected to finish 10^th, or 7^th in an event. We need to put in the work now to turn those into 8^th place and 4^th place and get those lower level points to give us a bump up. What we do today determines where we will finish tomorrow. As cliché and obvious as that is, I worry that some of us don’t get that, or lack the foresight to understand what it takes. Help your teammates when it looks like they are struggling in practice. Keep after them and lift them up when needed. Stay positive even when you don’t feel it. Enter the stadium each day determined to give all you can. When you walk onto the track you should already know the effort level you’re going to give.

A few things to know for this week:

Practice on Monday will be at 10 AM for runners and jumpers. Throwers will meet at 2 PM. Girls can pick up their new uniforms in my classroom after practice. Bring the old one to exchange it.

The district championships are on Tuesday and Wednesday. Entries will be finalized on Monday night. As with every invitational, if you have been missing practice, do not expect to be invited to the meet. If you don’t train with the team how can we let you race with the team? I said this to my sprinters but I will say it here too: people who come to practice every day but don’t score a point at any meet contribute more to our team than someone who rarely comes but wins region. Your contribution to the team has little or nothing to do with the points you score. It has everything to do with what you bring to it each day in terms of attitude, effort, and commitment. On that note, Thursday’s turnout to practice was horrible. Thank you to those who came and were ready to work hard in spite of the conditions. Each of you got better physically and mentally. Unfortunately there were a lot of people who went home and got weaker. That cannot be what our team is about. Teams don’t get better or win championships when we are afraid of the rain. It snowed for a solid 5 minutes of practice, and then the rain stopped after about 20. It’s days like Thursday that make us wonder if we understand how close region is this year. If we are going to win it is going to take us working at the next level. We are not the favorites to win it, but we have the personnel to do it.  We have to be mentally stronger if we are going to have a chance. Keep in mind that spring weather in Utah is going to have its ups and downs. We will have perfect weather at some races, and torrential rain storms at others. It seems like the bigger the meet, the worse the weather, so we better start getting used to it.

That being said, our team isn’t about condemning someone the rest of the year because they made a bad choice one day (probably Thursday) to miss practice. Each one of you is a valued member of the team. Your contribution isn’t based on one day, if it was then you could have one awesome practice and call it good. It is based on what we do day after day. So even if you felt my rebuke was aimed at you, it’s ok, come this week ready to start fresh and get better. That is the last I will say specifically about Thursday’s practice.

We will send out an email tomorrow with information of who is going to the district meet and when the bus leaves. Some of the distance runners who were entered in the meet had to be changed based on number limitations and practice attendance, so be aware of that.

Those who do not run at the district meet are still welcome to come support. There will be a jv meet on Thursday or Friday, at bhs or davis, and I will let you know as soon as I know the details. Everyone who does not race at district will be invited to that meet.

Let me know if you have any questions.

3/19 update

Braves,

The season is underway and we had an excellent showing at the first meet of the season on Thursday. There were a lot of good things that happened and we opened the season about as good as we could have hoped, which is encouraging as we move into the first few state qualifying meets of the season. Here are a few notes from the meet on Thursday:

·         We had 86 athletes compete in the meet on Thursday; 44 girls and 42 boys. Last year we had only had 34 girls on our roster. I love seeing the girls team growing as it is in a school where historically we have had small teams. That’s changing

·         If my memory is correct we won the 100/110H, 300H, 400m, 4x400m Discus, Javelin, and Shot put on both the boys and girls sides.

·         Both teams won the meet by over 20 points without running medleys or 4x100s.

·         We had 9 4x400m teams at the end of the meet, which is a record that we want to improve on at some of the other small meets that we have.

Those are some good TEAM accomplishments because it shows the direction that we are heading in and the potential we have on the season. We are off to a good start, but that’s all it is: a start. All of this will mean nothing if we can’t build on it. We are a long way from region and state and we have a lot we need to improve on if we are going to give ourselves a shot of winning region. I can guarantee that each one of the teams that we saw on Thursday have a number of areas that they were holding back in, similar to us, so we cannot become over confident. There are a lot of strong teams in our region that we haven’t faced yet so we need to get a lot better between now and May. We have to bring the intensity to practice every day so that we can put ourselves in the position to compete for a region title in May.

Moving ahead to this week, we have a couple of meets on the schedule. On Tuesday and Wednesday we have the super meet at Davis High. The girls compete Tuesday and the boys compete Wednesday. This is a state qualifying meet and an invitational, so not everyone will be able to compete at this meet. On Thursday there is a JV meet at Box Elder. Everyone who didn’t compete at the super meet will compete at the JV meet on Thursday. We will let you know if you are going to the super meet by Monday, but if you are welcome to ask me if you can’t wait until Monday. Some of you are on the fence so I may not be able to tell you with complete certainty until Monday. With all the meets this week we have limited days of practice this week so we can’t be missing practice.

I know some of you have a choir commitment on Tuesday night (is it also Wednesday night?). Please email me ASAP and tell me if you are in the choir so that we can enter you in the events. This is a meet where we will enter you online before the meet.

Some of you who were on the fence of going to the Super meet didn’t show up for practice on Friday, so that makes our decision much easier. Again, we can’t be missing practice and then expect to race. We have been doing much better this season than last in terms of coming to practice each day, and we appreciate your efforts in being there each day on time. There are still too many people missing practice any given day. We need to stop making excuses to miss practice and start making excuses to go to practice. Most of you are there each day and I can’t tell you how much better it makes our lives as coaches to have kids we can count on day in and day out to be on time ready to work hard. Thank you for making are lives easier.

Let’s get ready to work this week and understand that we are off to a good start, but if we don’t continue to get better it won’t mean anything. Remember to email me if you are in the choir Tuesday night.

Coach Jacobson