Braves,
Even with the crazy snow storm and the terribly plowed roads
in Ogden we still had a great turn out to the meet. I realize many of you were
not able to make it to the meet because of the weather, and we completely
understand. I appreciate those of you who were able to let me know that you
weren’t going to make it. Week after week we are impressed with the
improvements that we see, but even more so by the effort. As long as you
compete with maximum effort, you are going to get better, and that is the purpose
of indoor. I know some of you are disappointed that you had a slower time or
shorter mark that you wanted, but even in the bad performances you can get
better and learn from the experience. Furthermore, it is not realistic to
expect to PR every race. It is more realistic to run similar times for several
weeks before making a big improvement. If you are improving, or even seeing
your times be similar each week, then you are probably doing something right. I
have no doubt that with the work we are putting in as a team, that we will
continue to see improvements over the last month of the indoor season.
It is crazy to think that we are halfway through our indoor
season. We officially have 3 meets left. This week, 2/10, and Simplot. This
week is the last of the “typical” meets. After this one then we have a Friday
night meet and Simplot. I’m honestly sad to see it going to quickly because we
have been having a ton of fun coaching this group. It’s fun to have kids who
are dedicated and have enough vision and determination to get better to run
several races throughout the day and then still be willing to run a relay at
the end of the meet. I think Abby can tell you that it is not easy to go PR in
the mile and then turn around and run a 4x800 a few minutes later, but that is
what it takes to make ourselves and our team better. Hunter and Dodds had spent
Friday night and all Saturday at the track, and would have ran the relay if we
had needed a spot. It’s that willingness that makes our team better as well.
Honestly, you can look at any number of our athletes and find examples of
making themselves and our team better; from our seniors all the way down to our
freshmen (and 8th grader, shout out to Ethan).
Few things make your coaches prouder than seeing you support
your teammates when they are racing, and being happy for their success. One
person’s success is all of our success. On this team we are invested in each
other and want to support, encourage, and push each other. I love seeing that
concept in action at practices and at the meets. With only a few weeks left in
the season I hope we can continue to build on that.
This week we will be competing at the Olympic Oval in Kearns
this meet is considered the Indoor State Championships, even though it is not
the final meet of the year. They call it that because it is the only indoor
meet that is actually scored, and a trophy is given to the team winner. There
will also be medals for the top six finishers. Registration will be done online
similar to the BYU meet. Check it is also very similar with a bull pen near the
finish line. Registration closes on WEDNESDAY so it is imperative that you have
that completed by then or you will not be racing. On Tuesday we will establish
who will be running in the relays. We will pay for and register the relay
entries, but each individual will pay for and register their own individual
events. Registration for the meet, as well as the schedule of events is at this
website http://www.runnercard.com/e/runner.Main?meet=1000947
When you register for the meet make sure that you click the
team box, and type in “Bountiful Braves”
This meet is done on Friday night and Saturday. The field
events, 1600m, 400m, and 4x800 are all competed on FRIDAY night. The rest of
the events are done on Saturday. We want as many sprinters/hurdlers as possible
to run the 400 on Friday, and distance runners to do the 1600 and/or 4x800.
Night meets are a blast, especially when we get a good group out competing hard
and supporting each other.
A few bits of information regarding the meet: allegedly,
only 3/16th pyramid spikes are allowed, but in the past they haven’t
checked individual shoes. In the event they are cracking down on that this
year, I will go buy a bunch of the correct spikes for you to use this week.
Parking is on the south side of the building. Our group spot will be near the
finish line at the top of the turn. Once again, registration is done online.
See our website for pictures from yesterday’s meet www.bravestrack.blogspot.com I
may not have the link made available until tomorrow due to ongoing internet
struggles on account of the move.
We have been putting in great work over the month of
January, let’s finish this month right with another great meet. We will be
trying to break some school records in relays this week so let’s prepare well
enough this week that we are sharp and ready to run on Friday and Saturday. I
will send another email on Tuesday with further details for the meet.
Coach Jacobson
