Indoor Track 2020

Braves,

The first meeting for indoor track will be 12/10 in the BHS commons, next to the cafeteria, at 2:40 - junior high kids will meet at 3:15. Indoor track is a club sport (meaning not part of the UHSAA), which means we can have kids from grades 7-12 join us. If you are interested in joining us please sign up through the following link: Sign Up Here

Indoor track has been a huge part of our team success over the past 4 seasons, and we look forward to improving even more as a team and reaching new heights. The goal of indoor track is to create a unified team that is a positive and enjoyable experience for all involved, and improve your speed, endurance, strength, and technique.

There will be practices for Sprints, Hurdles, Throws, Jumps, and Distance.

We will meet Monday-Friday each week (2:40 for HS kids, 3:15 for JH, except Friday due to early out). For those coming from the junior high, we use the "remind" app to let them know where to go when they get to the school.

They call it "Indoor Track" because the races are indoors. Whenever possible we will be outside for training. Depending on weather and days of the week we will be in the school, on the track, in the field house, or on the roads near the school.

In January and February we will compete at BYU, Weber State, the Olympic Oval (2-3 times), and Idaho State. The official schedule will be on this website when it is available.

The fee for the indoor season is $75, which covers participation in practices (30+ practices) and a singlet with our logo to wear at meets ($20 value). There are meet entry fees (usually between $5 and $15) that each athlete will pay on their own - due to the sport being club each venue charges a different amount, and charges athletes individually.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at bjacobson@dsdmail.net, or come find me in room 502, or Coach Munk in the counseling office.

Coach Jacobson

4/14 update

Braves,

We had some great performances over the past week at our meet at home and in Ogden. Thank you to all of you who helped out at the meet on Thursday, it made our lives much easier. Over the past week I was reminded many times what this sport is all about, and why we do what we do.

As with any sport, it isn’t about winning or proving something to ourselves, but rather the journey that each of us goes on together. Of course we do the best we can to be our best, and we compete to win, because those things are enjoyable and enhance the experience, but winning in and of itself does not make the experience valuable. What makes the experience valuable is what we do each day to become better athletes, better teammates, better friends, better people, etc. It’s the journey that is valuable, not the results. The journey includes hard work, daily striving to improve, and determination to reach our goals, but ultimately it isn’t the time or mark that you hit that determines your experience, but rather what you did to get there. Without goals to work towards we would miss out on opportunities for growth and improvement, so we must set goals and work deliberately to achieve them, but always remember to enjoy the journey and appreciate the relationships and experiences that you build along the way. This week, as we host the Junior High meet and travel to other meets, I encourage you to pause and enjoy this journey that we are on together.

We have officially reached the heart of the season, where we have JV meets during the week and varsity meets on the weekends. Those varsity races vary in terms of how many individuals can be entered. Some allow 4 per event, while others are capped at a certain number per team, while others still allow a certain number per event.

This weekend at the Davis Invitational, only those who make the cutoff will be able to race. The cutoff is determined by the entries of each school. They take something like the fastest 50 entries. Meaning, if the time you are entered with happens to be in the top 50 of all other athletes entered, then you will be able to compete. I entered everyone with a mark into the meet, and we will find out tomorrow who of those will make it.

This week is jam packed. On Wednesday we will be hosting Mueller Park, Millcreek, Bountiful, and Centerville Junior Highs for a meet on our track. We will need everyone’s help to make this meet happen!!!  There are going to be over 400 kids competing; we simply cannot get this done effectively or efficiently without all of your help. Those who elect not to help will be pulled from the meets Thursday and/or Saturday – that’s how seriously we need your help. This is the most challenging day of the year for us coaches trying to organize a mass of Junior High kids new to the sport, so we need your help to make sure they have a positive experience and we can get the meet done efficiently and accurately. I will email out assignments for the meet tomorrow, so you will all know exactly what you need to do. We will be taking our team picture for the yearbook at the conclusion of the meet on Wednesday.

On Thursday, there is a JV meet at Box Elder. Only those not competing at Davis will be allowed to go. We will be entering you in your events for this meet. Talk to your event coaches if you are unable to attend.

Let’s get better as a team this week, by making sure we have quality practices in spite of the rain. Come to practice determined to help your teammates have a positive experience and to improve.

Side note, my preferred mode of communication for track related items is via email. It helps me stay organized and I can easily see if I have replied and addressed what I need to, so if you need to ask a question or let me know something, just send me an email.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Coach Jacobson

4/7 update

Braves,

I hope you enjoyed your spring break and are ready to roll. The heart of the season is upon us and is going to start going very rapidly.

We have meets this week on Thursday, here at Bountiful, and Saturday at Ogden High School. All are welcome to participate Thursday, but talk to your event coach about what events you will be in. Saturday, we are limited to 4 people per event. Please let me know TODAY if you are unable to go to the meet on Saturday.

The meet Thursday begins at 3:30, and Saturday begins at 10 AM. There will not be a bus to the meet on Saturday. You will need to find your own way to and from the meet.

As always, you need to be at practice, be academically eligible, have your citizenship cleared, and have completed register my athlete to be able to compete this week.

Looking forward to a great day of practice.

Here is the order of events on Saturday. Field events will have 1 attempt marked, and then every attempt thereafter will only be marked if it clears the marks listed below.

10:00- Girls Shot Put (25’), followed by boys (33’)

Girls Javelin (70’), followed by boys (90’)

Girls Long Jump (12’), followed by boys (17’)

Boys High Jump (5’0), followed by girls (4’0)

Boys Discus (90’), followed by girls (70’)

10:00- Running Events, girls first followed by boys.  Timed finals, fastest heat first. We will use a rolling schedule, have your athletes listen for calls.

Medley Relay

100m/110m Hurdles

100m Dash

1600m Run

4x100m Relay

400m Dash

300m Hurdles

800m Run

200m Dash

3200m Run

4x400m Relay

Thanks,

Coach Jacobson

3/24 update

Braves,

We finally got our first official meet in and we were very pleased with the support you offered your teammates. Track is fun when you compete as hard as you can and you support your teammates when they are competing. It is a pretty simple formula. Of course, that doesn’t only apply to the meets, but it applies to practices as well.

We have a strong team this season, both boys and girls, but it is so early in the season it is hard to tell just how good we are going to be. Frankly, it is up to us. We have the talent and we have the people, but there is one obvious thing that is going to hold us back if we don’t improve in that area. The only thing that will make our team good, rather than great, is individuals missing practices.  

There are a lot of you who have missed practice for a week straight, or several weeks, and you may now be on the fence about wanting to come back or quit all together. If you are on the fence, I encourage you to return. Everyone deserves a fresh start, and as far as I’m concerned, if you haven’t been coming but you start coming regularly it will be as if you’ve been here all along. As always, we simply want to get better every day. If we haven’t been doing that, let’s start now.

This week we will be competing at the Davis District Championships at Syracuse High. The meet schedule is outlined at the end of this email. We are limited on the number of entries allowed per event so unfortunately not everyone will be able to compete in all of their events. We are, however, allowed to enter unlimited numbers of 4x400m and 4x800m relay teams. If you are someone is who isn’t entered, or is only in one or two events, we will enter you in one of those relays so you get a chance to race at this highly competitive meet. Entries will be finalized Monday after practice, so if you know you cannot go, please let your event coach know asap so we don’t use one of the limited entries on someone who won’t be able to make it.

I will email out the excuse time and bus departure time on Tuesday, along with the entries so you know what events you are entered in.

This is our final week before spring break, so let’s make it a great one. This is one of my favorite meets of the year. Looking forward, we will practice on a few late mornings (like 10 AM) over spring break for those of you who are in town.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Wednesday, March 27

3:00 Boys DISCUS

Boys HIGH JUMP (5'06")

Boys POLE VAULT (8'10")

Girls SHOT PUT

Girls LONG JUMP

Girls JAVELIN

3:15 Girls 100m HURDLES trials

3:20 Boys110m HURDLES trials

3:25 Girls 100m DASH trials

3:30 Boys 100m DASH trials

3:35 Boys 1600m RUN final

3:50 Girls 400m DASH trials

4:00 Boys 400m DASH trials

4:10 Girls 300m HURDLES trials

4:20 Boys 300m HURDLES trials

4:30 Girls 3200m RUN finals

4:55 Girls 200m DASH trials

5:10 Boys 200m DASH trials

5:20 Girls 4x800m RELAY final

5:35 Boys 4x800m RELAY final

Thursday, March 28

3:00 Boys JAVELIN

Boys LONG JUMP

Boys SHOT PUT

Girls DISCUS

Girls HIGH JUMP (4'05")

Girls POLE VAULT (6'06")

3:15 Girls 100m HURDLES final

3:20 Boys 110m HURDLES final

3:25 Girls 100m DASH final

3:30 Boys 100m DASH final

3:35 Girls 1600m RUN final

3:50 Girls 4x100m RELAY final

3:50 Boys 4x100m RELAY final

4:00 Girls 400m DASH final

4:05 Boys 400m DASH final

4:10 Girls 300m HURDLES final

4:15 Boys 300m HURDLES final

4:20 Girls 800m RUN final

4:30 Boys 800m RUN final

4:40 Girls MEDLEY RELAY final

4:50 Boys MEDLEY RELAY final

5:00 Girls 200m DASH final

5:05 Boys 200m DASH final

5:10 Boys 3200m RUN final

5:30 Girls 4x400m RELAY final

5:40 Boys 4x400m RELAY final

5:50 Girls 4x400m Exhibition RELAY

6:00 Boys 4x400m Exhibition RELAY

6:10 Presentation of Team and MVP Awards

3/17 update

Braves,

Our first official meet is going to be this coming Thursday at Box Elder. All who are eligible through grades and have completed register my athlete are welcome to go. Registration is done by the coaches, online, so I need to know who is and isn’t able to go. We will talk about that at practice this week.

We will be practicing tomorrow, although this is no school, at 2:30 PM. We need to continue to improve and get better every day.

There are a few on this email list who have stopped coming to practices, and in many cases you missed a few practices and then didn’t come back because you were embarrassed or something. I urge you to come back and be a part of the team. None of us are going to be perfect, and we all have our own flaws, we simply need to strive to be better each day. Even if you’ve missed most of the practices, but a part of you still wants to do track, we want you with us.

There are two months left in the season. It is going to go by fast. We start having at least 1 meet per week and it really makes for a quick season, so please enjoy each day with your teammates, make the most of each practice by getting better and making it a positive experience for those around you.

Next week, not this week, we will be going to Syracuse for the District Championship meet. We are only allowed a few entries per event so we need to get times and marks for as many of you as possible at Box Elder this week so we can make decisions for relays, and individual entries, so I hope you all can make it – although I know there is a choir conflict.

Looking forward to a great week with improved weather. Let me know if you have any questions.

Coach Jacobson

3/11 update

Braves,

The alumni meet turned into quite the experience when it started snowing a few minutes before we were slated to start. It turned out to be amazing because of it. After it became a huge snow storm we told the team before the mile that if you needed to go home due to the weather then you were free to do so (the roads were bad and some weren’t prepared with the proper attire for the cold). Even still we had over 30 people fight through the snow, compete, and support their teammates which made for a very memorable experience. It shows me that we have a group that is passionate about their sport and their team if they are willing to do that in such conditions. Check out our Instagram to see the pictures of the meet @bravestrackandxc. The Antarctic-mile and 5x400 relays were pretty awesome, and the 100m dash in the freshly fallen snow were unforgettable experiences for me. I love seeing that kind of heart and passion from each of you who were there.

Moving forward, we need to be prepared for rainy and cold conditions. Spring in Utah makes for a lot of rainy meets and practices. Official track meets will be cancelled if there is snow like that, and we will practice inside in the future with snow everywhere, but if it is rainy and cold then the meets and practices will go on as usual. Get in the habit of checking the weather so you know how to dress for practices and for meets. Dress warmer than necessary, with layers, so you are warm and dry in spite of the weather. I don’t want anyone out there freezing, so please, come prepared with the proper attire, like a rain jacket, that still enables you to run.

The good thing about bad weather is that it develops mental toughness, which is a key attribute of individual and team success in track and field. If we let rain keep us from practicing then we don’t get better. It’s all about getting better every day and supporting your teammates, and in my opinion, poor weather accelerates that process by increasing mental toughness at a faster rate than balmy weather.

Our first official meet is going to be Thursday at our track. All who are eligible with grades, citizenship, and register my athlete will be competing, and we will need everyone’s help to run the meet, by moving hurdles, helping time, etc. You must have registered through registermyathlete.com before being allowed to compete. I will have a list at practice tomorrow of those who still need to finish it. I recommend getting it started TODAY, it only takes a few minutes and will make my and your life much easier.

Please come up to the track immediately after school on Thursday to help set up for the meet. If it is snowing the meet will be cancelled, but knowing Utah weather it could snow all day and then stop and melt a few minutes later, so that call will be made between 12-2, most likely around 12:30 so we can notify the other schools. I will send out an email if the meet is cancelled. If it is cancelled then we will still be practicing, inside if there is snow on the track, or outside if it has melted.

Continue to encourage and support your teammates. This week I want you to focus on helping your teammates get better and have a positive experience; think less about yourself during each workout and more about each other. I’ve said this many times: being a great teammate is more important than being a great athlete. Let’s live that more fully this week.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Coach Jacobson

2/4 update

Braves,

Another meet is in the books and we are down to our last one, aside from Simplot, this coming Friday. There were a lot of great performances this weekend with some gritty PRs and kids laying it all out there, tumbling across the line, screaming out their shot puts, and so forth. Last week at the Oval we had 94 PRs, which is simply an incredible number. This week at Weber we had much fewer, for a variety of reasons.

The reality of track and field, and life for that matter, is that not every attempt will be a personal best. Some days are better than others, and any given day you can come up with a host of excuses, but ultimately none of them matter. What matters is that we strive to get better every day. That doesn’t mean that we will be perfect at it, and of course we won’t be, but it’s in the striving that we maximize our potential, and make the journey fulfilling. One thing that I want all of us to understand is it is ok to have a bad race, attempt, or day.

One race/attempt will not define you, whether it was a great race or a bad one. Every single great athlete and person in history has had bad days. The bad days teach us the most, way more than good days, and without them you will never be as good as you otherwise would be. Accept the reality of having a bad day, and appreciate them, because they are the best coaches and teachers. It’s ok to have a bad day, it’s ok to be disappointed by it, but let it motivate rather than discourage you. Let’s be sure to lift each other up when you know a teammate had a poor day, make sure they know that it’s just another opportunity to find ways to improve. Your talent and worth will never be measured by a single race, but by what you do every single day at practice to make yourself, and more importantly, your teammates better. This is long journey that we are on that won’t conclude until May. Bad days will come and go, so let’s make sure we respond to each of them by striving to get better each day.

The information for the meet on Friday at the Olympic Oval can be found at https://utahlastchance.blogspot.com/

You can find the schedule there. Registration will be at the meet ($5 per athlete (covers all events)). They just adjusted the events, making the 400m an elite race rather than open, so many of you will not be able to compete in that as previously planned. Talk to your event coaches about what event to do. Note that there are not any relays.

For those who turned in a form for Simplot, plan on an email this week with further information.

Let me know what questions you may have.

Coach Jacobson

1/13 update

Braves,

There is a lot of important information in this email regarding registration for the meet next week, which is somewhat complicated so please read the instructions carefully and let me know if you have any questions at all. Look at the registration process as soon as possible so if you run into any trouble you can ask me about it before the registration deadline.

Yesterday at the Olympic oval was a huge success (results can be found at http://utahdistancechallenge.blogspot.com/  except they omitted Laurie’s 11:16 and Trish’s 11:49 3200m 1-2 finish). We had around 80 of you there competing in 115 races, give or take. That is far and away a new record for Bountiful High, and I hope we continue to grow and get better. I’ve said many times that we find strength in numbers, and all of our experiences are better because of each one of you.

There were a ton of highlights from the meet. So many of our runners had new PRs, (personal records, PB = personal best, SB = seasonal best), which is exactly what we are working for every day, just keep getting better. Particularly among our freshman and sophomore milers, there were some huge improvements from last year, so much so that some of them were honestly shocked they could run that fast. Caitlin, of course, was not surprised by the times, knowing full well what you are capable of. A difficult aspect of coaching is getting our athletes to believe what we already know. I hope you all learn to believe in yourselves a little bit more. Believing you can reach new heights is crucial to being your best. Believe in yourself, trust your training, and compete. Don’t worry about the competition, or where you line up, or anything else outside of your control. Just believe and run hard.  

The meet was littered with great performances from each of you, with huge PRs in the mile, 800, and 400. A few of our freshman, Sarah and Keaton, ran some pretty great 400 times (63 and 55), and Sarah followed that up with a 2:37 800, which was pretty awesome. Two other runners who really stood out to me were Bodie and Keri, both of whom have been very dedicated this season and had some strong times, I remember yelling for Keri to pass someone and she immediately turned on the burners and went right around them, on the turn. I love that kind of fire. Of the 4 girls events yesterday, Laurie won two of them. Jace defended his win last year with yet another meet record in the 400. Two years ago Laurie ran the 1600m at this meet in 5:40. Yesterday, in the 3200m, she ran the first mile in 5:39, and the second in 5:36. That is incredible. She has worked incredibly hard over the years. To say she must be a naturally talented runner would be an insult to the amount of work and miles she has put in over the years. Is she talented? Of course, but her hard work is what makes her great.

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. I’m guessing it will end around 5 (it was 4 pm last year with an hour earlier start) but it may go later.

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 Monday) about what events you should be doing. Coach Caitlin can be reached at cpjacobson19@gmail.com. Registration closes on Thursday (actually Friday morning at 8 AM, but who wants to stress about it in the morning?), 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 9 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.

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

Coach Jacobson

Registration: https://www.runnercard.com/e/runner.Main?meet=1002223  

              Click on “register” at the top of the page.

              Click on “individual sign up” on the left half of the page

                             Do not create a runnercard account. You are doing something wrong if you make one.

              Don’t sign up for relays, we will take care of that.

Meet info: http://www.byutrack.com/various/Special/Meet_Info/2018-19/BYUHSIndoor/Coug-HSIN19.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

12/30 update

Braves,

I hope you have been enjoying your break, and that you will continue to do so for the next few days. We will be back to school and to practice on Wednesday, with only 7 practice sessions before our first meet on 1/11 at the Olympic Oval – information for that meet is attached here. This is a smaller meet in terms of events, as it does not contest field, short sprints, or relays. Throwers will have opportunities down the road, this meet just has a facility and time issue so they don’t contest everything, unfortunately.

I am looking forward to what the new year will bring, as I hope you are as well. At the very least, the turn of the calendar offers an opportunity for reflection and rededication. I invite you all to take a few minutes before Tuesday to think of 3 things you did well in 2018 and 1-3 things you would like to do better in 2019. This isn’t a resolution exercise, but one that I think should accompany our reflection after every practice, and every day. The exact exercise came from Jared Ward’s sports psychologist who said to think of 3 things you did well in a race/workout, and 1 thing you would like to do better. As I’ve repeatedly said, the process of continually trying to improve ourselves is what makes the journey satisfying, but we should also pause to recognize how that striving has made us better. I’m excited about this team; there is a different feel to this team than ones in the past, and it is something exciting.

I leave you with a short article from world renowned coach Steve Magness called What Holds Us Back from Performing to Our Capabilities? Our Self.

He discusses how we hold ourselves back and some of the tactics we employ in an effort to protect our ego. The same principles he describes here are found in many aspects of life, be it athletics, education, or professional spaces. My hope is that we don’t attach performances to our self-worth so we can work to improve without feeling like we let ourselves or others down with a poor performance. If we can see our performances as something we do, rather than who we are, then we are able to legitimately analyze it and make plans to improve.

Enjoy the next few days, looking forward to getting back at it on Wednesday.

Coach Jacobson