1/29 update

Braves,

We had a fantastic few days at the Olympic Oval. There were numerous indoor school records set, and most of the team saw a PR in one event or another. We are impressed with how hard we have been able to work week in and week out, and feel we are laying a solid foundation for the rest of this season. I came away from the weekend with raised expectations for our team and what we can accomplish moving forward. We have a lot of work to be done before we can accomplish any of our team goals, which include region titles, but we are closer to them today than we were at the beginning of the week. As I have said previously I appreciate what each of you adds to our team in terms of work ethic, attitude, and dedication.

There is quite a bit to cover in the email so please read the information carefully. I will cover the plan for this week and Simplot, among other things.

We do not have a meet this week. As a result we will be able to do some things in practice that we haven’t been able to in a while. Come prepared to work hard and step up the intensity of our training. We only have three more weeks of training during the indoor season so now is the time to take advantage of what we have. On Friday of this week, 2/3, we will have a team party in my classroom after school. We will get some pizza and some other snacks, play games, we’ll do a super smash brothers tournament using my projector and screen, and just kind of hang out for a couple hours instead of practice. Though we aren’t at the end of the season by any means, this is the last off weekend we have before our outdoor practices begin so this is a good opportunity to have our team party.

Random note- I have been wanting to get some 10 gallon buckets (or bigger) so we can have our athletes ice their shins in them after practice when they have shin splint pain. We have an ice machine and can put water in them and it would be great to treat some of these aches and pains. If any of you have an extra bucket or two lying around and have no need for it and would like to donate it to our cause, we would be very grateful. I know that is a unconventional request but I think it would really benefit our athletes.

Simplot – I have attached a document to this email with some of the information about Simplot. Please read it and talk about it and see if it would be something that interests you (as either an athlete or a parent). I will try to explain here what the Simplot games are, and what the trip will be like, and why we think it is an awesome experience. The dates are 2/16-2/18.

The Simplot games are a nationally renowned meet competed at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho. They have an indoor track that is banked on the turns inside of Holt Arena, which is their football stadium which triples as a basketball arena and track facility. I went three times when I was in high school, and it was one of the most fun events that I did. We went up last year with a small group of kids and I believe feel like it was a large reason for our team’s success at region and state later in the season. The meet is an excellent opportunity to compete against and see some of the fastest runners in the country and spend a fun few days with your teammates. Essentially we head up on Thursday after school then return home on Saturday evening. Some distance races are competed Thursday, along with the trials in the sprint and mid distance events on Friday. Saturday is an all final day and is an awesome day to spend at the track watching some of the fastest kids in the country. Qualifying for finals is a difficult task, but one that I am confident that several of our athletes could do, including multiple relays.

We have reserved some rooms near the arena and want to take as many athletes as we can so that we can build this tradition at BHS. The spaces are limited however so we need to get an idea of who is interested, but we will have to be selective as we fill out our relays. Priority will be given to athletes who have consistently been at practice and the meets.

Athletes – please respond print, fill out, and return the form that I have attached here by Wednesday if you are interested in attending the Simplot games.

We are hoping to save a few rooms for parents who are interested in going and helping shuttle athletes to and from the meet. (Unfortunately the cost of rooms would not be covered completely for parents, but we can talk about that if you have questions. We would try and compensate one way or another). We will also need a few parents who are willing to drive athletes up to Pocatello on Thursday, and some to return on Saturday to bring them home. Coach Caitlin, Munk, and myself will be driving, but we anticipate needing more parents to shuttle.

Parents – if you are interested in driving athletes to or from the meet, please email me and I can answer further questions. If you are interested in staying in Pocatello, I will see if we have some rooms left over for you to use, I do anticipate having a few available.

After we have the official count of athletes who are interested, we will send out official invitations this weekend. We will have a meeting for all athletes going to Simplot, and parents who are transporting (if they can make the meeting) one day after practice the following week (meaning at least 10 days before the trip). I will be sending out follow up requests for parents later this week as we determine how many athletes we will be taking.

This is a track trip, not a trip to go party or get in to trouble. Our number one priority will be safety, followed by our competitions. Athletes will be expected to be in their assigned rooms at lights out and be courteous to their teammates who are also wanting to compete. I will get phone numbers for the parents/guardians of each athlete attending. Because of the complexity of the meet as well we will only take athletes in whom we have trust to do what they are supposed to do. What makes this trip fun is competing at an incredible meet with top athletes, and spending time with and supporting your teammates.

I realize that this is a lot of information, and I probably have not conveyed my vision to you perfectly, so if you have questions please ask. I totally understand that this is new for many of you, and the information is not always super clear.

Thanks for all that you do; I look forward to your questions regarding simplot.

Coach Jacobson

1/22 update

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 8^th 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 3/16^th 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

1/15

Braves,

In the update from last week I talked about how successful our week was, and I asked each of you to do it again this week so we can stack good weeks on top of each other. This week of practice was as good or better than last week, as was the meet. Our challenge will be to do the same thing this week, even with a short week.

As I said in the email that I sent out on Friday, Thursday’s practice was one of the best that I have been around at Bountiful High. There was intensity and support, drive and excellent effort. For the most part, that carried over to the meet on Saturday which had some great performances, PRs and seasonal bests, and most of our team got better. There were many kids that came up and did more than the 3 events we asked, some even did five. That effort now is going to help you be successful this May. At the end of the day we had 4 relay teams. Almost every other relay team at the meet was from out of state, and had hotel rooms in town so they were going to be stuck until the end anyway. Our group of kids chose to stay until the end of a long day so they could run with each other and get better.

It is that type of energy and commitment that we need to bring each day and week so we can create the culture and program that will be successful this year and over time. The difference from this indoor season from last (our first official indoor team at BHS) is enormous. We are floored with how much better the commitment has been, how much better the energy is, the support from teammates is, and the list could continue. Each of you has a part in making our team better. Ultimately when our team improves, you will also be better; when you become better, then our team improves. The term “better” in this context doesn’t just mean in time, height, or distance, but as a person, friend, teammate, student, and even the experience that your teammates have. The question that is left to be asked by each of us is, are we adding to the positivity, energy, and commitment of this team? Are we part of the solution, or part of the problem? There is no middle ground, either we are making the team better (again, in terms of the experience of our teammates have, and our culture) or are we inhibiting our improvement. Being part of the solution has nothing to do with your physical abilities. You can be the slowest runner but still be contributing to our team in huge ways, or a state champion athlete and still be hurting our team if you don’t contribute to building the culture.

Again, we want each of you to be contributing members. We need each of you. So this week, let’s ask ourselves what we can do to help our team. We are lucky to have a great group of kids, but none of us are perfect. No matter where we are or what we have done we can all find at least one thing we can do better to help our team and culture continue to grow. The growth from last year is enormous, which shows us that this group is special, and capable of even more. Let’s be better this week, and stack another successful week on top of the last two.

This week we will not practice on Monday as there is no school. Get a run in and ice any nagging injuries you may have. There is no school Tuesday, but we have received permission to practice at 8 AM on Tuesday morning. We will meet on the third floor. Throwers will meet at 9. We will make it a good practice that will be worth your time, but it won’t be super long, so you can have the day to spend as you wish.

The meet this week is at Weber State. The field events are done on Friday night, with everything else done on Saturday. The registration and organization is similar to USU, except the bull pen is more like BYU. Pay at the meet at but check in the bull pen like BYU. Weber hires legitimate officials to run the meet so they shouldn’t take as long as USU, who couldn’t figure out how to efficiently start the races. I don’t know how long the meet will go, but it couldn’t be longer than USU right? J More information will be given on this meet during the week.

The pictures from USU meet are online so you can go look at them.

Thank you for all you are doing. We are lucky to have such a solid group of young women and men to work with. Let’s continue to get better.

Coach Jacobson 

1/8 update

Braves,

I don’t exactly know where to start. We are incredibly excited about this team because of the group that we have right now. I want to highlight a few things from yesterday.

·         We had more relay teams at the meet than every other team, combined. That tells me that we have a dedicated group who is willing to work hard for each other. That is a huge component to a successful team

·         Many of you were at the arena for 8+ hours, and through it all I never once heard someone complain about the time, the difficulty of the races, or anything else. Thank you for your positivity. As a coach we love seeing that because positivity is a precursor to improvement, and as a human being I appreciate it because complaining is exhausting. You helped make my life easier, and you made the experiences of your teammates better as well.

·         We had over 50 kids compete in over 120 events, and most of you did at least 3. We had the second biggest group of athletes, which had nearly 1000 athletes registered.  That is something for each of you to be proud of, because it is a manifestation of your commitment and support of your teammates.  

·         We also appreciate how smoothly you made everything go. You arrived early to the meet to prepare yourselves and support your teammates. For the most part you helped each other and figured out how to manage warming up and checking in the bull pen. BYU’s system with the bullpen is more complex than the others but you navigated it well.

·         BYU is a very competitive meet, with schools from all classifications from Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming participating. It is rare to make it on to the podium where only the top 6 finishers of each event place in a field typically ranging from 50-200.

·         Nainoa in the weight throw and Rachel in the 60 hurdles both finished in the top 6.

Obviously the relays at the end of the meet were a huge highlight for me because of what it says about you and our team, but one moment in particular stood out and epitomizes what this team should be about. Dodds ran the anchor leg of his Senior team relay and had a lead over the Sophomore team. Nafus took his hand off to anchor it for his team. Both of whom had already run a 400 and a 200 so they may have had reason to be tired and give a half effort, but they laid it on the line and went to work. Nafus closed the gap on Dodds who was fighting like crazy to preserve the win. They both ran hard through the line. They ran hard for their teammates and got better as athletes. That is what we expect from you each practice and race: pushing yourself and your teammates to be better, day in and day out. Ultimately Dodds hung on to win by .3 of a second.

Looking ahead to next week we will have a typical week of practice followed by a meet up at Utah State on Saturday. ALL events will be competed on Saturday, including field events. Registration for this meet is done at the meet, so you won’t have to do anything online to get into this one. Registration closes at 9 AM there, so make sure you arrive plenty early to register. The nice thing about USU is that they charge 5 per athlete, and then you can race in as many events as you want. Again, we recommend at least two events plus a 4x400 at the end. USU typically ends much earlier than the BYU meet, but it also has a rolling schedule so it is tough to give a time estimate. There is no open 200, but there is a 4x8 and the beginning of a day, a 4x200 in the middle, and a 4x400 at the end. You are welcome to compete in multiple relays, but we still want you in individual events as well so you can see your personal improvements. We will give more information on this meet during the week. As usual, directions to this meet can be found on our schedule on the website www.bravestrack.blogspot.com  Contact me with any questions.

We took a ton of pictures at BYU and you can view those on our website by clicking the pictures link on the side of the main page and then following the links. You can also add pictures to that page by dragging and dropping them from your computer or using your phone.

Check out our Instagram @bravestrackandxc to see some other photos from the meet.

After each meet I update the performance lists and the Bountiful all-time performance lists. You can also find those on the website, though admittedly I haven’t finished them quite yet. I hope to by tomorrow morning at the latest.

Keep up the great work Braves, we are off to a good start, and there is a lot more we need to accomplish.

Coach Jacobson

1/1 update

Braves,

I hope you have been having a great winter break. The days always seem to fly by when we are out of school. We are lucky that our season begins right after the break so we can jump right back in to things; that seems to help cure the holiday hangover for me. When I think about our team I realize how lucky we are that you are a great group of kids and we are happy to be working with you. We have a lot of kids who sincerely want to get better, and we have a very coachable group. Keep up the great work.  I have several things to share with you before we resume regular practices on Tuesday to help you be ready for next week’s meet.

This past week we held two practices, and the attendance was as expected considering many of you were out of town or had other commitments. If you fall in that category, we understand. Nobody died from the early morning workouts, but everyone there got stronger. Unfortunately many stayed at home in bed and got softer. Now I’m not trying to make you feel guilty, and again, I realize many of you simply couldn’t come – and many of you emailed me to tell me that, which I appreciate. What I am trying to do is illustrate a point. The point is that to get better and become your best self takes work. If we want to become region and state champions, it is going to take work. For years I have heard fellow coaches lament that “everyone wants to be the best, but few are willing to put in the work for it.” We have to take advantage of each day and we can’t let small things get in our way. Rather than finding reasons to avoid working, let’s find reasons to work harder.  It is that concept that makes track fun. Seeing your teammates work hard makes you work harder in return, and that is what makes this whole process enjoyable. Regardless where you are now, or how many practices you have been to thus far, I invite each of you, myself included, to think of one way you can work harder each day at practice – and then of course, do it. Let’s start fresh in the new year and get ready to work. If we each do that we will be able to reach our goals of competing for region and state titles in May.

As I said before the break, we have put ourselves in a good position heading into January, but we have only just begun, there are many months ahead of us. Take it one day at a time, one practice at a time, one race at a time and you will be surprised what you are able to accomplish, I have no doubt of that.

Our first meet is next Friday and Saturday at BYU. I will do my best to answer all your questions here, but if I miss anything feel free to send me an email.  

1)      You need to register for the meet online. Click here to register. Remember, we will register for the relays so don’t worry about doing that.

2)      Remember that indoor track is a club sport, which means the district will not provide us with transportation. Each of you is responsible to get yourself to and from the meet. Technically as coaches we are not even allowed to facilitate carpooling because of liability issues. If you have space in your vehicle feel free to share that information with your teammates. Here is a map to the facility.

3)      Friday night is when the field events are competed, namely High Jump, Long Jump, Shot Put, and Weight Throw. If you are competing in one of those events you can head down after school. Refer to the schedule to get an idea of when things are competed. Scroll to the bottom to see those estimates.

4)      Saturday is when all the track events are done. There is not a an exact time schedule, but on the BYU website you can see what time races in the past have gone. I imagine it will be similar this year.

5)      We recommend registering for at least two events (that ends up being $10). We also recommend running the 4x1lap at the end of the day IN ADDITION to your other events. Please let me know by THURSDAY if you are able to stay until the end and are interested in a relay and we will sign you up and pay for those. We are hoping to have a bunch of teams. The relay is one of the best parts of the day. Few things are better than running with your teammates on a relay.  (The reason it is called 4x1lap is because the BYU track is ~321m around, so they simplify the relay and it is a bit shorter than usual.)

We want you to run these three or more events for several reasons. One of those reasons is that we are early in the season and still are trying to build a base for the remainder of the year. Competing in more races will help you build up your stamina and strength. We are not trying to run our best race of the year next week, we are trying to do that in May. Running more races now will help you get there. Many of you are going to be competing is several events, on back to back days, over the course of the indoor season (State indoor and Simplot), and outdoor season (district, region, and state). If we don’t do multiple races now, we won’t be prepared for it.

6) Talk to your coaches about what events you should run. (Sprinters/Hurdlers, I’m going to recommend the 400m so be prepared.)

7)      Upon arrival to the facility you will need to check in to your race by highlighting your name (or whatever they ask you to do this year) on a table near the “bullpen”. If you walk into the main area you will eventually find it. We will be there to find you and direct you as well. There will be areas where you can warm up, but make sure you know which races are before your so you can go to the bullpen in time. the bullpen is where they give you a heat and lane assignment, and you might be in the bullpen for a while, like 30 minutes if you are one of the last heats, so plan accordingly. I will clarify this further at practice on Tuesday.

8)      There are bleachers in the facility but they aren’t very conducive to relaxing, so we will find a spot as a team where we can sit together and support your teammates who are racing.

9)      This meet has a tendency to be longer than some of the other local meets. Last year the relay finished at about 5 PM.

a.       With that in mind please bring plenty of food and drinks so that you are well nourished and hydrated for your races. You will be much happier if you are well fed (speaking from personal experience) so I recommend having an abundance.

b.      I also recommend bring something to sit on like a chair or blanket, and maybe a pillow if you are the type that naps between races (as long as you are awake with plenty of time to warm up of course).

c.       If you want you can bring some games to help pass the time between races.

d.      Support your teammates when they are racing. It surprises me how often kids say that they started running faster when they heard a teammate yell for them. Support each other and enjoy the day together. This season is short so let’s appreciate each day and race.

e.      Prepare yourself mentally and physically for your race. Give yourself plenty of time to warm up and be in the bullpen.

We appreciate your hard work. We are on our way to getting better. I have put the links at the end here as well for those who may have missed the hyperlinks above.

Schedule estimates - http://www.byutrack.com/various/Special/Meet_Info/2016-17/BYUHSIndoor/Coug-HSIN17.htm

Registration - http://www.runnercard.com/e/runner.Individual?meet=1000938

Map to facility - 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

Our team website – www.bravestrack.blogspot.com

Coach Jacobson

12/25 update

Braves,

We want to thank you for your effort, attitude, and determination that you have shown thus far in the season. We have been off to a solid start, which will be important to our success. Coming back from the break we have to continue what we started.

Make sure that you are staying active over the next two weeks, meaning going out and getting some a run in everyday that you can. On that note, we will be practicing on Wednesday and Friday of next week at 8 AM. We will meet by the back doors on the 3^rd floor. We are also going to be practicing field events those days.

There are some of you on this email list who have not come to practice for some time. I can remove you from the list if you would like, but I need you to let me know. If you haven’t been coming to practice but have some interested in joining us again, feel free to come back to practice; we’d love to have you.

Feel free to contact me with any questions, or refer to our website www.bravestrack.blogspot.com

I hope you all have a merry Christmas and happy holidays. Enjoy your time away from school, be in the moment, and get some well-deserved rest. We are grateful for each of you and your contribution to the team. We are looking forward to a fun indoor season with a good group of kids.

Coach Jacobson

12/18 update

Braves,

This was only our third week of practice, but it was by far our best in terms of commitment, effort, and overall improvement. Though we are early in the season, we are absolutely on the right track to becoming a successful team this winter and spring. We have two practices before the break, two practices (maybe a third if we can figure out a day) and then 4 school days before the BYU meet. The season is here and the days are going to go fast. As I repeat almost daily, we need to take advantage of every opportunity because there aren’t many. We had a stellar week, let’s build on that this upcoming week and over the break.

In regards to the break, we will not be practicing after Tuesday of this week. We will have two practices after Christmas on Wednesday and Friday at 8 AM. For those two practices we will meet at the east doors near the field house that lead to the 3^rd floor commons. I will try and lay it out a bit more clearly here:

Monday 12/19 – Practice after school as usual

Tuesday 12/20 – Practice after school as usual

Wednesday 12/21 – No Practice (school is shorter as well)

Wednesday 12/28 – Practice at 8 AM

Friday 12/30 – Practice at 8 AM

We encourage you to stay active over the break. Going for a run each morning would be a great way to maintain what we have started here. If you don’t do anything over the break you could lose the gains we have made thus far.

Again, our first meet is the first week back in school. For questions about the schedule please see our website, and feel free to contact me. The link to our schedule is here http://bravestrack.blogspot.com/p/2017-indoor-schedule.html

The way that BYU does their meet registration is slightly different from the others. This is the one meet where you will need to register yourself online in the events you want to compete in – registration doesn’t end until January 6^th at noon so you have some time, but we want you to be thinking about it. We will sign up and pay for the relays, so we will be asking who is able to run in them. The track at BYU is unique in that it is about 322 meters around (which makes it five laps for a mile). They do all the standard indoor events except the relay. Instead of being a 4x400m, it is a 4x1Lap relay (meaning 4x322m relay). We would like to put several teams together and get out and compete against each other. This meet is longer than the others as well because of the amount of teams that go down, so I would look at the schedule and make sure to arrive an hour and fifteen minutes prior to your race time. This will allow you to warm up and be in the bull-pen, which is where they organize the heat and lane assignments, with enough time. We encourage you to sign up for AT LEAST two events, not counting the relay, so that we get used to competing several times a day. Talk to your coaches about which events you should register for. When you register they will ask you to select your school (Bountiful HS) and then to pay online. BYU is a bit pricier than the other venues, and they tack on a transaction fee, so it comes out to $10 for two events. Here is the link for that registration http://www.runnercard.com/e/runner.Main?meet=1000938 More information will be given out in the coming weeks.

Again, we are very happy with where we are at as a team. We have a group of kids who are ready to work hard and do what we ask of them. I said this in practice this week but I will share it again here. Each of you has your own reasons for joining the team. I don’t necessarily care why you decided to join the team, I care why you stay on the team. We hope you stay so you can become a better athlete. We hope you stay so you can help your teammates become better as well. And we hope you stay so you can be part of what we are building at Bountiful High. There are other reasons to stay on the team of course, but these reasons need to be at the top for our team to truly be successful.

We appreciate the work you have been putting in, let’s keep it going into next week and build successful days on successful days. Enjoy your weekend, Braves.

Coach Jacobson

12/11 update

Braves,

We have had a solid week and a half of training to begin the season, and we only have a week and couple days before the break. You are off to a great start with your effort in practices. Moving forward we need to take advantage of every opportunity and moment of practice because the first week back from the break we have a race. Over the break we will have a few practices that are not required. Those practices won’t be during any of the days from the 23^rd to the 27^th, but we don’t know the exact days yet. I will let you know in the email I send out next week. We also will not practice on the last day of school before the break, which is Wednesday and a short class day.

We have been pleased with how consistent many of you have been at coming to practice, and we appreciate those of you who have communicated with us when you are going to miss days for other commitments. Please continue to let us know that you are going to miss so we can plan accordingly. A number of you have been missing workouts without telling us beforehand, so we are left wondering why. Do all you can to not miss practices; we don’t have many to waste before the season begins. We are in a very talented region so for us to have a chance at winning this spring we need to be working. Every team who is in contention is doing the same thing right now. You don’t have to be the fastest or the most talented to work hard. Remember the Tim Notke quote, “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” As coaches we would much prefer work with a group of kids who lack talent but work hard than work with an extremely talented group who doesn’t.  With only a few days left before we race, now is the time to rededicate yourself and take your effort to the next level.

On this last Friday we had pretty tough workouts and we were impressed how hard each of you were working. That isn’t to say we don’t have room for improvement, because we do, but the work you are doing is setting you up for success; keep it up. As evidence for the effort I took a few pictures and I put them on our team Instagram (@bravestrackandxc) and our team website where I will upload photos all season long. You can find those pictures by clicking on the pictures link on the right side of the page. If you have pictures from meets or anything you will also be able to upload them there via the google page. It’s quite simple and is nice to have those memories from the season when you want to see them. Our website is www.bravestrack.blogspot.com

If you have any questions feel free to contact me. I know many of you are new to the sport so I’m happy to answer any and all questions. As the meets begin I will do my best to be thorough in the information that I send out, but I won’t be perfect, so let me know.

We are off to a good start, let’s keep it rolling.

Coach Jacobson

12/4 update

Braves,

I am extremely late in getting this out so I apologize for that. I hope you all have been enjoying your weekend and that you are ready to get after it this week in practice.

We were pleased with how many of you came to the first week of practice, and how hard you were willing to work. Don’t lose the excitement or determination that you had those first few days. It is easy to be good or determined for one day or one practice, the way that you become a successful athlete or person is by being good day after day, week after week. We must stack successful practices on top of each other so that we have successful weeks and months. We are only weeks away from our first meet. To those who are new to the sport maybe that sounds like a long time, but for cross country we practice for two months before our first race – and in college we practiced for 4 months before racing – so this seems like an extremely short time for preparation.

The good thing about indoor is that it is a perfect time of preparation for the seasons ahead; we aren’t winning region or state in January or February. Those races aren’t until May, so we use this time to get better, and improve ourselves. One thing that we want each of you to do is compete with yourselves and avoid comparing yourselves to others. On the one hand it is good to push and be pushed by your teammates, but never let someone else’s ability discourage you. It’s ok if you aren’t the fastest on the team, as long as you are working your hardest, then you are successful and you need not compare yourself.

Keep working hard like you did this week. Get to know your teammates and encourage each other when the workouts get difficult (consider that a foreshadow for this week, don’t stress though because you will be just fine). Plan on being outside at least a few days this week. With some snow in the forecast we are changing up our plans so that we can take advantage of the good weather days. Make sure you come with clothes in case we are inside or outside.

As said at practice, if you ever want to leave bags or other items in my room during practice you are welcome to do so. I don’t lock my door so you can leave it or get it at will. .

We will see you tomorrow. Same time and place as usual. You are awesome.

Coach Jacobson

Indoor Track Update

Braves,

Our first indoor track meeting will be held on Tuesday 11/29 after school. The flyer can be seen after this post as well as a preview for the clothes we will order. I wanted to answer a few commonly asked questions.

First, our boys team has an excellent shot at repeating as region champs and our girls team has a chance to win as well. It all depends on how hard we work, and the indoor months will be crucial for that.

Practice is everyday after school and will typically end before 5, and often earlier. I know some of you have conflicts with other sports, jobs, or other extra curricular activities. If you communicate those conflicts with me we can make it work.

We will talk about the rest at the meeting.

Contact me with any questions in room 101 or via email bjacobson@dsdmail.net