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

3/12 update

Braves,

We have a fairly busy week coming up so be sure to read all the information. This email will be short given the crazy weekend we’re all having. Also daylight saving has taken a toll on me.

We have had a solid two weeks of practice, but there is clearly room for improvement for each of us. You have put in some great work, and we love the effort that we have been seeing. Where we can improve is in our mental strength. We have to be prepared for tough days and a lot of races. We can’t have any easy days. Even on days where we aren’t going as hard as others, we have to put in the quality effort that makes us better, rather than taking it easy.

Our first race is on Thursday at Woods Cross. The meet begins at 3 PM and we will get there well before so we have time to get set up, warmed up, and prepared to race. I will let you know what time you are excused and when the bus is leaving. There was rumor that we might not have a bus given that it is so close, but I will find that out and get back to you by Tuesday at the latest.

Talk to your coaches about what events you should do. Plan on competing in at least 3 events. Preferably 4. We are using this meet to get better, so plan on competing hard and leaving exhausted.

You WILL NOT be allowed to compete on Thursday if you have not completed “register my athlete” and paid your fees in the office. I have a list of both, and will be checking it daily. Here is the link to register my athlete http://registermyathlete.com/schools/ You need a physical, and the paperwork for that can be printed from that site or can be picked up in the office.

Uniform checkout will be on Tuesday and Wednesday in my classroom after practice. Come one of those days to get your uniform.

Let me know if you have any questions. Be ready to get after each day this week. Less than two months until region, so we have to take full advantage of each workout. Thanks for all your hard work.

Coach Jacobson

3/5 update

Braves,

This is the update that I will send out each week which often gives a recap of the week as well as some announcements. Some weeks the emails are longer than others, but there is always important information in them.

To begin with, I cannot believe the first week of outdoor season is already past. We only have 2 months before region. That may sound like a long time, but when you factor in spring break, meets, and weekends, we really don’t have much time to get ready for region and state. We have a lot to do before then before we can have the conversation about winning any titles. Our first meet is 3/16 @ Woods Cross, then our first state qualifying meet is on 3/21 (girls) and 3/22 (boys). There are two ways to qualify for the state meet: by time or by placing in the top for at the region meet. Everyone’s goal should be to work towards the qualifying standards. To find out the qualifying mark for each event please refer to our website. There is also a schedule on the website that can even be synced to your phone calendar should you feel so inclined. The calendar as the dates, places, and beginning times. I believe I made it so there are not any reminders so you won’t get any annoying alerts or notifications, but it will be available for quick reference. Here is a link to our website www.bravestrack.blogspot.com

We are thrilled with how many of you came to the meeting and have been coming to practice this week. I cannot overstate the importance of a single practice. With such short time to prepare we have to make sure that we are getting better with every practice. I am very happy with how positive our group has been thus far. There has been a good energy and great effort each day and that’s exactly what we want each day – that is the culture that we want to create on this team. Attitudes are contagious, for better or worse, so keep spreading the right kind of attitude every day. Of course there are going to be times when people aren’t being positive on any given day, so as their teammates it’s on you to support them and get them going in the right direction. Don’t let negativity sway you, but take the opportunity positively influence them. If we can do that, then I can guarantee that you will leave each practice better than when you came in.

Though this was a short week we were able to put in some hard work. I was impressed with how determined the group was to not just survive each workout, but to dominate the workouts. We have some new faces on our team, it was great to see you out there giving a maximum effort. Gracie, Emma B., and Jared M., are three that really stood out to me this week on what it means to be there every day and give a full effort. They are new to Bountiful Track & Field but they fit right in with how they go about practices.

Something that bears repeating from the meeting is each individuals contribution to the team. I had several people express reserved interest in being on the team because they were worried about being slow or not very good. One person even said they would be holding the team back with how slow they are. What each of us needs to understand is that your contribution to this team has very little to do with how talented a runner you are, particularly when you begin. Your contribution is measured by your consistent commitment, hard work, and your attitude. If you can do those things you will have been a benefit to our team and program. We are more concerned about the improvement that each of you makes than where you are to begin with.

A few announcements for this upcoming week. Remember that if you choose to order clothes (it is completely optional) that I need your order, and a receipt by Monday’s practice. I prefer you leave it in my box in the office rather than bringing to practice so that they are all in one place. I have attached the form here in case anyone lost theirs.

Second, each of you will need to go on to “register my athlete” and register for track & field. http://registermyathlete.com/schools/

Select your state, school, and either log in or create an account. For those of you who have done a sport at BHS before you should already have an account so all you need to do is log in and select the sport. This registration process will also call for you to get a physical. The physical is good for one year. If you got one for a sport earlier this year then you are good for this season. If you need to get one set an appointment ASAP because this must be done before you can compete. I have a list of everyone who has completed the registration process and cannot allow you on the bus or issue you a uniform if it is not completed. The physical form that you need is on the site and should be printed off and taken with you to the appointment for the doctor to fill out and sign. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for all you are doing to make our team better. It is going to be an exciting season. This upcoming week is our last pre-season training week so be ready to get after it. Bring your spikes every day just in case, and bring warm clothes in case the Utah weather goes crazy on us. Let’s get better this week.

Coach Jacobson

2/19 update

Braves,

The indoor season has officially come to a close. When I look back at the things that I hoped would be accomplished on and for our team this season I see that our team took a big step forward. Over the course of the season we have improved in a number of areas. The evidence of these improvements were seen at each meet and at practice each day. This group has shown the importance of being committed to getting better each day in practice. You have shown a fearlessness in approaching your races and a willingness to do what your asked both in workouts and at meets. We probably ran in total nearly 10 times more 400s this indoor season that were ran last year indoor and outdoor. We had multiple boy and girl relays at every meet which is something that never occurred last season. The support of your teammates was something that really improved, and is one of the keys to a successful team. I was really happy to see and hear each of you cheering your teammates on both in races and practices.

Those things that were established during this indoor season must be carried over into the outdoor season and we will be counting on each of you to continue what you have started, and improve where you personally fell short. This outdoor season is going to be a blast, and we will have a lot of new faces joining us. It is great that we will add more people to our team, and we will need each of you to lead by example and show the new guys and girls what our team is about. Thank you for what you have done this season and for your contribution to our team.

We had over 50 people on our final roster. Multiple times throughout the year we had the most relay teams at the end of the meet, which is evidence of your commitment and support for your team and teammates. We had 22 kids do 2 or 3 events at Simplot, which is the biggest group that we have ever taken. We had 20 school records set this season. Almost every event had a school record broken this year.

I could dig up more numbers to show how awesome you all are, but to me the biggest compliment to you and our team are the changes and foundations being laid in our team’s culture. That is what truly makes a successful team and you are helping us get there.

Though we have made great progress as a team, individually we must all reflect on what we did this season and find ways to improve as we move forward. Obviously none of us were perfect, myself included, so use this week off to rededicate yourselves and find ways you can be better. To me one of those things is improving our mental toughness. It’s not about surviving a tough workout but dominating the tough workouts. It’s not about simply doing what the coaches ask but wanting to do even more. That is going to be the next step for our team as we strive for excellence.

Our first outdoor meeting is going to be on Monday 2/27 after school in the library. The first practice will be the next day. If you have questions feel free to contact me.

I also have a  unconventional request for parents and athletes: I am looking to build up a contact list for Bountiful High Track and Field alumni. If you or anyone you know ran for BHS have them send me an email, if they would like to be included. I will use this list to share information about the annual alumni meet that we are going to start (this year if possible but more likely next), and to invite them to help for future invitationals we will hold at BHS if we can somehow manage to get a large enough track to accommodate an invitational.

This is the final email on this list, we will be starting fresh with the outdoor season next week.

Enjoy your week off.

Coach Jacobson