6/26 update

Braves,

I can’t believe we are already three weeks into our summer training. We have been putting in some great work, and I don’t need to remind you (but I will, continuously) that you have got to be putting in miles on your own. What we do two or three times a week is not going to be enough of a base for you come this fall. The foundation you are laying now is going to allow you to truly improve in September and October. If you don’t put in the necessary work now you won’t see the results you otherwise would. On that note, please send me your running logs

We were so impressed with the effort level this week. We can see each of you improving day by day. Slowly and steadily we notice your improvements and it makes us more excited for the season. We had three pretty tough days and yet you were out there laying it down in the parks and on the trails. Aaron was someone who stood out this week with his work rate. He was there every day working, and right with him was Daniel, pushing each other and trying to get better. These two are new to our team this season and are two (of many) who have bought into our team concept and are ready to work each day. I can’t say enough about Emmie. She’s coming back from several injuries that kept her out of track season, and she battles day in and day out. Coming back from injury is one of the most difficult things to do; it is exhausting mentally and physically as you try to regain what you had, and improve beyond where you were. The key to her success is the phrase “day in and day out.” She is always ready to work. You won’t hear her complain about the workouts or even jokingly suggest not to run. She wants to succeed and has been an awesome example. When you feel tired look to Emmie and her consistency, despite her trials, and simply follow her example. There are so many of you doing great work and impressing us each day; honestly, we are so happy about this group.  Keep that hard work rolling and good things will come.

We will meet tomorrow at the track at 7:30, as usual. Coach Caitlin and I have really enjoyed coaching this group. You are what makes coaching fun. We love seeing you work hard, sacrifice for yourself and your teammates, and ultimately get better as athletes and people. Thank you for your hard work; getting up early to train isn’t easy, but it is worth it. You are getting better each day and we see that. Keep that same effort each day and you will reach your goals.

Something that I forgot to mention early in the season is that the week of July 4^th (meaning a week from tomorrow) is our summer moratorium, so there will not be any practices that week. If you would like to get together with some of your teammates that would be fine, but we won’t be there and nothing is officially organized. We will pick practices back up the following Monday. Lastly, if you don’t get reminders from me via the “reminder app” which sends out team announcements to your phone like a text message, feel free to send me a phone number that I can add to the group. Parents are also welcome to join, I send one or two out per week.

Thanks,

Coach Jacobson and Coach Caitlin

6/19 update - week 2

Braves,

We are more and more impressed with the work that you are putting in each week. This week was great, and for the most part the effort level was strong in all of our workouts. When everyone buys in and commits to running their hardest, that is when the team starts to have fun and improve. When you are feeling tired or losing motivation at the end of a tough workout, look at your teammates and find motivation in their example.

For our team to be successful, it has to be about hard work day in and day out. In my running days at Weber State I used to be disappointed by certain teammates who would work hard one day, then not the next day. Those athletes never saw the success that they otherwise would have. Anyone can work hard once; the key to reaching your potential is being good set after set, mile after mile, day after day, week after week. When you string together successful days into weeks and months, then you see the improvement you are all hoping for. After two weeks of practice we are on our way to reaching that. I’m am very happy with the work that so many of you are doing; keep it up! We appreciate the level of work being done, this isn’t an easy sport, and seeing you work hard to be better is what will help each member of our team be successful.

This week we will meet at the regular times on Monday and Wednesday, 7:30 at the track. We will meet again on Friday for a team trail run. Time and place TBD but I’m thinking Mueller Park trail, but we will let you know as we get closer.  

Please remember to send in your running logs to me. A few of you have already this weekend and that is great. I know several of you will be out of town and have already let me know. We completely understand that you have vacations and camps to do, just send me a quick email letting me know that you’ll be gone.

Thanks for all your hard work and positive attitudes. You are the reason that coaching is so much fun. We appreciate you. Let’s keep it rolling.

Coach Jacobson

P.S.

We have a team Instagram @bravestrackandxc I will be posting pictures there as well as some on our website www.bravesxc.blogspot.com the link for the pictures on the website is on the right side of the page. Anyone can upload a picture there of our team so we have a single place for them. Those of you who did track this past season you may want to go to that website (the link for the braves track page is on the xc site as well) and you can see a bunch of the photos that other parents and athletes uploaded there.  

6/12 update

Braves,

The turnout this week, and the effort this level was very encouraging for us as coaches. The most important thing for our team to have to be successful is for each of you to be dedicated to working day in and day out. On Monday and Wednesday you showed that you are willing to do that, and we loved what we saw. The 400s on Monday were tough, and then to come back and do mile repeats on Wednesday showed us what kind of team we have. It’s going to be a fun season. Mental toughness is one of the keys to success in athletics and life. We cannot let negative thoughts, or thoughts of quitting, get into our minds. Make a plan of how you will be before each workout and then during the run or interval just stick to the plan. If you decide that you will give maximum effort each day, then while you are running you just have to do it, instead of arguing in your mind if you are going to push it or not. Keep up your hard work, and remember not to compare yourselves to anyone else but yourself. Be better than you were the day before, and that is success.

This week we will be meeting on Monday and Wednesday again at 7:30. We will meet at the track tomorrow, and Wednesday we will probably meet up for a trail run. Time and place TBD. Remember to send in your running logs to me. If you have a paper copy just email me a picture, or attach it as a file. Your goal for the rest of June should be to run at least five days a week, increasing the mileage each week. Building a base is fundamental to what we are doing this summer (no pun intended).

Lastly, there are a few of you on this email list that haven’t been able to come out to practice yet; we hope you make it this week! If you are going to miss please send me an email beforehand to let me know. I completely understand that you have vacations and camps and things. Summer gets busy. When you do miss make sure you still find time to get a run in – while of course being safe where ever you are.

You all rock. We look forward to another good week. We appreciate the effort and hard work you are putting in. Trust the process and be mentally tough and you will see the results.

Coach Jacobson

practice update

Braves,

Just a reminder that we are practicing tomorrow at 7:30 at the track. We hope all of you can make it, the more we have the more fun it will be. Practice will be between an hour to an hour and a half. If you want to mentally prepare, we will be doing 400s as we work to begin the process of laying down a base. I hope you have been doing some running since the last time we met. If you haven’t, don’t be discouraged, tomorrow will be a great time to start! If someone has a Frisbee, bring it in case we decide to do ultimate Frisbee as a sort of “cool down.”

It is easy to think, “man tomorrow is my first day of summer, I don’t want to go.” Now is the time to get started and overcome that type of thinking. In order to be successful in xc you have to be mentally tough. Let’s start today being mentally tough, then show it on the track tomorrow. Mental strength is developed one day at a time, one decision at a time. For our team to be successful, and for this summer to be fun, we all need to buy in. I am so excited for our first day; you all are awesome.

On the business side of things, you will need to go to http://www.registermyathlete.com/schools/ to register for cross country. If you have not made an account before, make one then register for xc. If you’ve made one before, simply log in and register. Each athlete will also need a physical. The paperwork can be loaded up to the registermyathlete website, and you can bring a copy to me. Physicals must be done every year, meaning if you got one last June, you are due for another one. If you got one last March, then you are good until next March, as long as we have the paperwork showing that. Try to get this done sometime this week, then you can start making appointments for physicals if needed. If you have any questions about register my athlete, let me know.

We will also be meeting on Wednesday at 7:30 for practice. See you tomorrow!

Coach Jacobson

6/3 Update

Reminder to those who were at our first meeting, and for those who weren't, we will be practicing for the first time on Monday at 7:30 at the track. Those going into 9th grade or above are more than welcome to come. It's gonna be a fun day and summer!

If you have any questions, or are ever going to miss a practice, please let me know via email at bjacobson@dsdmail.net