7/10 update

Braves,

I hope you enjoyed your moratorium week. We missed you all and are excited to get back at it this week. Our first race is a little over a month away so now is really the time to buckle down and get to work.

The first month of our summer practices went extremely well. As a group you stayed committed and worked hard each day at practice. We are proud of you for that and hope you continue what you’ve started- and take it to the next level. This month of practices is going to be fun, starting tomorrow we will be back on our usual schedule with practice M/W @ 7:30 and a Friday trail run time and place tbd.

We have been harping on it all season long, but it cannot be overstated: make sure you are running on your own each day. For each individual and our team to reach our full potential, this is something you have to be doing. As the great coach Herb Brooks said, “you think you can make it on talent alone? We don’t have enough talent to make it on talent alone.” Herb Brooks was the 1980 USA Olympic hockey coach. (I took that quote from the movie “Miracle” with Kurt Russell. If you haven’t seen that movie or it’s been a while, I’d recommend going and watching it because it is awesome, and really shows what hard work means, and accomplishes.) His statement applies to us all- we have to be about hard work because natural talent is not enough. Former Utah Jazz player and current Toronto Raptor Demarre Carroll makes a living in the NBA by his mantra “Hard work is a talent.” He would say he does not have the natural talents that many of his colleagues have, but he has made a name for himself, and a successful career based on the concept of hard work. My friend and high school teammate, and now 2016 Olympian in the marathon headed to Rio, Jared Ward, constantly talks about trusting your training when you step to the line and are in the race. If you have put in the work then you can race with confidence and no regrets. If you haven’t been training enough, how can you trust it? Now is the time to put in that training so in August, September, and October as a team we can step to the line with confidence knowing that we have put in the work.

If you have been putting in the work on your own, keep it rolling, step it up a level, and challenge yourself. If you haven’t, then start this week. Be at practice tomorrow then Tuesday get up and run on your own. You can do this, let’s keep getting better. Let’s have fun each day while we work hard. Don’t let excuses keep you from pushing yourself. Don’t let fear of temporary pain stop you from improving. We talk about hard work being a stepping stone to success, and it is, but in reality hard work is what makes this whole journey worth it. Hard work is not limited to XC but in everything you do. Hard work doesn’t just make you a better athlete, it refines who you are and makes you a better teammate, a better friend, and a better person.

We have an awesome group of kids on this team, and you are a part of that. We appreciate all you do and understand the sacrifices that it takes and commend you for making them for the good of the team and yourself. We are proud of you as coaches, and we are having so much fun being around this group and watching you improve. We have a fun week planned and an awesome month ahead. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Let’s keep it rolling.

Coach Caitlin

Coach Jacobson