8/30 update

 Braves,

It was great to have the full team back in action on Saturday, with tons of personal bests and improvements. Andrew Jensen started the day off with a win in the Sophomore/Freshman race, which came down to a sprint to the finish, in his first ever XC race, and then Rylee and Jane followed up his race with two massive personal bests, lowering their combined times from Wednesday by something like 11 minutes. The JV boys also saw huge improvements over Wednesday, with some excellent races. I love watching the JV races because that is where the biggest jumps come from. We're seeing kids now running low 6 minute paces who last year when in the mid 7s. It's amazing to see their transformation and watch them improve and battle for varsity spots. Our Varsity girls came away with a 3rd place finish, and every single one of them were faster than the pre-region race, some by as much as 20+ seconds per mile. Sami ran in her first race as the only senior on the varsity team, and she represented extremely well with an insane final mile, showcasing the power and speed she has developed over the years, and smashing her own personal best in the process. The boys ended the day with a tightly contested second place finish, missing out by just 1 point. The lone junior of the group, Cutler, who is running in his first XC season, finished, like many of you, with a strong sprint in the final 250m to edge out a WX runner by a half second, the same kid who happened to finish ahead of him last week by .3 seconds. I suppose in the head-to-head competition that puts Cutler up by .2 seconds. 

The results from yesterday can be found at www.anteloperacing.com, and the results for next week will be there too.

I love these races. Knowing each of you and your journey through the sport makes watching you perform a very rewarding experience for me. Seeing Sami change the pace with 800 to go, watching Cutler (with his robotic arms) sprint by some people, witnessing Dalton just tear up the ground, hardly recognizing Rylee because she's running an incredible 8 minutes faster than three days prior, gets me pretty hyped. I love this sport and this team. I'm proud of this group, not because of what you've accomplished but because of what you're becoming - and I'm hungry for more. Lucky for us, we won't have to wait long to see some great competition and get back to working and racing. The boys were second yesterday by one point, let's work so that next time its us who is in front.

This week is another complicated week so please read through this carefully.

Monday and Tuesday - 2:40 at the high school (except Freshman who are in class, you will come down as quickly as you can, by 3:15 at the latest).

Wednesday - We are hosting a meet at MPJH against WX. This is a very small meet, and I anticipate many varsity runners from WX won't be racing. We will be participating but making it more of a workout. Most likely our varsity runners will be doing something different. Spectators are welcome and will need to wear masks. 

This is also a class day, which is lucky because it will allow you all to help us set up. Because the races don't begin until 3:30, we won't need you to be there to help set up quite so early (1:30 instead of 1:10). Role will be taken at 1:30 PM.

The races schedule is Girls at 3:30, Boys at 4:15.

Thursday - Because this is also a class day, practice will begin at 1:10 for those in the class and for those who are remote that day. Those who have a different 8th period will come up immediately after school, and Freshmen who are in school will come down as quickly as possible after their school lets out. We will be at the track.

Friday - Davis is hosting a invitational. Unfortunately, they told us that spectators are not allowed. I will try to have some of our runners who are in different races live stream the races on our instagram @bravestrackandxc so you can kind of follow along if you're interested. The bus will leave from the high school at 2 PM, and return after the awards. Here is the schedule:

Nicholls Park

3:30 - Fr/So Boys

4:00 - Fr/So Girls

4:30 - JV Boys

5:00 - JV Girls

5:30 - Varsity Boys

6:00 - Varsity Girls

6:30 - Awards

The course map can be found at the end of this email.

A couple more things: 

Fees - you may have noticed the athletic fees are now on mydsd (I think). Those fees are set by the district, and total $90 for the season. This is standard for all high school sports. Please go pay those at your earliest convenience.

Registermyathlete - if this hasn't been finished before the races, you won't be able to race. Most of you have it done but a few of you have yet to start... please do so asap. If you need a physical, there are places that allow walk-ins so you can get one promptly.

Please visit our website www.bravesxc.blogspot.com for the schedule, and please click the link "season pace breakdown" to see how your times evolve over the season. I spend a lot of time on that and is a great tool for me, and can be for you as well.

As always, if you have any questions please let me know.

Coach Jacobson

6/21 update

Braves,

3 weeks down, 8ish to go before school starts. If saying that we only have 8 weeks left of summer freaks you out (as it does me) then be sure to take advantage of each day. Use each day to get closer to your goals, and just enjoy every day.

Here are a few things that we have done well over the past 3 weeks:

1. Consistent attendance
2. Consistent effort
3. Positive attitude, work ethic, and mindset
4. Getting out of your comfort zone, in training and in getting to know each other

Please take a moment to reflect on how you have contributed to each of those points, and recognize your own strengths in the process. Those points, among others, have made this season enjoyable and will serve to make it successful. Continue to do, and to build on, each of them.

This week we will be meeting Monday/Wednesday at MPJH upper field at 7 AM. On Friday we are going to meet at Lewis Park at 7 AM.

If you would like to be in the XC class, I need to submit your name to Mr. Hammerschmidt, who will then enter you into the class. Please reply letting me know if you’d like to be added (if you emailed me last week you need not do it again, however, if you emailed me a month ago when I first asked for interest, you do need to email me again).

Let me know if you have any questions.

Coach Jacobson

XC Begins!!!

Braves,

I have never been so excited about the start of a new season in my life. It’s finally here and I cannot wait to get rolling and see you all out there working to reach new limits and improve every day. There is a lot of info in this email so please read it carefully.

The district has informed us that we are allowed to begin cross country practices. We will holding our first practice on June 1^st, 7 AM at Mueller Park Junior High. We will practice each day next week, at 7 AM. Practices will typically end around 9:00-9:30 AM.

Tuesday/Thursday/Friday practices will be held at Lewis park, which is on the south end of Davis Boulevard. Those days will be distance run days, which means we will be running on sidewalks around town. Kids will be unsupervised by coaches during distance runs, but will be running in groups (that is how distance running goes for cross country – a lot of miles around town).

After the first week we will practice Monday/Wednesday at Mueller Park, with Friday’s at a different location. Be sure to check your emails at the beginning of each week for locations. Those can change from parks, to the school, to trails.

This week’s schedule will be Monday-Friday at 7 AM

Monday: Mueller park JH

Tuesday: Lewis Park

Wednesday: Mueller Park JH

Thursday: Lewis Park

Friday: Lewis Park

There are a few standards that we have to adhere to in order to be in accordance with the district, who is works directly with the county and state health departments.

First, there will be no shared water – coaches cannot provide water. BRING YOUR OWN WATER, AND A LOT OF IT. Trust me, a 16 oz arrowhead water bottle is not going to be even close to sufficient for a day of practice – especially with how crazy hot this week has been, and how next week looks. I’m not joking when I say you should bring a gallon of water. What’s the worst that can happen, you have too much? Bring a huge water bottle, or many smaller ones. There aren’t places to fill up your bottle where we will be practicing at Mueller Park, you won’t be allowed into the school, and even if you were there isn’t time in the workout to go down and fill up. Thus, bring a ton of water!

Second, there is a symptom check that every athlete for every sport is going to have to do. This isn’t unique to Davis School District either. There will be a form you fill out, on your phone or on paper (preferably on your phone) which asks about any symptoms you may have. At some point the school is also going to provide me with a laser (non-contact) thermometer to take everyone’s temperature before practice begins. These new guidelines are going to take a few minutes at the beginning of each practice, so please arrive a few minutes early so we can be done with symptom-check by 7 AM.

The office will be open next week to pay for summer xc. The cost is $50, and you will get a t shirt or tank top to keep. If you would like more than one, the cost for each is $15. Please indicate on your receipt the size/type/gender of the shirt you want. For super small sizes, like those of you needing xs or youth sizes, I will need to get some more information about those before you order – so tbd on those very small sizes.

If you have any questions about the above items, please let me know.

Can’t wait to see you Monday!

Coach Jacobson

Summer Cross Country

Zoom Meeting Link (It's not in the picture... False advertising)