6/22 update

Phoenix,

We're really excited about the new runners that have joined us this year. You are eager to work hard, be consistent, and give your full effort. Those tenants are fundamental to what we're wanting to accomplish. The next step for our team? EVERYONE being equally as committed. 

We ask you to get to bed at an hour that will allow you to get enough sleep so you can join the team to run in the morning. We're asking you to sacrifice some of your late nights for the benefit of your improvement, and the benefit of the team. As I said on the GroupMe, you have the freedom to do anything you want in life - you can do whatever you want. But you can't do everything that you want. You can't go to bed late, get enough sleep, and run with the team at 7 AM. So choose the most valuable things to pursue, and don't squander your time with trivial pursuits. It will be worth your time and effort when you reach your goals, and our team will be better for it. Those things for which you sacrifice your simple pleasures make them that much more valuable in the end. You will forever appreciate your ability to be disciplined, so refine those habits starting today. Do what it takes to be at each practice this week, for next week we will not be holding team practices during moratorium.

This week

See below for the mileage charts. On Monday night we're hosting our second community nights track meet, and we'd love for you to join us to hang out. (We won't be moving hurdles this time, so don't fret). 

If you are going to miss any practices this week due to travel, please let us know here.  Absences this week

Next week

Next week is the state mandated moratorium, which means no coach-led or organized practices. We won't see you next week. However, you should get together with your teammates and run, and I'll still send out a mileage chart. 

Season Schedule

Here is the competition schedule so far for the year. There are a few holes that we will try to fill, while trying to race about every other week: Schedule

If you have any questions please let us know.

Day	Date	Location	Type	Total Mileage For Max
Week 4 - 80%			0.75	60	55	50	45	40	35	30	25
Mon	June 23	Pioneer Park	tempo alternations	6-8	7-8	6-7	5-7	5-6	4-5	3-5	3-5
Tues	June 24	(on own)	distance run	6.0	6.0	6.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Wed	June 25	Vita	Power Run	8-9	8-9	7-8	6-8	5-6	5-6	4-6	3-4
Thurs	June 26	(on own)	Easy run, strides	4-5	4-5	4-5	3-4	3-4	3-4	0.0	0.0
Fri	June 27	Forbush Park	Distance Run, Strides (3-8)	5-6	4-5	4-5	3-4	3-4	3-4	3-4	3-4
Sat	June 28	captain led long run	Long Run - 20-40 minute stamina	11.0	10.0	9.0	8.0	7.0	6.5	6.0	5.0
Sun	June 29		Off Day
Weekly Volume				45	41.25	37.5	33.75	30	26.25	22.5	18.75

6/15 update

Phoenix,

Thank you so much to those who helped at the Jr PHX Track Camp! It was a huge success, and I'm defining that based on how much fun the kids were having, and how much joy the parents had watching their kids compete on Saturday. 

This week we talked about aligning our beliefs, values, and actions. We believe it's important to give back to the community, which is why we hold that track camp. We value helping kids learn new skills and have positive experiences with excellent role models (you kids), which is why we helped at the track camp. If we believe and value those things, then when the time comes, we have to do it. 

The same goes with how we approach each day, week, and season. We all know the value of the warm up, so we need to align our actions with that belief. We understand how important consistency is, so our actions and habits need to prioritize that. We all know that running as a group is fundamental to making our team better, so know we need to organize our lives to be ready to get to practice on time, with the team, every single time that you are in town. The bottom line is, let's do what we believe. Put your money where your mouth is. Walk the walk. Etc. etc. etc.

Summer Breakfasts

Parents, each Saturday we hope to have a team long run followed by a breakfast provided by the parents. This will help motivate the kids to get up and join the team in the morning for the run. The sign up for that is below, and we only have a few filled. Most notably, this week is empty, so we could really use someone who is willing to host at the last minute. 

Farmington XC: Summer Breakfasts and Dinners

Attendance

On that note, I am going to have a weekly form for you to let me know if you are out of town each week. I basically need to know who is gone for various camps, so the coaches aren't sitting around wondering where so-and-so is, when they are at an XC camp in provo, FSY, youth camp, etc. This will help us know who should be at practices.

Please fill out this form if you'll be gone this week.

Summer T Shirt

If you haven't previously filled out the form for shirt sizes, please do so. 

This week

We have another stellar week ahead, be there, and be sure to run on your own on the off days. Please bring spike ball, a frisbee, and whatever else you have to play after practice.

Day	Date	Location	Type	Total Mileage For Max
Week 3 - 70%			0.7	60	55	50	45	40	35	30	25
Mon	June 16	Farmington Ranches Park	Distance runs; strides	6-8	6-7	5-6	5-6	4-6	4-5	3-5	3-4
Tues	June 17	(on own)	Distance Run; strides	3-5	4-6	3-6	4-5	3-5	3-4	0	0
Wed	June 18	Vita	Distance Run, steady effort	8.0	7.3	6-7	6.0	6.0	5-6	4-5	4.0
Thurs	June 19	(on own)	Distance run/Cross Train/ strides	5-7	5-6	4-6	4-5	3-5	3-4	2-4	2-3
Fri	June 20	Farmington Pond	Distance Run on firebreak, 6-8 hill sprints; frazzle friday	6-8	6-7	5-6	5-6	4-6	3-5	3-4	2-4
Sat	June 21	(on own)	Long Run - progressive finish for the last 15 minutes	10.0	9.0	8.5	7.5	7.5	6.5	5.5	5.0
Sun	June 22		Off Day
Weekly Volume				42	38.5	35	31.5	28	24.5	21	17.5

6/8 Update - Week 2 of Summer XC

Phoenix,

Our first week, though only a half week is in the books, and we are super excited about the kids that we have. We have a great mix of new and returning athletes, and we're really happy about the effort thus far. 

Consistency

We implore you to continue to give a consistent, solid effort, as that is the key to both improvement, and ultimate enjoyment of the sport. Consistency will make you better, and it will make you have fun. We have to be locked in each and every week. Every day should set you up for the next day. If we have an easy day on the calendar, that's priming you for a quality day on the next one. If we have a harder run (like at Vita), that sets you up for a nice easy day the next day. And, if we're being honest, the "easy" days are just as important as the hard days. In fact, without easy days, you won't be ready for hard days, and you won't reap the rewards of the hard days either. Easy days can be squandered by not running, or running too hard. Hard days can be squandered by squandering the easy day before/after. Everything works together.

Training 

This summer our main training focus is building the aerobic engine. We'll do that by running a lot. To maximize the engine, we will also be working other areas, like strides each day, core every day, and running workouts next month, so that the engine can run as efficiently as possible. A fantastic engine with a weak chassis is wasted, so we have to be solid in all areas. (Endurance, strength, speed, speed endurance, etc.).

Culture

Culture, or the traditions, attitudes, expectations, standards, behaviors, etc., that we have as a team is just as important as the training. 

We're in the developmental phase of designing some "core values" for our team. What are we all about? What is our common purpose? What are our expectations? How do we treat each other? Over the course of the summer this are going to be ironed out, and we'll make a short list of what are team's "core values" will be. I'm asking you to think about the answers to those questions, and we'll start refining them. In the coming weeks I may send out a form to you to submit your responses.

Absences

When you are going out of town, we ask that you communicate that with the coaches, tell more than one of us so we are likely to remember. While out of town, we STRONGLY encourage you to get out and run. In hotels, just live on the treadmill while the rest of your family is asleep. Then you can bring that dad energy and brag about how many miles you did while everyone else was still being lazy. If a treadmill isn't an option, parents, that might mean you lacing up with your kids and running with them, if you don't want them running alone. I like that option even better than the treadmill!

Summer T Shirts

Please fill out this form so that you can receive your summer t shirt. This form will double as "registration" for the summer. *Even if you filled out the form to sign up for xc (thank you), fill this form out so I have your shirt sizes*

Next Week

Each week I'll send out the plan for the following week, with locations, suggested distances, etc. If you have any questions please let me know. Which column you follow depends on your experience, fitness, speed, etc. Think of it like a bell curve, where few will be in the 55+ columns, most in the 30-50 columns, and few in the 25 column. 

Exceptions to these are those coming back from injury, of course, so some of you might be limited in the total number of days you can run. If that applies to you, we encourage you to bring a bike to practice and ride along. Any injuries you are having should be communicated with the coaches. 

This week we have a fun opportunity to host the Junior Phoenix Track Camp, which will be Thursday, Friday (from 9-11 AM), and Saturday from 8-10 or 11). 

This is a fundraiser for our team, and we make a solid amount. We already have 150 kids signed up for the camp!!

We will have 5 stations for the kids to rotate through, and in each station we will teach them basic skills related to track, namely Distance, Sprints, Hurdles, Throws, and Jumps.

We could use everyone's help to make sure it goes smoothly. Those who come help will help at one of the stations, and generally help the kids have a good time. 

On Saturday it will be a mini meet for the kids. We'll get the timing system out and have the kids race in several events. It will be a lot of fun. 

The kids love it because they get to work with you guys. The parents love it because their kids are out having a blast. I love it because my own kids are there having fun in the sport I love, and it's such a positive thing for these kids to be able to work with you guys in such a fun way.

Because of this meet, we might move the Saturday long run to Friday, and allow an easy run on Saturday. 

Here is the update for this week:

Day	Date	Location	Type	Total Mileage For Max
Week 2 - 60% of Max Mileage			0.6	60	55	50	45	40	35	30	25
Mon	June 9	Pioneer Park	Grass loops with surges	5-6	4-6	4-5	3-4	3-4	2-4	2-3	2-4
	June 10	(on own)	Distance Run/Cross Train	5-7	5-6	4-6	4-5	3-5	3-4	0.0	0.0
Wed	June 11	Vita	Distance Run	7.3	6-7	6-7	6-7	5-6	4-5	4-5	3-4
Thurs	June 12	(on own) Track camp at 9	Easy run/Cross Train	3	3.0	3.0	Cross train	Cross train	Cross train	Cross train	Cross train
Fri	June 13	FHS (track camp at 9)	Easy run or Saturday's long run today	4-6	4-5	4-5	3-4	3-4	2-4	2-4	3-4
Sat	June 14	(on own) Track camp at 8	Distance run - 10-30 minute steady for 45-60 mpw kids	9.0	8.3	7.5	7.0	6.2	6.0	6.0	4.5
Sun	June 15		Off Day
Weekly Volume				36	33	30	27	24	21	18	15

XC Team/Parent Meeting recap

 Parents and athletes,

If you are not already in the groupme, please join. 

Parent announcement group

Farmington XC group

Registration

If you have not already registered for the season, please fill out this form.

Coaches

We have an amazing set of coaches this year, and couldn't be more excited about the year ahead! Let me give them a brief introduction of our coaches, especially the new ones. Honestly, we have so many great coaches, I feel fortunate to be surrounded by greatness, and your kids are lucky to have so much knowledge and experience available to them, in addition to having great people as their coaches.

Ben Jacobson - Head Coach, 4th year at FHS.

Jessica Gibbs - Jessica will be the distance coach during track season. This is her 1st year at FHS, and she comes to us from WX after coaching for several years there and running at BYU-Hawaii.

Rachel Farrell - 4th year with FHS XC, Jumps coach with track

Dave Munk - 4th year with FHS XC, 7 years of XC

Jason Lynch - Resident Pro and owner of the fastest marathon ever run in Utah.

Cynthia Fowler - Our other resident pro, and 3 time Olympic trials qualifier, if I'm not mistaken.

KaSandra Nordgren - KaSandra is currently the Centennial JH distance track coach. She joins us for her first year at FHS XC, after running at SUU.

Hailey Bird - Hailey graduates/graduated on Wednesday 5/21, and will help out this season with us before moving on to bigger and better things.

Team breakfasts/dinners/activities

If you would like to host a team breakfast at your house on a Saturday morning, our team would be very grateful. You can sign up to host one here.

Each Saturday the captains lead a team long run from the home of a parent who has volunteered to provide breakfast. We hope this allows the kids to improve their fitness and improve their experience on the team.

Season overview

This overview covers things like the summer schedule, register my athlete, physicals, etc. Please look over the information found here for the summer/season overview.

Iron

We spoke about the benefits of healthy iron levels in endurance athletes, why levels might be low, and why runners benefit from being on the higher levels of the normal range, rather than lower levels.

Athletes are encouraged to get a blood test when they go in for their physical to test their iron and ferritin levels. Please view the information sheet below for more information.

Iron information Sheet

If you have any questions about anything above, please don't hesitate to reach out to any of the coaches. my email is bjacobson@dsdmail.net

State Week!

 Phoenix,

The final week of the season is upon us. There are a lot of important items below, so please follow along.

First, state is on Thursday and Saturday. Thursday we will have a bus leaving the school at 7:30 AM, and returning at the end of the day (early evening). You will be excused from the entire day of school, and because it is school-excused your teachers will work with you about how you can make up the day. Please communicate with them ASAP. 

The things about state is, it is so wildly fun. So fun. We get to watch our kids compete with the best, hang out together, play spikeball, relax a bit between races (even if the racers feel stressed), and for those not competing this year, renew our determination to be there next year. 

There will not be a bus Saturday, but once again we're asking everyone to come down and support. We're asking you to clear your schedules so you can be at the meet both days. I'm serious when I say it is so much fun. You will not regret coming down. If you've never been, it's an experience at a meet unlike any other. We will be supporting the squad, playing spikeball, (or rather, you'll be getting cooked in spikeball by Hogge and me, Lundy and me, or Marianne and me (note those teams are GOATed not because of me... I choose my teammates wisely).

Ultimately, we want to have a team that contends for, and wins, region and state championships. I have never seen a team get to that level with out an abundance of SUPs. I see our level of support for those who are at state as a sign of how strong of a team we have right now, and going into the future. No one is satisfied with our team placement at region. We as coaching staff are determined to be better, and in turn help you be better. The best way to create a sustainable, successful team, is to have kids who are invested in the success of their teammates as well as their own. 

State Qualifiers

Saige Baxter - Pole Vault, Saturday 10:30 AM

Logan Allen - Pole Vault, Saturday 2:30 PM

Cyrus McGregor - Discus, Thursday 2:00 PM

Isaac Hogge - 110H, Thursday 11:25 AM

Kyle Greenwood - 110H, Thursday 11:25 AM

Aubrey Dallas - High Jump, Thursday 2:00 PM

Isabella Tolman - High Jump, Thursday 2:00 PM

Addy Webb - Long Jump, Thursday 4:00 PM

    - 100m, Thursday 11:45 AM

Tanner Nielson - 100m, Thursday 12:10 PM

    - 200m, Thursday 3:05 PM

Ellie Dorius - 1600m, Saturday 8:25 AM

Landon Sturgeon - 1600m, Saturday 7:00 AM

    -3200m, Thursday 10:30 AM

Girls 4x100m - Saturday, 3:10 PM

Boys 4x100m - Saturday, 2:25 PM

Boys 4x200m - Thursday, 5:00 PM

Boys 4x800m - Thursday, 3:50 PM   

Region Recap and Future Forecast

On the note of region, there were so many strong performances from our team, in fact, individually I was more pleased with the performances than I could have reasonably hoped for. We had kids set huge PRs, Saige and Logan both won the vault! Addy won the long jump as well! Our freshman, Ava, podiumed in the Jav, just a few feet from state qualifying. Landon, Farmington's Golden Child, is so back. Tanner broke the school record in the 200m, which was a very quality record. Our relays had some hiccups, but there were also some good things there that I'm very happy about, like the girls 4x100 and boys 4x800 qualifying for state on time! Honestly the good far outweighed the bad, and I hope you hold your heads high for how our team performed.

However, our team placement (last for the girls, 5th for boys), is not at all where we want to be. Where our team ended up is not because of poor performance, there are a number of things that contributed to where we ended up, but it wasn't because of anything that happened this week, in fact what we did was very good! 

The most obvious issue is not having enough kids out on our team, and being completely locked in all year. We have a little over 100 kids on the team. Layton and Davis (the top two for both genders) have about double the amount of kids on their teams. That tells me that I as the head coach, must do better at getting kids out to participate, and enjoying our time together as a team. We as a team must do better and getting kids to join us, and have fun together in the sport. 

We have to have a common purpose, to maximize our talent as individuals and a team, and compete for championships. If we are all determined together, then the whole experience will be more enjoyable, and we'll be winning more. And winning is fun, it's an extrinsic reward for the hard work, which itself is intrinsically motivating. It's a win-win! (pun intended).

The bottom line is, you should be proud of the way you performed thus far this season, and for those of us returning, we will be more driven in our common purpose next year. We'll obsess more with working hard and having fun together; with getting more people to join our cause; with competing at the highest level and achieving team goals. We will still host meets, but you guys are so good at it, we'll be able to find ways to have fun while helping, perform well, and compete to win at the meets we host. The trophies we buy - let's keep them in-house. 

Instead of worrying about grades in track class, we should all be so locked in, that the idea of extra credit is completely unnecessary, the conversations about it brief, and the focus on team performance and improvement, day in and day out, brought to the forefront. 

What I'm asking of you now, is to set your goals high for next year, and make sure those goals include plans on how to achieve them. If you want to run a 4:19 next year in the mile, what must you do this summer to achieve that? If you want to qualify for state in multiple sprinting events, where do you need to improve between now and next winter to be ready for that jump? Etc. 

I know we are 9 months away, but I already cannot wait for next year. Our coaching staff is amazing; our facilities, top-notch, our school, legit; our mountains, best in the county; and our athletes outstanding. SUPs abound. And together we can get back to where we all expect Farmington to be.

Upcoming

Next week we will still be practicing. To what end, you might ask? To support those going to state by giving them training partners. For you distance runners, to get you ready for the night of the 5000s. If you aren't doing that, then great, we'll still squeak a little more speed out of you, truly maximize our spring build, before entering your 2 week break leading into cross country. 

For you XC kids, the spring track season peak is essential in reaching new heights for cross country. One additional week of base building for xc is not greater than another week of track training. In fact, adding an additional week of xc training increases the likelihood of burnout or early fatigue in the fall, something many of you complained of last year, so I'm being cognizant of that. 

Monday 5/19, 6 PM, Choir Room - Cross Country TEAM and Parent meeting.

Tuesday 5/20 6 PM, Cafeteria - Track Banquet (dinner provided) - Parents, please fill out this survey for you and the kids.

Wednesday - graduation

Thursday - new life

Friday - Live the dream

Wednesday 6/4 - First Cross Country Practice, location TBD

4/20 Update

Phoenix,

Another week down, and we're about to enter the final stretch, with less than 1 month to go.

This week so saw a raft of personal and seasonal bests, between our meets at Weber and at Davis. We had a large contingency qualify for the Davis invitational, which made for a fun and long day. Thank you to all the sups* who pulled up to support, whether you stayed long after your own race, (e.g. Phipps, Addy, Ethan), or came even though you weren't racing (e.g. Julia, Nathan, Swaggy P), or showed up 10 hours before your race (Huddo). The sups are what make our team great. May we all strive to be described as a sup.

*A sup is someone who is a supporter. More than just a supporter, a sup is someone who puts their teammates ahead of themselves, and goes out of their way to support those around them.

This Week

On Wednesday we will be hosting a meet with Syracuse and Weber. The meet begins at 3 PM. Talk to your event coaches about what you should do. Everyone can compete at this meet, but many racing Friday may be doing a workout instead, so talk to your event coach.

We will have a job list for the meet, but we don't have concessions, gates, wind gauge, or some of the more tedious things.

We are going to be taking a team picture for the yearbook at 1:15 on Wednesday - be in your uniform. That will be done on the bleachers.

On Friday we go to Woods Cross. That meet begins at 2 PM. That is a recent time change, so please be aware of that. We have an entry limit there, as well as event standards, so not everyone will be able to compete, but everyone should come be a sup.

Pole Vault for this meet is on Thursday at Davis High, since WX does not have a vault space.

We will not be bussing to WX, so you should arrange your own transportation. You will be excused from 8th period.

Next Week - extra credit

On Monday we will be hosting a Junior High Meet on Monday, which begins at 1 PM. Any of you who did not scan out at the end of previous meets we have hosted, the JH meet will be an opportunity to make up 10 points, by being there from 12:00 until the end of the meet. You will be excused during 4th period.

Anyone not needing extra credit is still encouraged to come and help, but you won't have to stay until the bitter end.

On Wednesday 4/30 we go to Weber again. That meet will go much better than last time so don't agonize too much.

Then, that weekend, is the BYU invitational, where they accept the top X number of athletes into the meet, depending on times set during the year. That meet is Friday and Saturday. Please go look at the schedule on Sporttrax and see if you could compete at the hour that your events are listed, and communicate with your coaches. I know it's prom on Saturday, so that may affect some of you.

4/13 update

Phoenix,

Thank you all so much for your help in putting on two meets this week. That is no small feat, and I know it required a lot of time, effort, and sacrifice on your part to be there putting it on.

I received many compliments from other coaches about how much they enjoyed the meet and how well it was run. The credit for that goes to each of you. Sometimes I wonder if all of you understand why it is so important to me that we run a quality meet. There are many reasons, but ultimately it comes down to the experience of the athletes, including you. We've all been to meets that are poorly run, and it makes the experience less fun, and the atmosphere less energized, and the chance to have a good performance diminishes. 

On Friday. over 700 athletes competed at our meet, with 1377 finishers, and each of them had a great opportunity to showcase their hard work. I know how hard you guys work, and the last thing I want is for you to spend weeks, months, and years working hard, only to get to a meet where the communication, atmosphere, or competition is poor, and you're unable to show your full skillset. We offered that to people, and you should be proud of it. It didn't make me any richer (although the profits will allow us to get a new long jump board, a new canopy, a high jump cover, new hurdles, more shots/discs, etc.) but I feel richer because of being able to work alongside each of you. 

So, on my account, and on behalf of those teams that came to the meet, especially those that thanked us repeatedly, thank you for all of your hard work, commitment, and sacrifice. You helped a great number of people have a positive experience, and I hope that it was something you enjoyed as well.

A few of you were singled out as being noticed going above and beyond, and obviously we cannot name everyone. Sara "best attitude" Taylor, Annie, Katrina, and Tatum were ballers out at discus. Belle and Kiera at shot then gates, even withstanding some peanut gallery remarks. Koda was goated at moving hurdles, Eli and Jed were rockstars at making sure the alleys were set for a great many distance races. Ava, Logan, Lucas, and McKay worked the PV for about 6 hours super well. Lorelei and Gifty were at concessions the entire time without a complaint. Henry, Seth, and Kenzie grinded away at Long jump for forever, James and the other jav crew were super helpful out there, getting a sunburn I imagine, while shagging javs and pulling tape. And don't forget my guys Swaggy P and Lando up in the box helping the audience understand the race and enjoy it. I did not have Swaggy P on my bingo card as being the GOAT announcer in 2025, but here we are.

Thank you all again. Those who aren't named, don't feel slighted, we only have so many eyes and our brains are a bit fried from the week, so I'm sure many of you weren't named above who were as good as those listed.

The good news is, we have a little while until we host again, and even then, those will be smaller meets (a tri meet and JH meet). 

This Week

Training returns to normal for a few days before we head to Weber for a meet on Wednesday with them and Davis. The buses will leave at 1:30. 

Those racing on Saturday may or may not be competing on Wednesday, so talk to your event coaches about that. 

Then on Saturday is the Davis invitational. That is one of the biggest meets of the year, and it is an "all dayer". You can see the meet information on Sporttrax. The way this meet works is they take the top 8 people in each event and put them in a one heat/flight final in the afternoon session. The morning session they take the top X number of entries (that number is tbd), so you can see who is in line to be accepted into the meet, and who probably won't make the cut a few days in advance. Thursday at noon those entries will be official.

We would love for you all to come and watch even if you aren't competing, and if you are competing, to hang out with us throughout the day. Honestly it's one of the coolest meets of the year, and the temperature looks like it will be downright delightful.

There will not be a bus to Davis.

Upcoming

Next Wednesday 4/23 we host a tri meet, then go to WX on Friday. Monday of the following week we host a JH meet (which I'm hoping to make extra credit), and then on that wednesday we go to Weber again, that Friday/Saturday is BYU. The next week is Region, then it's state, then you graduate (seniors, in case that wasn't clear).

There are like 5 weeks left. That is nothing. Use your time wisely pham!

Coach Jacobson