3/23 Update

Phoenix,

We had an awesome two days at the super meet! With your help we were able to allow nearly 1200 kids to participate in the meet. Ultimately a huge motivation for hosting that meet is to allow almost our entire team to compete, allowing other teams to come and have a chance to race, teach the value of teamwork in pulling off big events, and do some serious fund raising for our team. 

There were a ton of PRs at the meet, and I know we'll see so many more, because the vast majority of our team is putting in quality effort each day at practice. Those of you who aren't being completely consistent, meaning being at practice day in and day out, find a way to do better. 

A few performances to shout out are Addy Webb in the 100m, who qualified for state, and then Landon Sturgeon who came from behind to win the 1600m. Many more of you set personal or season bests, some hitting big milestones like going under 5 in the mile, or 29 in the 200. There were a lot of exciting things, and the best part is, we're just getting started.

We have so many kids who are eager to help others have a good experience by volunteering their service that it's hard to shout everyone out. The long jump helpers have one of the most physically tasking jobs. The field events have to be engaged nearly the entire time. The bull pen, run by Marianne and Sahara, is a thankless job but essential in moving the meet along. The finish line crew, gate crew, concessions, announcing and results, hurdle crew, WIND GAUGE, all of it. It takes work, and we appreciate your time and effort to do your job well. We have 4 more meets that we're hosting, but only one will be lengthy, the others will only be like 3 hours. I'm kind of sad about it tbh, because I enjoy seeing so many athletes competing at our school, and seeing each of you compete your best, and volunteer your effort to make the meet a quality one for everyone else. 

This week

This week we head to Syracuse on Tuesday and Wednesday for the district championships. We are limited to 4 people per event, so we won't be able to enter everyone, but we will do our best to fill those entries out. We have a few extra spots in the 100, mile, and pole vault, but still not enough to get everyone in. 

That said, we encourage you all still to come and support, whether by bussing with us or driving on your own. You are welcome to get yourself to the meet rather than riding the bus. We may not have room for everyone again, if everyone comes to support. 

The buses will leave at 1:45 PM both days. On Wednesday you will be excused for all of 4th period. Tuesday is the ACT day for juniors only.

The schedule for the meet can be found on Sporttrax. 

Also, in the sporttrax app or on the web you can select rankings, and filter by school, region, classification, etc. and see where you stack up. It's a pretty nice feature. I recommend checking it out, especially on the region level. 

Spring Break

We will still be practicing Thursday and Friday this week, so don't start your spring break early (unless you've legitimately left by then). Then next week during spring break, we may try to get together a few times for those who are in town to get a workout in. Those spring break practices are usually pretty vibey.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Coach Jacobson

3/16 update

Phoenix,

Our first meet is in the books. It was great to get out and compete and give us an idea of what we need to do in training to get better every day. The highlight for me was everyone getting on the line to run a 4x4 at the end of the meet. Working hard as a team, and having fun, is what we need to be about. 

This update is going to be a bit lengthy, so buckle up, but like tbh, it's solid. I don't have any Severance references today, so I apologize in advance for those who only came to look for Easter eggs hidden in the update.

We as coaches learned a lot about our team, and I hope you learned some things that will help you moving forward as well. We encourage you to become a student of your events, ask questions of your coaches with the intent to learn. We have very knowledgeable coaches with great experience. On the sprint/hurdle side with Brian, Marianne, Sahara, and Rachel, there is a ton of experience, and current talent in the case of BYU's Marianne. Sahara and Marianne have arranged their lives for this year to help you out, so tap in to their knowledge while you can (we have almost exactly 2 months remaining). Ask about their experiences and technical knowledge. Ask for them to critique your start or mechanics. Ask why they want your blocks set a certain way. 

Our vault coaches have so much experience and knowledge, we're fortunate to have two coaches there to help more athletes, as well as throws, jumps, and distance. When they tell you a reason, ask them why. The other day Austin and I had an interesting chat about the why of standing up gradually and hitting top speed later in a 100m race as opposed to hitting top speed early, all because he asked questions with the intent to learn and improve. When your field coaches tell you how to do an approach, if you don't know why that is, ask, with the goal to understand not undermine, to strategize not skepticize (I totally thought I made that word up, turns out it is legit). When you seek to learn and understand, you'll be better able to implement the techniques and methods necessary to reach your full potential.

Practices

Even if you are not in the 8th period class, you still need to be scanning in on A days. That is how we remember who has been attending, and who we will enter into meets. We have over 130 kids who have attended a practice this year, so it's very difficult to remember who has been attending and when. Which is crazy because we should all just attend every day, with rare exception, so then it's easy to remember when you've missed.

Figure out your schedules so you can be at practice. Every day matters. On days when your motivation is low, that's when you need it most. That is when you create habits and develop discipline that will allow you to be successful. 

I said this the other day, but I'll say it here too. Odds are every single one of you will have a PR or seasonal best at some point after our first meet. That's all well and good, but, truthfully, isn't that hard, especially the more inexperienced you are. The less experienced you are, the more significant your adaptations and fitness improvements are with less work. Even if the only time you cared about getting a PR was on race day, most would would see an improvement, albeit, far from what you would with true consistent effort and care.

Caring only on race day, or test day, is a sure way to feeling unsatisfied. What is important is working to reach your full potential for the season and beyond. It's not just about getting better, although we are always striving for improvement. It's about building daily habits that will allow you to reach your full potential as a track athlete and a person. 

Take Brayden Scoresby, for instance. This is a kid who barely dipped under a 7 minute avg for 5k his sophomore year, and then ran about 5:30 in the mile that spring. His junior year he saw a big jump in the 5k, shaving off a cool 30s per mile and another 30s in the mile in Track. This year, he ran 5k at very nearly his sophomore MILE pace. Had he not developed a stress fracture he likely would have made it. Since healing up and recovering, he's gone under 4:50 in the mile already, and looks poised to have another big jump. While he was cooking a workout the other day, I remarked to some of his teammates, in my typical dry but joking tone, "do you guys remember when Scoresby was slow?" He's a far cry from who he used to be. Years ago, after his first race, I wouldn't have predicted how fast he'd become. But after seeing his work ethic, I'm no longer surprised. I can't remember who said it, but in response to my question, he said, "yeah but he's been crazy consistent." Even his teammates have noticed his consistency. And now he's generating interest from programs like Snow College. 

If the only time he cared about having a PR was on race day, then he'd still be "slow", but slightly faster (slow is all relative, and I said it as a means of comparison between where he was, and where he is now. 7 minute avg for 5k isn't "slow", but compared to how fast he is now, it is.) But Brayden didn't care only on race day. He cared every day and gave his best effort day in and day out and as a result has seen more improvement than nearly anyone I've ever coached. If there is someone who is tapping into their potential, it's Brayden, and he will continue to see a lot of improvement. He became a student of the sport, he is passionate, and he is a fantastic teammate who joys in the success of those around him. 

And what's fascinating is that this is only part of Brayden's story. There is a lot more to it, both in the past and future. 

This week/meet hosting

This week we will be hosting a meet over the span of two days, the Super Meet. On Wednesday the girls will compete while the boys "work" the meet. On Thursday, the roles will reverse. I say "work" because everyone will have a job and will be responsible in helping us put on a great day for competition. 

As has been explained since the beginning of the year, everyone is expected to help at each of the track meets that we host, from start to finish. We will scan in at the start, and then out at the end. Those leaving early will not get credit for the day. With over 120 kids on the team, I cannot be fielding all the exceptions and reasons for missing for each athlete. The expectation is that you are there the entire time so arrange your schedule to be there both days. 

Your goal in your various jobs is to make this experience as great as possible for the competitors and spectators. That means doing your job as best you can, both quickly and correctly. If we need hurdles moved, you'd do it without waiting to be asked. 

Each of you will have an assigned job. I will post that job list in the various groupme chats and in canvas. Descriptions of those jobs are on there as well. 

Thank you for all you're doing. Let's continue to strive to hit our full potential day in and day out.

Coach Jacobson

3/9 update

Phoenix,

We've had another solid week of training, and I'm eager to see you all compete. I've been pleased with the effort and consistency from most of you. However, too many kids have missed at least one practice this week. Missing practices is not the strat to reaching your full potential, and it weakens our team. Arrange your schedules, your school work, etc., so that you can be at each practice.

The end of term has come, and with it, a reset of eligibility. If you have more than 1 F, and "U"s, or a GPA below 2.0, you are not eligible to compete. The Us can be cleared, and must be before you can compete, but the others are basically set in stone barring some very extenuating circumstances.

Monday

There is no school on Monday but we will still be practicing. We are scheduled on the field for 1 PM. This is our final workout before our first meet, and will be essential for relays, blocks, fitness, etc., so be sure to show up on time ready to roll. 

First Meet

Speaking of eligibility, you must have met the above criteria and you MUST be completed and approved on register my athlete or you WILL NOT be competing on Wednesday at Fremont. If you don't have it done cleared by Tuesday, we won't be entering you. That means everything should be entered and done by MONDAY. ("Why all the caps, coach? Are you mad?" No, I'm not mad, I just want to be as clear as possible so no one acts surprised that their register my athlete isn't completed. If it says completed in green next to your name, under track, then, and only then, are you good to go.)

Do you know how many people haven't even selected track on register my athlete? A whole host of people. 12 girls and 19 boys. Please tell me that's a joke. Half of them are xc kids that I know have an account they just haven't selected track yet. You can't think you have nothing to do on there just because you did another sport, you need to go on and check that you've selected track.

I'm ranting at this point, and yet still there will be people who don't do it correctly, and they won't be entered into the meet.

Anyway, the meet this week is on Wednesday 3/12 at Fremont. There will be buses going to Fremont, departing from the west side of the school at 1:30. If anyone chooses alternate means of transportation, that is acceptable if we do not have space on the bus. You may also right with a parent.

The meet will last several hours, but the end time is never predetermined.

Entries for the meet will be done on Sporttrax. You should always check sporttrax to make sure you are entered when you ought to be, or not if you shouldn't. You should also claim your profile on sporttrax through this link. 

For these small meets, everyone can go and compete. If you are in a field event, you should be in the habit of talking to your coaches and letting them know which field events you want to do. You should check sporttrax and make sure that is correct prior to the meet as well.

Hoodies, Sweats, t shirts

If you have not already filled out the form for the hoodies and sweats, I've extended the time to do so. The reason I've done that is that I still have a few extras here in my room that I can give you right now, if you request the correct sizes. Some of you didn't fill it out, so I am going to order a medium for you, unless you fill this out by Monday. 

Form for hoodie, sweats, t shirt

Uniforms

Most of you have your uniforms by now, but if you don't yet, we will be handing them out Wednesday before the meet. If you haven't paid your fees by Wednesday at 7:30 AM however, you won't be getting a uniform. I can't keep checking repeatedly who has paid the fees, so I'll print the list for this meet on Wednesday at 7:30. If you happen to not have fees loaded to your account, let me know and I will get those added. 

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

Coach Jacobson

3/2 update

Phoenix,

Our first week of outdoor practice was a lot of fun, and we were fortunate to have fantastic weather. We likely won't be so lucky to have weather like that the rest of the way, so get in a habit of checking the forecast and dressing accordingly. We will pretty much be outside rain or shine, so #stayready.

I'm very pleased with the team we have, I'm excited to see each of you progress in your events. I have been getting a similar question over and over, and that is, if it is too late for your friends to join the team. The answer to that is that it is NOT too late, and they are welcome to come out.

This week

We will practice as usual this week, and on Friday during the class period we will be holding a time trial. Talk to your event coaches about which events we will be doing. 

Slight Schedule Change

Many Wednesdays there will be soccer games out on the field shortly after school. We are almost completely relocated when those days land on an A day, because we can't be on the track during the game (it's really frustrating that soccer games are all done on turf these days). On B days we have a bit more time, but even then, we are crunched for time. Therefore, we are going to begin the class on Wednesdays at 1:15 just like we do every other class period. 

What that means for you is that you will have a slightly shorter lunch on Wednesdays, so please plan accordingly. Some of you have been saying that you just skip lunch on B days because of class, and I don't love it. You need to eat. But, if you need more time to digest, then I suggest you pack a lunch and eat it during 7th period. Not every teacher is cool with that, but as long as you aren't ripping open bags of chips, or being a nuisance, most wouldn't even notice, let alone care.

Spirit Pack

If you did not previously fill out the form to get the hoodie, sweats, and t shirt, which are included in your track fees, please fill it out by Tuesday 3/4 at 7:30 AM, otherwise you will receive a standard medium size. Spirit Pack Form

Uniforms

If you are new to our team and do not have a uniform, please fill out this form to let us know you need one. We will arrange for a day at practice to distribute uniforms. Uniforms will not be given to anyone who has not completed registration or paid the fees.

Team Store

If you ordered items from the team store, they are in my classroom if you'd like to come get them.

Registration

Make sure you have completed registration or you will not be able to compete. If you don't know what this means by now, you should reach out and ask me. Or, you could also go click on "register my athlete" at the top of this page (or in the drop down menu on mobile). 

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Coach Jacobson

2/23 update

Phoenix,

The season is officially upon us! We begin today, Monday, 2/24 at 2:35 at the bleachers. I couldn't be more excited to get started. We have an amazing coaching staff, outstanding athletes, and the best school around.

I said this on Friday, while today may feel like a long way from May, we are less than 3 months from State and graduation, for you seniors. These 3 months may be the fastest 3 months of your life. I continue to implore you to use your time to the fullest. Don't squander your days. There are only so many days for us to get better and improve, so, as Mr. Milchick so beautifully uttered, "you must eradicate childish folly from your essence." (If you know that quote without having to look it up then I'll give you a Gatorade.)

We will  be practicing every day now. The expectation is that you are all there, each day, whether you are in the class or not. If you are in the class, practice on B days DO NOT end at 2:20. Please arrange for transportation home accordingly. 

Parent Meeting Recap

If this is your first day viewing our website, please view the parent meeting recap here. 

Schedule

You can find the season schedule at the top of this page in the dropdown menu or across the top. 

Registration

Each of you needs to complete registration through register my athlete prior to our first meet, or you cannot compete. If you don't know what that is, go to the parent meeting recap above and check it out, and then ask me any questions.

Eligibility

If you have more than one F, less than a 2.0 GPA, or any Us, then you will be ineligible to compete. You can clear Us, but they need to be signed off prior to your competing. That means they need to be done at least 2 days before a race, so that the proper people can sign off on it. 

Make sure you are on top of your grades.

Uniforms

Those who do not have a uniform will have them issued this week or next, but only after you have paid your fees. Anyone who has not paid their fees will not receive a uniform. 

Spirit pack items

I got two more boxes of items this morning, so if you didn't receive items last week when you came to get them, I might have them now. Swing by my room at your convenience to get the hoodies and sweats. 

If you have any other questions for me, please let me know.

Coach Jacobson

2/17 update

Phoenix,

This is our final week before the season begins. On Monday 2/24 we will be holding our first practice after school at 2:35. Assuming there is no snow on the bleachers, we will meet out on the bleachers by the track. If so has collected then we will likely meet inside. 

Please note, that on 2/24 there will be tryouts happening on the field for soccer and lacrosse (and varying times) so we may be practicing elsewhere so we don't get beaned by an errant spherical projectile.

Now that the season is here, everyone who is on the team, whether in the class or not, is expected to be at all of the practices. 

On A days we will meet at 2:35. On B days, 1:15 (1:35 on Wednesdays). If you aren't in the class, you'll come after school as quickly as you can on those B days. 

Bring your spikes every day to practice!!!

Athlete of the week

Each week our social media team is going to highlight an athlete of the week.  They are looking for kids who are consistent, positive, disciplined in the warm up and workout, etc.

Registration

If you haven't completed register my athlete, you need to do it or you won't be allowed to compete.

Eligibility

Third term is winding down. Make sure your grades and citizenship are where they need to be. 

If you have any questions please let me know.

2/9 update

Phoenix,

Thank you again to all the parents who came out to the parent meeting. It was good to meet so many of you. If at any point you have questions for us, please don't hesitate to reach out to me or any of the event coaches. 

If you missed that meeting, you can find the recap here. (You know who didn't miss the PARENT meeting? Addy, she didn't forget, even if she forgot her spikes two days later. Aubrey and Julia were there, who, instead of doing school work, spend every waking hour hounding me about getting this update done so they can pretend to live their dream of being viral sensations.)

Speaking of grades, you cannot compete during the track season if you have below a 2.0 GPA and/or more than one "F". If you have any "U"s they must be made up and cleared prior to being allowed to compete. We have less than one month before the term ends. Specifically, 19 school days (10 B days, 9 A days). If you have work that is late, it's time to start getting that taken care of lest you find yourself on the sideline for the duration of the season. Which, if you've ever been injured for an extended period or been ineligible, you know is the worst.

Phoneix Preview TONIGHT

Tonight is the Phoenix Preview (also known as Sophomore orientation) from 4:45-6:15. If you have any spare time this evening, even if only 30 minutes somewhere during that time frame, we are asking you to come hang out at the track table and help promote track and cross country by talking to the kids, sharing some of your experience, and inviting them to join us. Julia has made a bunch of decorations (by hand, mind you - she's spent a lot of time on it) and we have little cards with QR codes on them to give out with which the kids can sign up for the sport.

You already know that the 9th graders would rather see you than me, they'd probably be scared of my bald head, so come glaze our program and help our team grow, and in turn, help us reach our team goals.

Practices this week

We will be practicing every day this week. Do your best to be at each one. Time is of the essence, as they say, so use it wisely. Find ways to motivate yourselves and others to be there each day. Discipline is a habit that is created through repetition, so creating that habit now will help when the season is upon us. Waiting until the end of the month will mean needing to break a bad habit, making it all the harder. Start this week. Be there on A days.

Registration

All parents/guardians of athletes need to complete registration through the following website: Register My Athlete. A physical is required, in addition to other items, and the physical must be from this school year, beginning, I believe, on 7/31. 

To find a walk through for doing this the first time, please see the following site: Farmington Phoenix Track & Field and Cross Country: Register My Athlete.

Team Store

If you would like to purchase items from the team store, it is open for about a week, and those items can be found here: My Team Shop

If you have any questions please let me know.

Coach Jacobson