First, thank you so much to all the parents who helped make this past week a positive one for all of our kids. The meals and activities were a lot of fun and it made this week better for everyone involved. So again, thank you!
Meet Recap
(Results can be found by viewing the meet schedule; I've linked them next to the meet name).
We had our first meet on Saturday at the Premier Invitational. The two things that were consistently on display during the four races were effort and support. I was very pleased to see how hard everyone was pushing themselves, but I was even more pleased to see you all running around the course to cheer for your teammates when it wasn't your turn to race. That is something that is key to a successful team.
Earlier this week we set some team standards, among those were the ideas that we consistently work hard, and we support each other. You lived up to those standards yesterday, may you continue to do so. I even heard people introducing themselves to each other to learn their names (we have a big team, you're going to have to ask people's names at some point) so they could better cheer for each other. I love it!
I often like to get to the 2.5 mile mark so I can give you one last bit of encouragement going into the final 800m. It is my favorite part of the race for sure. In the JV boys race, when Jacob Smith got to that point of the race he had about 30-50m of space between him and the group ahead of him, so I just encouraged him to try to close that gap and pass as many people as he could and I said "tell me afterwards how many you pass!" since at that location I am unable to see the finish (which is worth it to me so I can be in that spot). He kept it rolling and later told me that he passed 7 people. That's honestly crazy. That is a lot of ground to make up in a relatively short amount of time. It was awesome to see.
The goals of running here were to shake off some rust from a lot of base building miles, and get some racing experience from which we can learn. Both of those were easily met. I had several kids come tell me they ran the fastest races of their lives, which is a payoff of their hard work. There were also many kids who did not have their best race ever. Both were expected. It is more rare than common to have a personal best in early August, but it happens. Whether you had a great race or a tough day, what we need to get out of this is what can we learn from this race? There will be little things we can change around the race to help you for the next one, but the biggest key for long term improvement is consistency. If you had a rough day, rather than ruminating about the disappointment, identify some key things you can do differently, and get yourself ready for the coming week. It might be as simple as hydrating or recovering better, or it could be as complex as changing some habits which lead to missed practices (like you habitually sleep in - which won't be at issue for much longer). Regardless, we'll be back to work tomorrow to work on improving, so no need to stew on the negatives.
Weekly Schedule
This week's schedule looks a little more complex. Us teachers/counselors go back to school this week, and with AM meetings we are unable to do morning practices. However, I did get approval to have morning practices on Tuesday and Friday. So, please check the time of each practice in addition to the location.
Physicals
Again, I need the hard copy of your physical ASAP. Thanks.
End of summer party
We can't let summer end without one more team pool party. So, on Friday at 5:30 the Austin's have volunteered to host a pool party at their home. I hope you all can make it, it should be a lot of fun!
If you have any questions please let me know.
Coach Jacobson
