3/31 update - Spring Break Edition

Phoenix,

Outstanding job at the district championships. We had a few more state qualifying marks and tons of PRs in spite of some interesting weather patterns. That meet serves as a great opportunity for us to launch into the second half of our season.

Friday was also one of my favorite practices of the year, the group we had there worked hard and had a great attitude. It's things like that that will help our team reach our goals in the short and long term.

Our coaching staff has talked on numerous occasions about how well we feel this year is going. We're in a good rhythm as a team and we have so many kids working hard to improve. Thank you so much for your contribution to that. I look forward to coming to "work" each day and you all are a big part of that. 

Spring Break

I hope you all have a great spring break ahead. For those of you who are in town, we will hold practices on Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 10 AM at the track. I know many of you are headed out of town, but if you're around for any of the days we encourage you to join us. We'll have workouts for each event group.

Your coaches will be putting workout suggestions for those of you who are away so you can do your best to maintain and increase your fitness where possible while away.

More than anything, we hope you return mentally and physically refreshed, sharp, and improved, rather than flat and worn down.

After Spring Break

The days following spring break are quite busy. We will be traveling to Fremont for a meet on Wednesday 4/10 then we will be hosting our biggest invitational of the year, The Phoenix Invitational on Friday 4/12. Those who are competing on Friday will likely not be competing on Wednesday, save for a few exceptions. Everyone will be expected to help and compete at our meet on Friday 4/12. I expect the meet to end around 9 PM.

It is an impressive invitational with some of the best schools in the state coming to compete, and it is a ton of fun for all involved, albeit with a lot of work involved.

This meet has been on our schedule since the turn of the semester (actually before then, but many likely hadn't looked until 2nd semester). Make your plans for your activities and other commitments accordingly. Maybe you need to do the old school method of "day dates" for prom being the same day as the dance. If that is just unbearably cringe or whatever the word is today, just choose another day of the week. 

Parent volunteers

Parents, we are still short a few volunteer slots for some of our year events. Please check out this sign up if you would be willing to help with items at meets or the end of year banquet. FHS track and Field: Track and field support (signupgenius.com)

3/24 update

Phoenix,

I can't thank each of you athletes enough for your help during the Super Meet this week. We hosted over 1000 participants from 18 schools in over 2300 entries. I hope you take pride in knowing that you put on a great meet that over 1000 kids were able to benefit from. There were tons of PRs from not just our team, but the others as well. So again, thank you for helping so many people have a positive experience. 

As for our performances, we had several more all-time performances which can be viewed at the tabs above. I spent like an hour typing up the updated performance list because there were so many personal bests, and I'll happily do that each week if need be. 

Go take a minute to check out the updated performance lists and see where the new all time marks are on our current team.

As we enter the final week before spring break, let's keep the habits of consistency going before the break.

This week

This week we are headed to Syracuse High for the Davis District Championships on Tuesday and Wednesday. Each of the Davis County schools will be there, and it is historically a really good and fun meet. 

We are very limited on entries for this meet. We are allowed 4 people per event, which means only about one third or half of our entire team will get into the meet. We also have 8 entries per gender in an unseeded 100m and 1600m. Unseeded simply means those two events won't be scored in the final results, but they will still be timed accurately. We will get as many in as we can. 

That said, I encourage everyone to come to the meet both days to support the squad. I have two buses going there and back, and I'd like to fill them up!

The bus will depart at 1:30 on both days. You'll be excused on Wednesday for all of 4th period (Tuesday is the aspire/act testing day so no excusal necessary).

Kids are allowed to drive home with their parents from the meet.

Practices on Monday/Thursday/Friday will be as usual.

Spring Break

I know we are all gearing up for a welcome spring break. Whenever possible, get a workout in each day, the more specific to your event, the better. 

We will hold optional practices a couple of days during the break for anyone who is around. Those days will be determined in the coming days.

Parent Volunteers

We still have many openings for volunteers for our meets and end of year banquet. Please view the sign up genius here.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Coach Jacobson

3/17 update

Phoenix,

I've been very happy with our first two weeks of practices, and with our first meet that we've hosted. Although we haven't been perfect, I really enjoy the group that we have, and we are becoming a fairly well rounded team. 

We have a good chunk of our team who is very consistent in their attendance and effort, so for the most part we are doing a great job. Another portion of the team could level up in their consistency, being sure to be there on A and B days, so that we're better able to improve. 

We are better when we are all together. Each time someone comes to practice, the rest of the group benefits. Work your schedule around so that you are there each day. If we can improve our level of consistency then our team will be that much better. Again, so many of you are doing a great job at that, and I appreciate your example and approach. We're better for it.

Register my athlete

If you aren't done. Get it done. Thanks to those who have it complete - it makes everything go much smoother for you and for us.

This week (3/18-22)

We have a complicated week ahead. We will be hosting the Super Meet on Wednesday and Thursday. The girls will be competing on Wednesday and the boys will be working the meet. On Thursday the groups will switch roles. Here's hoping for good weather.

This is a State Qualifying Meet, sometimes called "invitational." That means that if you run/throw/jump a legal state qualifying mark then you punch your ticket to the state meet. Those standards can be seen on the side of this website. Because it is a larger meet not everyone will be able to entered into all of their events. This particular meet allows most people to be entered, but many other invitationals are much more limited.

As of now it looks like we may have a good couple of days to set new PRs and generally have a great meet. We will work Monday and Tuesday to help you have your best opportunity to compete this week. The week after this we head to Syracuse to compete at the Davis District Championships, and we're limited in the number of people we can put in events, so this meet will help us in our decision making.

We intend to enter everyone who is eligible into at least one event at the Super Meet. Some will be entered in more that one, depending on where you currently are on the depth chart. The depth chart, also known as the performance list, can be viewed at the top of this page.

We will need everyone's help both days at the meet. Both the boys and girls are expected to stay for the entire meet on both days, then scan out when we are all finished up. Thanks to your help at the meet this week, we were able to finish at a decent hour. The meet will go later this week (we have like 19 schools coming), so we need to be efficient hosts so that everything goes smoothly. 

We have more jobs, like concessions and gates, than we had last week. People working hurdle crew/relay officials will be on a rotation with gates and concessions, so no one is working those jobs the entire time. I hope to get those jobs out on Tuesday morning. 

You can view the meet info, and the entries when we are done, on Meettrax. It's easiest to use if you have the app, by the way.

Next week (3/25-29)

Can you believe we're nearly to spring break? Next week we head to the District championships on Tuesday/Wednesday. That meet is set up in trials/finals. Those qualifying for finals compete Wednesday, in addition to a few field, relay, and distance events. While we are limited in how many people we can enter, we want to bring the whole team on the buses to come support the team.

Parent volunteers

If you're interested in volunteering in any way this season, please view the "parent sign up genius" at the top of this page. We appreciate all your support!

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Coach Jacobson

3/10 update

Phoenix,

We had an exceptional time down in St. George this past week, with about 40 kids competing. Tons of PRs, 1 overall champion - Bode Jensen in the 400 with a 49.08; a new school record - Skye in the 800 with a 2:17.63, second overall, and like 8 seconds faster than 3 weeks ago at Simplot when she worried she'd never speed up (lol); our lone freshman on the Team, Addisyn, broke the top 10 all-time list in the 100m in just her first meet in high school, which by the way, was in to a -1.3 m/s head wind; a few state qualifiers; at least one Arcadia qualifier; several BYU qualifiers; one spot-it champion - Savannah Barlow;  etc.  

We brought a great group of kids on the trip which made it very easy for me. I am grateful to you parents for raising and sending such great people. Planning a trip like this takes many hours of preparation - the last two months have been a whirlwind trying to get the trip planned in addition to things like Simplot and the start of our season. Although we are hosting several meets in the near future, it will still be less busy that the last month, and I look forward to having increased capacity to help our athletes improve and have a positive season.

I am greatly looking forward to the rest of March. We have a lot of good things ahead and a strong team. Let us make the most of each day.

Register my athlete (still??)

Yes, still.

Make sure it is completed. Many of you are seeing a "pending" on the approval of things you've uploaded. That will be done once our AD has a chance to get to them. He's been quite busy as well.

You cannot compete from here forward unless it is done.

With 3rd term now over, those with "U"s in citizenship will need to have those cleared before you can compete. Anyone below a 2.0 gpa or more than one "F" will be deemed ineligible unless the eligibility committee overturns it. Talk to Ms. Zachman if you think that applies to you.

Practice Monday, Tuesday 3/11, 12

We will be practicing both days at noon. Do what you can with your schedule to be there. Especially with the meet coming up, you'll want to be sharp.

Meet on 3/13 at home

We will be hosting Weber on Wednesday. When we host meets, everyone is expected to help from the beginning until the very end. In the case of this meet, it won't go super late. That said, we will scan in to start practice and then scan out at the conclusion of the meet. You need not ask me when that will be, because we will gather everyone around once clean up is finished so I can talk to you for 17 seconds, and then we will scan out and dismiss.

I will post those assignments tomorrow, most likely.

Talk to your event coaches about which events you should do, if any. (Snow Canyon distance runners are unlikely to race this weekend, sprinters/throwers/jumpers may be a different story).

Team Store

The team store closes tomorrow. Please check it out asap. My Team Shop (bsnteamsports.com)

Uniforms

If you haven't received a uniform yet, we will be handing them out to those who have paid the fees and completed registration on Wednesday before the meet. 

Performance List

I also hope to have a performance list for you by the end of tomorrow as well, which is a running list of everyone's PR in each event they have done. That will be found at the top of the page when ready.

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

Coach Jacobson

3/3 Update

Phoenix,

Our first week of the outdoor season is now behind us. It was great to have so many new people join us this week, and have some regularity with our practices. We're looking forward to getting into a rhythm with training and really taking some great strides with our team (pun intended).

We only have 10 weeks until state, 9 until region, 8 to BYU, 6 to Davis, 5 until the Phoenix Invite, etc. In other words, time is short so we need to use it wisely and to the best of our abilities.

Our first meet is upon us, the Snow Canyon Invitational. By now you know if you're going. Information for that meet can be found here. Concerning Snow Canyon and the rest of the outdoor season: Several of you have "U"s from 2nd term or any term in your 9th-12th grade year, and you won't be able to compete unless those are cleared prior to competition. If you're reading this, please go check to see how many you have.

Meeting Recap

One of the focuses of the meet was helping our athletes be committed to the team, and being a part of something bigger than themselves. The best way to get that started is to help/encourage your kids to be at each practice and to be a great teammate.

Furthermore, helping them eat enough and get the right amount of sleep. Both easier said than done, but with consistent reminders, help, and encouragement, hopefully our athletes move in the right direction where possible.

Announcements for the season will be made through GroupMe. There are groups for each events, and another for the parents. You can find those here: GroupMe Links

We are going to need an abundance of help this season, with meets, snacks, and the end of year banquet, among other things. If you'd like to help with anything, please view this sign up genius. 

Lastly, the expenses for track and field are seemingly unending. Amongst those bills are needed upgrades in our hurdles, additional poles for vault, more shots for our shot putters (this is probably our most urgent need), and other items needed to compete events. 

The Lion's share of our funding comes from hosting meets, but another opportunity that we're working on is event sponsorships. If you'd like to sponsor an event, your name/business can be promoted along with an event at our 3 days of invitationals that we will be hosting. To donate, see more information, please go to our DSD Gives website here: 2024 FHS Track and Field Sponsorship - DSD Give

This week

All practices are now mandatory. Missing practices may result in not being entered to compete at the following meets. Those of you in the class, be sure to come on A days. Those of you not in the class, be sure to come after school every day so we can continue to improve each day. 

We are going to begin working sprint relay handoffs with earnest, and those need to be done just about everyday. 

About a third of our team will be gone on Friday 3/8, but we will still be holding practice after school with the coaches who are here.

Next week (3/11-15)

The week after next is a bit odd, we have Monday/Tuesday (3/11,12) off of school, and we've been asked to practice at high Noon (12 PM) both days, so that soccer can hold a kids camp on the field around 2 PM each day. 

We will then be hosting our first of six days of track meets that we have here during 4th term, on Wednesday 3/13.

Everyone is required to be at the meet (and each of the meets we host) from beginning until the end. Fortunately, this time it is a B-day, so 8th period class members will come out at 1:35 as usual, and we will begin the set up. Those not in the class will come out after school.

Each person will have an assigned job for the meet, which will be posted on canvas and on here. Between the events that you are doing you will be tasked with helping the meet go smoothly, whether helping at a field event, at the finish line, moving blocks, moving hurdles, etc. Please be ready to do your job so that we can move the meet along, everyone having a good day to race, and be done in a timely manner.

Team Store

If you are interested in ordering any gear for the track season, you can order from the BSN team store. There are a number of different items. This is optional. The store will close in the next few days.

Fit for Life Credit through 8th Period

If you would like to get Fit for Life credit through the track class, you can pay $25 in the office for fit for life, and then bring your receipt to Coach Walkenhurst. There are a few hoops you'll need to jump through, but it's fairly simple.

Unassorted Thoughts

Here's a few random thoughts I wanted to get out there. 

We currently have a metal awards stand for top 3 finishers. It's rather small and unremarkable. If someone had the means, knowhow, and interest in making a better one (with 6-8 places), I'm sure the athletes would appreciate something a little better when being recognized for their accomplishments, and we'd be able to recognize more people in each event.

Parents and athletes should down load the app Meettrax. Many of the meets that we attend, and all that we host, will be using this platform. On the app you can find heat/flight/lane assignments, in addition to other items like the schedule, estimated time starts, etc. Athletes should claim their profile which has already been made in our team.

As a reminder, registration is coming due very soon on Register my athlete. For help, you can go here.

3rd term is coming to a close. If you have more than 1 F, a GPA less than 2.0, or multiple Us, you will not be eligible to compete during 4th term. Make sure your grades are where you need them to be. (Citizenship can be made up and you can become eligible, but GPA/grades typically cannot.)

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

Coach Jacobson