I liked the quote Andrew.

Hope everyone is getting their workouts in! We can kick ass when we get back as long as we stay focused over this break. I know I've been doing a lot of work, but I've been sprinting and lifting, and it's sweet. I'm finally lifting at the same weights that I was at last year!

Anyways, this post really isn't that cool, I was just checking in.
Peace, and jumper love!
Shannon

Hope everyone is having a productive break thus far.

Jerome, you will appreciate this...

Here is a quote from John McDonnell, former head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, talking about Mike Conley:

He admitted his Razorbacks had won national championships against superior teams and said attitude was the difference.

"If you think you're the best, you are, and if you think you're inferior, you are," he said.

When the Hogs were attempting to win their first national Triple Crown in June 1985, Conley realized a few minutes before the triple jump began that he'd forgotten his spikes. With no time to return to the hotel, he borrowed a pair of size 10s from David Swain, a Razorback distance runner.

"He put those on and said, 'They're a little tight, but they'll do,'" McDonnell remembered. "His first jump was 55 feet, and a Tennessee guy goes 56 after him. Well, on the next jump, he caught fire. All Conley ever needed was for somebody to go by him. On his next jump he went 58, which at the time was a world record, but it was wind-aided. His next one was 58-2, and that was his last one because he burst out of his shoes.

"Those are the type athletes that win. There was a job to be done, and he did it."


That last part especially resonated with me. Here is the rest of the article for anyone who is interested:

http://www.thecabin.net/stories/121908/spo_1219080022.shtml

- Andrew

Hey all,

Again, good job this weekend with supporting each other etc. Can we all try to get together before everyone leaves for winter break just to talk about expectations/goals for the break? Awesome!

Videos from Alden



Video from LJ/TJ Practice Last Week



Peace,
Jake

Alden

Hey guys,

I just wanted to say great job to all of you who competed this weekend! Hopefully it was a good start to the season. For those who were unhappy with how you performed, stay positive and view Saturday as a starting point for improvement. Think about what you need to focus on and keep working hard these next few weeks during exams and the break. We've all been working hard and I am excited to see how the rest of the season turns out!

Good luck with finals everyone! Make sure you take care of yourself and injuries over break :)

Cassie

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense."
–– Ralph Waldo Emerson


Remember to take care of the little things before they become big. Warm-up with a purpose, cool down, stretch, etc. Great post by Shannon. Visualisation is a great technique for success/perfection. Take a step back and rate yourself in specific areas on a scale from 1-10. Ask yourself; Why the specific rating? What can I do to improve that rating.

A. Technique
B. Attitude
C. Physical
D. Mental
E. Lifestyle

Brown Jumpers Cleared For Take-off.

Ayo Jumpers,

I agree, we've been doing pretty well at practice lately. I'm trying to think about the mental aspect of jumping because as kaileigh mentioned to me this week, a technique practice can be so much more mentally draining than sprinting (to most of us, anyways, if you disagree, let me know)

I have a book called "Mind Gym" and it has a lot about the psychological/mental toughness of sports. I haven't been able to read it all yet, but a huge part of the book is on visualization. And not just visualizing your event during practice but during downtimes throughout the week as well. Like, find a quiet spot, and intensely go through every single thing you would be thinking on the runway, during the jump, after you land. Maybe start once a week, take a break from work, and sit for five minutes, and really think about what it's going to be like at alden. How are you going to feel on the runway? How focused can you be?

Every week have a new goal about what you want to work on specifically in mind. What's your focus this time around?

Cool, back to work.
Shannon

Hey y'all. Practice videos from today. The first one is pole vaulters, second one is high jumps.

Great job in practice the past week, make sure everyone is taking advantage of the training room to take care of minor aches and pains before they turn into something worse... and Stretch!

HEY THERE!

Hey everybody!
I'm loving this blog, even though it's pretty nerdy. As Akilah would probably say, it's rather divine. Anyway, I'm really glad we're getting intense this year. It would be nice to, after a meet that goes well or not, be able to say "I did everything I could." Last year, I felt like I couldn't really say that after meets, and psychologically, it was sort of a burden. So yay for Rachel pulling us together again!
And I've brought this up before without any conclusive answers, but I was wondering if we could have jumper captain(s) or leader(s). Maybe we could discuss it as a group, talk to Jerome about it, or vote? I would really like to have an appointed someone that's just always reminding everyone to do their best and stuff... so yeah. Maybe we can discuss this more later.
jumper love,
grace

Pole Vault Practices from the past couple weeks.

Good quote:

“The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion…when no one else is watching”

Comes from an interview with the sprint coach at the University of Washington, whose 4x100 team won the Pac-10 title last year and had a 400m runner run 44.82 seconds...

http://trackshark.com/features/john/270/Fall+Training+Update%3A++University+of+Washington+Huskies.html

Good excerpt from it talking about lifting:

"I tend to come at things from a strength and athleticism philosophy, so the weight room to us is truly a second home. With that being said, the routines need to be sport and event specific, and not just about moving the most amount of weight possible. Making movements slower, doesn’t seem to make a ton of sense to me for the explosive events, so there is a premium on the Olympic lifts, as well as explosive auxiliaries.

Right now, we have the sprint/hurdle group in 3 times a week. I see no reason they shouldn’t be able to handle this now, and we emphasize that they should be door to door in 45 minutes or so. As the season progresses and the nature of our phases shift, our time in the weight room will change in both quantity and quality"

- Andrew

Update from Shannon!

I think this is a good idea Andrew, I'm not going to make fun of you for it!

I'm so jealous that you all get to practice right now! As soon as I'm cleared I will be back, working my ass off to get into the best shape possible.

JUMP SQUAD!
-Shannon

First Meeting

Greetings fellow jumpers.

This blog is supposed to be a space where we can communicate outside of practice. Feel free to post anything relevant to jumping or track. If you find a good article related to track, definitely share it here. If you have some epiphany about being motivated to jump well, post it. I'll be sure to post plenty of good youtube videos, ha.

To reiterate what Rachel wrote in her email, here is a summary of what we plan to change as a group, condensed a bit:


1) Warm up as a group, led by a warm-up leader, and do each exercise with a sense of purpose
2) Develop an atmosphere of accountability; slacking off, skipping lifts, etc. must be unacceptable behaviors, not the norm, and we have to be the ones to hold each other accountable.
3) Practice attitudes must be intense, focused, and not merely going through the motions. And, as Rachel said "But don't worry we are the jumpers and we are still going to have fun AND still get our stuff done well!"
4) Lifting sheets are a starting point; We are going to try to lift with a partner, spot each other, and focus on improving personal weaknesses
5) Each practice must be concluded with some sort of recovery, whether it be in the form of stretching, icing, or otherwise.
6) After practice on Fridays, we will all eat together at the VW or another designated location
7) At our dinners, we will discuss individual and group goals and reflect upon the past week.


This list doesn't include anything about meets, but we can address that when the time comes.


- Andrew