Scottsbluff Track Club

[Todd Witzleben @CoachWitz]

XC times are irrelevant. I hate colleges that promote “school records” for XC (just go to a short course and everyone will be happy!) NO ONE is giving you a scholarship for running a time in XC. Stop talking about your XC PR! Who’s measuring the course? Strava? I’m so sick of it.

[Sports Psychology @SportPsychTips]

Do something uncomfortable today to improve your mental toughness. Take a cold shower. Run five miles. Conquer a fear.

Living in constant comfort and luxury makes you mentally weak as well as lazy, ungrateful, and needy.

[Coach the Coaches @WinningCoaches]

Bad coaches focus on wins. Good coaches focus on development.

[Sports Psychology @SportPsychTips]

Six elements of a toxic team culture:
1. Low standards and no discipline.
2. A lack of ownership (excuses/complaining).
3. Intimidation and fear-based motivation.
4. Big egos and selfishness.
5. Bullying and disrespect towards others.
6. Cheating and unethical behavior.

[Shawn Siemers @Siemers_XC_TF]

When the season ends, we all dive straight into results.
Splits. Races. Stats.
Do it — it matters.
But don’t stop there.

Ask yourself the harder question:
Would I have wanted to be coached by me this year?

It cuts through everything — the excuses, the results, the noise.

Because the truth is, you set the tone.
Your calm, your chaos, your confidence — they mirror it back.

Forget the weather, the parents, the injuries.
Just you.

Were you the coach who built belief when things went bad?
Did you make your athletes feel seen, not just timed?
Did you coach out of purpose, or pressure?

If the answer’s no — good.
Now you know what to work on.

If the answer’s yes — better.
Now do it again, but deeper.

[Sports Psychology @SportPsychTips]

The objective of sports is to win, but the purpose of sports is to build character. All the athletic success in the world means nothing if it makes you worse as a person.

[Scottsbluff Track Club @BearcatRunning]

Congratulations on wrapping up the 2025 season at the state xc meet. So proud of this group of guys. It takes a lot of dedication to work through the storms. Looking forward to the rest of the year.

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

The best coaches show you the way.

Care
Support
Challenge appropriately
Do the work
Consistency
Keep showing up
Execute your role to the best of your ability

But most people think it's too simple and there must be a secret so they go search for it...

[Wendi A. Irlbeck MS, RDN, LD, CISSN @Wendi_Irlbeck]

If you have a 16-18 YO athlete under your roof who has a phone, spends > 4 hours/day social media, is enrolled in expensive training/plays multiple sports that you spend thousands of dollars on annually they should absolutely be able to prioritize their nutrition and sleep.

Don’t be your kid’s friend, be their parent. Encourage them to pack snacks, build a routine that is centered around supporting the life they want to live. Kids need routine, structure, discipline, and guidance. They will be glad they had a parent who encouraged them to eat well and recover smart.

Some extra tough love from me.. there’s a lot of hard working athletes out there hungry to get better and will easily outperform those who stay up late, show up to training under-fueled giving 50% effort when someone else ate well and is able to give 100% effort!

If you want your kid to be strong and successful, ask them to put down the phone and pick up a book, plan out their meals and snacks for games and training, get to bed early and pack their water bottle.

The fundamentals are missed and gains are being left on the table. Get mad but you know I am right.
Habits learned in childhood are carried in adulthood.

Don’t let your kid be that 20 YO who doesn’t know how to cook an egg, how to care for themselves, or how to take accountability for their life. How we perform academically and physically is directly related to our sleep, nutrition, hydration, and this is due to our routine.

No one accidentally shows up to the championship game or succeeds in life by accident. Discipline, structure, and life skills need to be taught early on in life! Too many kids lack the means to succeed.

Let's get our kids dialed! 📞

[Sports Psychology @SportPsychTips]

Eight of the most important leadership traits and abilities:
1. Integrity
2. Unselfishness
3. Humility
4. Courage
5. Work ethic
6. Communication skills
7. Emotional intelligence
8. Decision making

[Coaching Distance @CoachDistance]

Find ways to build confidence in every workout during the last few weeks of the season.

✅ use progressive paces starting with something you know they can handle and finishing faster than they have all season

✅ get rid of the GPS and use a “minutes” Fartlek workout (ie. 10x 1’ hard/ 1’ easy)

✅ tack on some shorter, faster reps at the end of a threshold run

What else?

[Scottsbluff Track Club @BearcatRunning]

Great read on training! https://t.co/G17OxNMj0q

[Wendi A. Irlbeck MS, RDN, LD, CISSN @Wendi_Irlbeck]

If your 16 YO multi-sport athlete isn’t willing to eat breakfast daily, make his or her own snacks, put their phone down an hour before bed they really don't care about being great.

Seriously, if a young adult who has a tablet, spends > 4 hours/day social media, is enrolled in specialized training/multiple sports that you spend thousands of dollars on annually should absolutely be able to structure a routine!

Summer is over half over. It's not the time to goof off. Now is the time to dial in your nutrition, sleep, hydration, and habits.

Don’t claim you want to be great, set PRs this fall, and be a starter yet have a work ethic consistent with riding the bench.

Some extra tough love from me this morning.. there’s a lot of hard working athletes out there hungry to get better and will easily outperform those who slept in, stayed up late, skipped breakfast, and cared more about social media than they do playing time.

You reap what you sow. If you want to be a first string starter your habits should reflect that. Control your controllables.

[Wendi A. Irlbeck MS, RDN, LD, CISSN @Wendi_Irlbeck]

If you take a piece of rotten fruit and place it next to perfectly good fruit… It’s only a matter of time before the mold spreads. Now both are spoiled. Then eventually the entire bowl.

The same thing happens when you surround yourself with rotten people. Negativity, gossip, laziness, compromise it spreads.

You can’t stay healthy let alone thrive in a toxic environment .

“Bad company corrupts good character.”
-1 Corinthians 15:33

Choose your circle wisely. Your future depends on it. 🍓🥭🍌

[Wendi A. Irlbeck MS, RDN, LD, CISSN @Wendi_Irlbeck]

👟Many XC athletes struggle with low appetite or say, “I just can’t eat before morning practice.”

As sports dietitians who work closely with high school and collegiate XC runners, we get it and we specialize in helping student-athletes fuel smarter to run stronger!!

Through our evidence-based coaching, we teach athletes how to increase protein, carbs, and total energy intake—even on tight schedules.

💡Here are 6 no-cook protein + carb pairings to fuel your early morning training fast, easy, and proven to perform.

🎯Because performance nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated and there’s no excuse to skip fueling and hydration before practice.

[Wendi A. Irlbeck MS, RDN, LD, CISSN @Wendi_Irlbeck]

"Never stay up late for something you would not get up early for."

Sleep deprivation in both teens & adults:
• Irritable
• Unmotivated
• Depressed & anxious
• Drowsy & poor energy
• More exerted with less effort
• Can lead to making poor and fatal choices

⬆️Disease risk, mood disorders & poor concentration ⬇️Speed, power, muscle recovery & performance output

Aim for 7-9 hours nightly to avoid 👇

[CITIUS MAG @CitiusMag]

“The only magic thing about running is consistency. Consistent competence equals eventual excellence. That's kind of my mantra. So we try to stay healthy so that we can be consistent...

What was special about 2024? Who knows other than having the right athletes in the right position, the right belief and faith in their parts and goals, and going, ‘Hey, maybe we can do this.’”

1-2 at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, an Olympic silver medal in the steeplechase, top-10 Olympic marathon finishes & now an NCAA XC title, 2024 was nothing short of historic for @BYUTFXC coach @EdEyestone.

He joined The CITIUS MAG Podcast to share how he makes it happen ⤵️

🎧 SPOTIFY: https://t.co/lxUBj5TZHE

🎧 APPLE PODCASTS: https://t.co/onLTMdmt5w

🎥 YOUTUBE: https://t.co/GEGY7jxyfb

#NCAAXC

[CITIUS MAG @CitiusMag]

🗣️ “[The notecard on my wrist] is positive affirmations for all the guys on the team. They tell us what they would love to hear. For each one, we have three or four things we can yell at them.”

Between wrist notes and dry-erase scoreboards, it’s in the details for @BYUTFXC Coach Ed Eyestone, and the details make a difference for a national title 🏆

“Information is power. Knowledge is power. We had a whiteboard out there… when they saw the +65 at halfway, they knew to keep things rolling along and battle to the finish.”

🎥FULL INTERVIEW: https://t.co/kz2US2OPi9

[Jamy Bechler @jamybechler]

𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 💯

~ via @Jammer2233

[Jeff Janssen @janssenleader]

12 DAILY TO DO'S FOR TEAM LEADERS
#LeadershipMatters
#CultureWins