Goal setting is a very common phrase everyone uses in many fields to establish absolute success in the different areas they may be in. Although individually it may be very simple to set goals for yourself, it is incredibly challenging for a coach or a captain to really define and set goals in the context of a team because of many different reasons and factors involved. I hope that with these 5 quick tips and lots of hard work, you are able to bring your team to podium finishes and act as a guide for recreational or competitive teams to define a particular set of guidelines to set the all important race targets!1) Establish Ground Rules - Before we set up any goals at all, each of the paddlers must be able to agree to a set of ground rules for the team to apply any sort of goals at all. Based on my experience as a team vice captain as well as a coach, it has been a challenge for myself to set any sort of definitive goal when most of the team can't even arrive on time for trainings. As simple as it may sound, set standards for starting on time; even starting without 5 paddlers who are late. It will emphasize great credibility in the team's culture and accepted practices and maintain discipline in an otherwise chaotic mess of 30-40 people. Peer pressure works everytime.
2) Break Things Down - Getting the paddlers to know what they are aiming for in a particular race may be challenging to paddlers especially if they are new to the sport. Apart from the more experienced paddlers, these newer paddlers may need to be educated in what entails a good timing for a 500m race. For example, I break each race phase down to expected timings for them to visualise and internalise; hit their max speed for starts within 20 seconds or maintain an average of 250m splits in 1:04 minutes. breaking things down this way helps them understand better how their timing can improve in each part of the race while building up to the full race sequence. It definitely creates better mental focus in each phase that they try to execute.
3) Be Specific - I think this point could not be stressed more. Coaches these days use the ever popular phrase "try your best" which I sometimes am guilty of using alot. However, it makes more sense to the paddlers to strive for " 15km/hr in the first 20 seconds of your starts by May" or " Maintain an average speed of 14.5km/hr for at least 250m in a 500m race by July 2013". It makes the team clearer about what, when and how they are going to achieve these goals and creates a sense of urgency with a time parameter.
4) Let the team set the goal themselves - This may sound very inherently impossible to accomplish because the team may not exactly understand how to define the goals. This is where the coach must come in to educate the team in providing choices to how the team can meet these goals. It can be a multiple choice question where 3 sets of timings leads to 3 different sets of training programmes; the faster timings attached to the more intensive training programmes. Or it can be as simple as going around and asking "what do you think our likely timing for a 500m race should be?". Question and answer sessions can greatly increase the sense of ownership for the team's members and create a high level of enthusiasm in the team's goals.
5) Be Realistic - Eventually the coach will need to assess whether the team is able to accomplish the goals set within the given time frame; sometimes given the team's recreational nature, it won't make sense for him to set goals close to elite timings. The coach therefore needs to make a fair judgement of where his team is and truth be told if they can win races. While it is possible for a varsity team to win medals at the tertiary finals, are they really ready to beat the rest of the nations top teams considering their experience level?
Based on a fair amount of experience at the varsity levels, these guidelines have helped me establish goals that are literally SMARTer; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time Based. Establishing these guidelines will definitely help your team in one way or another get to a podium finish or even ending off a fantastic season with a bang. I hope everyone enjoyed this post thoroughly. Till the next time! PaddleGeek signing off!
