Thursday, December 22, 2011

Set 'em high

As the first tournaments of the season draw near, we here at Amarillo Juniors have been thinking a lot about our goals for this season...
1. Continued cohesiveness on our coaching staff so we can grow and learn from one another
2. Establishing solid director to coaching staff to coaches to players relationships
and on and on the list goes... For us, this is an essential part of success.
It's an essential part of your success, too.
Goal setting does a lot for your game, including keeping you focused and driven, even when the going gets tough.We all know that there's a time during every season when we're just plain ol' tired. Having our goals set in front of you all season long will help you stay on task and press on during these moments.

How do you set goals?

First of all, remember to be realistic with yourself. You want your goal to be difficult to reach, yet achievable at the same time. Also, keep in mind the role you play on the team. How are your individual goals going to help you in the role you have on your team? It's a good question to ask yourself.

Also, it's important to be specific when goal setting. Saying, "I want to be a better server" is pretty vague. Try to really evaluate where you are at and decide from there where you would like to be. You can even work backwards. Visualize yourself where you would like to be, then take backward steps in your mind to determine what you need to do to get there. Try, "I want develop a more accurate serve by increasing my ability to serve to specific positions on the court in specific ways for a higher ace percentage." Or, "I want to increase my vertical jump by 2-3 inches and have a hitting percentage of .250 or higher." Specificity can be a huge tool in helping you attain your goals. It's easy to lose sight of them when they are too vague.

Write them down! This is a very important step. Write your goals down somewhere... maybe in multiple places. Put them on sticky-notes and have them stuck to your bathroom mirror, your desk, your computer, your locker, and so on. If we keep our goals in front of us we will remember them. This helps us continue to reach for them regularly.

Share your goals with others. Your coach, your teammates, people you trust. Make sure people around you know your goals, too, so they can help keep you accountable. We are much more likely to continue working hard for something if we know that someone in our life is going to ask us how it's coming!

Remember, going after our goals is a matter of short-term hard work to establish long-term results. If you put the effort in each day it will bring you one step closer!

Good luck!

- Amarillo Juniors

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