Setting goals and how to achieve them!

Let's talk about goal setting.

It's one thing to sit there and say, "well, I really want to be more accurate and I want to increase my speed" when your trainer, parent or coach asks you what your goals are for the upcoming season. These goals are great, but if you don't understand HOW you need to make a plan to achieve them, then most likely you won't. When you're working towards a goal, we want to start using the SMART method.

SMART stands for:

S: Specific - What EXACTLY is your goal? Get as specific as possible, like “I want to be pitching 70% strikes” or “I want to increase my speed by 3mph.” The more specific your goal, the easier it will be to make a plan on how to achieve it. WHY do you want to achieve this goal? What will be the benefit? You have to have a strong connection and benefit from your goal or it’s more than likely that you’ll quit when things get hard.

M: Measurable - Create a way that you can measure your progress to reaching your goal. Ex: “I am going to practice 4 days a week for 30 minutes. I am going to work on my 4 corner drill. I will pitch 70% strikes to each corner = 7/10. I will keep a notebook to keep track of every repetition and every drill so that I can see my progress.” Writing it down in a notebook is the measurable aspect of that goal. You have to be able to see your progress so that you can see that you’re hard work is paying off and that will help you to keep pushing forward.

A: Attainable - How is your goal attainable? You have to write down detailed steps that you plan on taking in order to reach your goal. You can’t just say “I want to be more accurate” and think that you’re going to get more accurate just because you pick up a ball 3 times a week to pitch. What is your plan to becoming more accurate? You can use what I mentioned above in the “Measurable” section to not only be able to measure your progress, but the steps you need to take. Ex: 180 pitches 4 days a week / 4 corners (4 x 10 pitches to each corner) / keep track of your strike to ball ratio (goal is 7/10 or higher)- 70% strike average.

R: Realistic - Are you really, really ready to do the work that is necessary for you to achieve your goal? Are you going to complete the steps that you have broken down in order to see the progress? You have to make sure you aren’t setting unrealistic goals, because then you’re just setting yourself up for failure. You want to pick a goal that is realistic in the time frame that you want to achieve it.

T: Timely - Set a date! How long is it going to take you to reach your goal? 1 month, 3 months, 1 year? I suggest starting with a short term goal so that you experience what it feels like to set a goal and ACHIEVE it! It will build your confidence and allow you to maybe set another goal that you thought wasn’t attainable before.

Remember, you can do ANYTHING that you put your mind to, but it is going to take time and HARD WORK! Good things don’t just come to people, they come to people because they are putting in the effort to EARN the rewards! If you want it bad enough, you need to be able to sit down and take the time to make your SMART plan.

What is one goal that you want to achieve for the spring season?

xo,

Coach Jen