Feedback and Goal Setting

Feedback 

After a race, I would like each athlete to write me a race analysis. Just a page, going through “what went right” and “what went wrong”, “what was learnt”, “what we’ll do better next time”.

Once this is written and sent through to me, we can follow up with a phone interview or face to face interview. This is how we learn and continue to improve.

Most of my athletes do this. Because I deal with lots of people, and you only have one coach. It’s obviousley easier for you to contact me with your race report than for me to chase each one up individually. If I haven’t chased you up, it doesn’t mean “I don’t love you”. It most likely means I’m waiting for you to contact me with your report.  You giving me the race report is us “working together”. That’s how we make most progress.

Monthly feedback, or even fortnightly feedback is of great benefit in your progress. The easiest way for me to understand feedback is for it to come back to me on the program I send you. My eye is trained to read this formatt. Put a simple message in a different colour into the square where your instructions are printed. The square expands as you type.

Goal Setting

Around this time of year, when the Christmas New Year holidays are all over and our feet are back on the ground. I like to suggest that each of the athletes in the squad. Give some thought to goals for 2009. And long term goals. Some have already done this.

I suggest the goals listed are

Sporting goals – this season – long term

Career goals – this year - long term

Financial goals – this year – long term

Family relationship goals/dreams – this year – long term

Dreams for the future

Going through this exercise can have a great motivating effect on your life. Just the act of listing what you want has an almost magic affect on how you direct your energy.

It’s OK to share these goals with me, or you can keep them private. I do need to know the sport related ones, so that we’re both working in the same direction. I ask athletes to list goals in all of these areas because you really can’t separate these areas of your life. They’re intertwined.

So athletes who haven’t given me your recent race report, work on it. It’ll help you to analyse it yourself.

Those who are slack at getting training information back to me, just write it down when you read your e-mails.

Think about what you want and put it on paper. You’ll be amazed how things work out when you know exactly what you want.