The act of reaching a goal is more important than the goal itself.
Champions share many characteristics. Becoming skilled at reaching goals is certainly one of them. Learning the skill of achieving a goal is more valuable and longer lasting than the athletic skill you are trying to master. Coaches can teach athletic skills. Coaches can also help develop a champion. But make no mistake - athletic skill and being a champion are two very distinct things. Each has a different process for acquiring it and each should have a distinct focus and plan.
As you learn that you can accomplish a task - that you can take an idea, put it down on paper, put the work in and then actually accomplish it, you will find a great sense of achievement. You will learn what self-discipline is, how to master small and large parts of your character and reach for greater and greater potential within yourself. Go ahead and break New Year's resolutions if you must. We all have dreams and aspirations that don't come to fruition. All of that is fine, but a goal written down is of vital importance that it be reached. Do not set goals unless you intend to reach them.
Setting Goals
Athletes and coaches who take this concept seriously, develop champions. Many new lifters will report their goal is to go to the Olypmics. It is important to distinguish that dream from the necessary short term goals along the path toward that target. The athlete and coach set realistic and achievable goals that fit the level of skill at any given time. That doesn't mean the lifter and the coach aren't both hoping and planning for an eventual state record or national championship title, but it is important that those don't become goals until the time is right to achieve them. 8-time national champion and 3-time Olympian Fred Lowe, says, "I calculate reasonable goals based on how much I think I can improve in that space of time. The key word here is reasonable since there is no short cut to this whatsoever."
Once a goal is set, whether you are the lifter or the coach, you need to do every single thing in your power to make sure that happens. To be on the podium at national championships, the important goals become what you do in training or at the local competitions to help you get closer to the podium.
Lofty Goals
After a competition, lots of lifters get very motivated and want to set lofty goals. I love lofty goals. However, lofty goals are reserved for an athlete who has demonstrated the ability to reach goals regularly. Reaching goals is a skill. Once you recognize an athlete has that skill, let them set lofty goals. Many lifters will be setting lofty goals internally and not communicating them to you. An intuitive coach can help them to set clear, reasonable short term goals and coach them to learn how to focus on those. Many lifters write their dreams on a mirror, or post them on their wall at home or in the gym, but if that dream is meant to be a lofty goal, you'd better make damn sure you are going to achieve it. You must know how to achieve goals and have a track record for achieving them before setting a lofty goal.
Coaching the Skill of Reaching Goals
Going into any competition is an important coaching moment and valuable opportunity for developing a champion. The goals you set and reaching them are critical. Whether the goal is 6 for 6, to gain valuable competition experience, or to hit specific numbers, will vary from competition to competition. The outcome must be success for developing the skill of achieving goals. If you set the goal of hitting specific numbers, you should be positive your lifter will hit those numbers. Determining openers and attempts may have nothing to do with the competition goal.
Lifters will have all kinds of thoughts going through their minds weeks and months before competition but certainly the few days leading up to a competition. Some lifters become very overwhelmed with their performance, whether they are going to let mom down, even their appearance. The number of emotional conflicts and stressors are infinite. Coaching them to focus on a reachable, attainable goal can help them learn how to put those distractions aside. When challenges come - hotels are sold out, restaurants aren't open, weather comes into play, someone gets sick - you don't rewrite the goal, you respond to the challenge and keep your eyes focused on the goal.
After an athlete achieves a goal, you must celebrate it! Check it off and remind them what it took to persevere and the dedication they demonstrated to reach that goal. One of the most successful coaches of champion weightlifters, Ursula Papandrea, says "perseverance" is what helps her athletes reach goals. Help them understand the significance of what you have built. It doesn't matter if they achieved double bodyweight on the platform, a PR, or even a win. Focus on the achievement of the competition goal. By coaching this, the skill you are helping them acquire is to value self discipline -- the knowledge and awareness that they can achieve what they set their mind out to achieve. In this way, you are creating and developing a champion on and off the platform.
Sometimes a win happens by default. A championship title is not the same thing as being a champion. Becoming a champion is a long, hard, difficult process that is only achieved after much work, dedication, sacrifice and perseverance. Anyone can set goals. Learning how to achieve them and practicing that skill, helps develop a champion. The characteristics of a champion on and off the platform are far more valuable and will last much longer than any win.
