Turn Goals into Behaviors

At Calvin College we are on our fall break or "reading reacess" as we call it here and this afternoon we are going to take some time to talk about how the season is going, prepare for what I believe are the toughest 3 weeks of the season in terms of how much is going on at the same time with academics and athletics, and more importantly, turn our goals into successful behaviors.

In my experience in coaching and as an athlete, I believe there comes a point in the season or training schedule, where those time goals don't carry as much meaning as they did during the first week of the season.  There is too much going on right now as the semester is in full swing, deadlines are becoming closer, training is increasing, and the end product is hard to imagine at the moment.

This is the point in the season, where it is important to take your goals and turn them into successful behaviors. 

Swimming fast takes many things to come together as does getting good grades.  Have your athletes step back and think about what an A student should look like and how they behave.  There should be a certain amount of time in the library, there should be a certain level of participation in class, there should be a certain level of relationship built with the professor, and so on.  The same can be said with swimming.  A 20 point freestyler has certain things they need to accomplish on a weekly basis, there is a level of intensity in the weight room, attention to detail in practice, good reps on starts and turns and the list goes on. 

Have your athletes focus on the behaviors it takes to be a successful individual.  If they can execute those behaviors through the middle of their season, when the end of the season or semester comes around, and when their goals become more relevant again,, they will be well on their way to a successful season and semester.


A good devotion we had the other week, was how few promises God makes.  Their are no guarantees in life, which is hard to accept sometimes.  The one big promise that God does make is that He will be with us, God will be our strength, whatever comes our way.

Psalm 46:7
The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.