K Cancer Baseball has a travel baseball team that represents us at tournaments throughout the summer competing at the 14 and under age level. Indoor practices will begin the first Saturday in January and will be twice a week all Winter long in preparation for the upcoming tournament season.
One of the first things the players will do is set goals for their training. Each player has strengths and weaknesses to their game. The idea would be to maximize and perfect their strengths and to minimize their weaknesses. This is done most effectively when goals are set.
The beauty of baseball, or any sport, is that it is a great vehicle to teach young athletes about the impact goal setting can have on your life. Goal setting is not just something that is productive for athletes. Goal setting helps a man be a better Father at home. It helps a woman be a better employee at work, a child becomes a better student at school.
When you set goals, it is important to have two types; SMART and DUMB(catchy huh?).
SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. An example of a bad SMART goal would be to say, “I want to get faster”. It is not Specific. It is Measurable, Achievable, and Relevant but there is no time component so it is not Timely either. An example of a good SMART goal would be that I set a goal to improve my 60 yard dash time by 4 tenths of a second during the baseball season. Baseball players are timed on their 60 yard dash and a good time at 14 years old is 7.5 seconds. A great time is below 7 seconds. Is improving your time by 4 tenths of a second Specific? Yes. Is it Measurable? Absolutely. Is is achievable? Yep. Relevant to a baseball player? Check. And is there a time component? Yes. That would be a true SMART goal. If you truly apply yourself and follow a plan, there is no reason you should not achieve your SMART goal.
SMART goals are important. Equally important are DUMB goals! What is a DUMB goal? It is Dreamy, Unrealistic, Motivating, and Bold. When you tell somebody your DUMB goal they should look at you sideways with that, “Um, ya right” look in their eyes. There are few accomplished people who are not experienced at failure! If you have never failed, you aren’t trying hard enough and are always playing it safe! Remember, if you shoot for the moon and don’t quite make it, you will still be left with a pretty awesome view!
Goals
The picture says it all…
