What are your goals for 2021? Board member offers some options for players, parents
Friday, February 12th, 2021
By Angela Lubach
Badger Region Board Member
More than a few people have expressed how glad they are that 2020 is done. I sure am! With each new year, millions of people set goals for themselves. Whether you call them resolutions or something else, the aim is to make some improvement or change in something you’re doing (or not doing).
Sure, there are the standard resolutions of exercising more, improving your nutrition or stopping doing something. Some people have already given up on their resolutions, but that’s likely because they were a bit too lofty or they didn’t have a specific plan to get them done. Having a goal is the “what” you’re going to do, but you need to follow that up with “how” you’re doing to accomplish it. There are 5 principles for goal setting that can be helpful. Making your goals “SMART” goals can help you stick to the new habits. Goals should be:
- Specific: What exactly are you planning on doing? Is there a cost involved or others upon whom you’d rely on to achieve the goal?
- Measurable: How will you determine if you met this goal? Make sure your goal is based on a number of repetitions or some other form of measurement that would assure you can create some benchmark to show progress.
- Achievable: Making sure you can actually achieve what you set out to do. If it’s not achievable, how can you devote time to it without being frustrated?
- Realistic: If you’re a 5’5” volleyball player, with little room to grow, you probably wouldn’t set the goal of being an outside hitter.
- Time-based: In what timeframe would you like to have this goal achieved? By the end of the month? By this summer? Or before the end of the year? Set your timeframe so you can be successful!
If you haven’t set any goals for yourself this year, here are a few volleyball-related ones that may spur some thoughts so you can be a better “YOU” in 2021:
- Become a referee! Do you know that you can only have to be 16 years old to become a referee? It’s a great way to be involved in the game, make some extra money, and meet a TON of great people (in addition to having fun!). You can contact Badger Region to find out more or visit http://badger-archive.com/officials-general-information/ for all the details you’ll need to get started.
- Make a goal to improve some part of your game. Are you struggling with your serves? Do you need to work on your footwork? Does your vertical jump resemble that of an ant? Ask your coach or a friend who is really good with this if they’d be willing to help. Make sure you’re measuring your goal, and assuring that it follows the SMART method of goal-setting.
- Volunteer to assist at yours (or your children’s) volleyball tournaments! Volunteers are always welcome and there are so many ways to get involved. Whether it’s through a club-hosted event or a Badger Region event, volunteering to run scores back and forth for recording and posting, learning how to score, understanding how to line judge, or helping with checking teams in at the beginning of the tournament…there are so many ways to help out and make the event run smoothly!
There are always things we can do to improve ourselves. Whether it’s being more active, focusing on nutrition, learning more about a certain topic or something else that is of interest to you, make sure you set yourself up for success by creating goals you can stick with (remember those SMART goals) and ones that will make for a happier and healthier you in 2021!
