By Brian Miller, Chairman of the UK Athletics Sports Science Panel
"If we do what we did yesterday we will be beaten, if we do what others are doing today we can be competitive, but if we fill every day with initiative we will be the best" Rob De Castella, World Champion Marathon runner.
As the excitement and dramas of Edmonton, Amsterdam, Grosseto and Beijing fade away, so coaches and athletes look forward to a new winter and another chance to make further improvements for next season.
There are many different methods or tools which can be used to help formulate these plans, but in this article I am going to talk about one such method - Hierarchical Goal Setting (HGS). While many of the other tools are just as helpful, I know for a fact that HGS has been used extensively by a range of World record holders, and a number of World and Olympic champions.
HGS is basically a way of looking at what any athlete can reasonably expect to control during his/her preparation. It gives the coach and athlete an extra sense of focus and can act as a timely reminder as to what is an d what is not important.
The table below is an example of an HGS for a well performed Discus Thrower.
OUTCOME GOAL
TO WIN A MEDAL AT NEXT YEAR'S COMMONWEALTH GAMES
PERFORMANCE GOALS
ACHIEVE 60+ m IN ALL DOMESTIC COMPETITIONS DURING EARLY SEASON
BE THROWING CONSISTENTLY ABOVE 63m BY AAA's
BUILD TO P. B IN EXCESS OF 64m BY MANCHESTER
PROCESS GOALS
INTRODUCE CONTROLLED PLYOMETRIC SESSIONS INTO Oct-Dec PROGRAMME
SEEK NUTRITIONAL ADVICE AND UTILISE IT !
WORK WITH UKATHs STRENGTH & CONDITIONING GUYS ON SOME ECCENTRIC WORK FOR LEGS AND TRUNK
PROGRAMME IN SOME EXPLOSIVE MEDICINE BALL THROWING FOR THE PERIOD Oct-Dec AND STICK WITH IT THIS YEAR !
SCHEDULE IN SOME REST AND RECUPERATION SESSIONS, ESPECIALLY DURING THE HARD SLOG MONTHS OF STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT WORK
Obviously, this example is a contrived, hypothetical one but it is based upon previous, real-life examples.
The OUTCOME GOAL by definition is something that is not entirely within the control of the athlete. While it might seem totally reasonable to aspire to winning a medal at the Commonwealths, there are probably a dozen or so other throwers from around the world who might also want to have a medal from the Games. You, the athlete or the coach, have no control over how well others are preparing, who is fit, who is injured, who has changed coach, who has retired etc. So by all means set an Outcome Goal, but to an extent, I'd almost say "So what ?"
The PERFORMANCE GOALS by comparison are much more within your control. While there might be issues such as the weather and circle conditions which could impact on the distances mentioned, much more of these goals are within the control of the athlete/coach.
The PROCESS GOALS are different from the other categories because they are entirely under the control of the athlete. If these goals are not achieved then the buck truly stops with the athlete and perhaps, in certain circumstances, the coach.
The significance of the different types of goals is that the athlete's focus, on a daily basis, should be on the PROCESS Goals. If the athlete/coach can get a "tick in the box " against all of the PROCESS Goals then s/he is far more likely to achieve the PERFORMANCE Goals. If the PERFORMANCE Goals are achieved, then the OUTCOME Goal is far more likely to be achieved. But the point is that the athlete/coach are concentrating on the processes rather than the outcome. They are working at controlling the controllable factors. The Americans call this, "Taking care of business".
It could well be that by November or December, the athlete/coach decides to change or modify one or more of the PROCESS Goals. This is fine and indeed it is to be encouraged if other priorities become obvious. The only rule, of course, is that the goals need to be entirely within the control of the athlete.
The PERFORMANCE Goal might get adjusted in the April/May time-frame if it becomes obvious that the athlete has had a very good winter. Similarly the OUTCOME Goal might move up to being that only a Gold medal is good enough. But in general terms, the PROCESS Goals are likely to change more often than the other two categories.
Different athletes have used the PROCESS Goals in different ways, but most of them have certainly written them down somewhere, and referred to them on a regular basis. Some athletes have them written inside their training diaries. Some use small cards which they leave lying around to remind them of the correct focus. Others draw up large poster size sheets which are stuck to their bedroom walls. It doesn't really matter what approach you take, but writing things down seems to help.
I recommend this HGS technique for 2 important reasons;
Firstly it is simple and easy to use, and it helps the athlete to concentrate on doing the basics well during the winter. If used properly it can also help the athlete and coach to communicate freely about the season ahead.
Secondly, and some might argue more importantly, it encourages the athlete to adopt a process focus which of course, is precisely the type of focus which will be needed during the competitive season. Evidence from different sports and different countries clearly suggests that even when an athlete is obviously aspiring to win a gold medal s/he is best advised not to be focusing on the gold medal during the performance itself. Far better to focus on the processes - the "doing" part of the sport - rather than the outcome. Yes, we want to win the gold medal but the best way of achieving this is to "control the controllables" and "take care of business".
In other words if we use the Discus example, at the AAA's yes the thrower wants to win the trial. But his focus should be on the processes which support that outcome. So for instance he might concentrate on the correct nutritional strategy for the day, such as eating the right type of breakfast. Then another process goal worthy of consideration is likely to be the focus to be adopted and maintained during the warm-up. Another might be about what he does during the time between rounds, and so on. In other words, the thrower acts in the most appropriate and professional manner he can and this allows him to throw as far as he can, which of course gives him his best chance of achieving the outcome he wants. But he doesn't spend the entire day going around thinking, "Gold, gold, gold !" For most people this would be counter-productive.
So as the winter break starts, athletes and their coaches should look towards HGS as but one tool which can point them in the right direction for the 2002 season. It is simple to use, it can be quite motivational and it can also help to train the athlete to have the correct, process focused approach to competition.
