Welcome Sentinel Track and Field
We’ve taken on another track and field team this spring. We look forward to working with new coach and former U of M standout pentathlete Erika McLeod and the entire Missoula Sentinel High School team to elevate everyone to their highest and best.
Welcome Stevensville Track and Field
We’d like to welcome coach Chris Jones and the Stevensville High School Track and Field team to the Mindworks family. We look forward to working with you throughout the season to unlock your full potential.
Congratulations to Bruins Bantam Hockey
Congratulations to the Missoula Bruins. Their Bantam A team won the state tournament this past weekend. Possibly more impressively, the Bantam B team came from the second-to-last seed to finish as runner up in their tournament. We are very proud of all of the players and coaches.
3 Goal Types
Don’t put success in someone else’s control.
3 Types of SMART Goals
SMART goals can be broken down into three types:
Result - Relies on your performance as well as the performance of competitors. E.g. team placement at a meet or individual placement in events.
Performance - Independent of competitors. E.g. personal bests in the weight room or on the track or results of some kind of skills test.
Process - Activities or attitudes separate from but related to performance. E.g. have fun, support team mates, be vocal.
Focusing on process and performance rather than outcome might be the most important concept in all of sport psychology. If competitors base success on results rather than performance or process, then their confidence will be unstable. A cyclist can get a lift if one of their competitors is under the weather or a sprinter can crash if someone outleans them by a nose. Don’t let someone else affect your perception of success.
SMART Goals
A journey without a destination is just wandering.
If you don’t know where to steer the ship, then you’re not going to get anywhere. Goals provide the headings. They can change over time, but it is important to always be trying to get somewhere.
I’m going to do a quick goals primer.
SMART Goals
Specific - “Get better,” isn’t a goal, it’s a wish. “Increase leg strength,” is.
Measurable - Put a number on it. By how much do you want to increase leg strength and by what measure. If the goal is mental, like motivation or self-belief, then put a rating scale on it. Just make sure you can track your goals with numbers.
Achievable - I’m 54 years old with no cartilage in my knees. I’m not going to squat 500lb in this lifetime. I can still set a goal around leg strength but it has to be something believable.
Relevant - Many of us have many different things we want to accomplish. The more you dissipate your attention and energy, though, the less you’ll get done. Make sure your goals align with your primary objective.
Time-bound - Give your goal a deadline. If you put something vaguely in the future then it will remain there forever.
Mental Skills Training
In The Art of War, Sun Tzu says, “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” This has come to be called the “first victory.” Mental skills training (MST) is learning how to win that first victory.
The Art of War was written in the 6th century BC and is still studied by strategists in war and sport.
Bill Bellichick says that the only sign that he had hanging in the Patriots locker room was a quote from The Art of War, “Every battle is won before it is fought.”
What are you doing to win your first victory?