Usually when we think about goal setting, we focus on what we are going to accomplish as individuals instead of what we want to achieve as part of a group. I will spare you the - There is no “I” in TEAM speech - but it is absolutely essential that you and your girls hockey team re-evaluate the goals that you set at the beginning of the season and see how they match up with what you want to accomplish in the second half.
Laying out specific goals for an entire team is often much harder than defining individual goals because you need to take into account the motivation and dedication of 15+ girls hockey players plus a handful of coaches and a whole lot of parents.
Back during the first Total Female Hockey Transformation Contest, one of the coaches who entered wrote out an amazing mission statement for his team. I am looking forward to meeting him and his team in person in a few weeks and see how their season is going, but I wanted to share with you some of his goals for his team and the specificity and clarity that he provided.
Our team’s mission statement is, to take our game to the next level by our home tournament on January 11th by…
NOTE: Before I even get into the mission statement, do you see how this coach gave a specific deadline of when they were going to accomplish their goals?
We will use our ice time to it’s highest and best use by:
1) Pushing ourselves to the edge of falling in all over speed drills and doing every drill at 110%
2) We will concentrate on pushing off as hard as we can for faster and faster starts every time we start a drill
3) We will not interrupt and will focus on the drill at hand.
4) Conditioning will be exhilarating and fulfilling - we know we need it and will finish hard through the line with no short cuts.
This is absolutely great stuff. Now his entire team not only knows exactly what they need to be focusing on as a group during practice, but there is a sense of responsibility among all of the players to commit to doing their very best in these specific areas.
Off the ice, we will:
1) Be on time so we always get our pre-ice warm ups done.
2) We will always have our notebooks with us and will use them to set goals for each practice and game AND we will evaluate how we did after each skate.
3) We will Rehydrate & Refuel Right Away after every skate.
4) We will stretch before bed every night.
NOTE: Did I mention that this coach is using the Best Hockey Season Ever In-Season Success Plan? Even if you haven’t got your copy yet, look at these points and think about how simple these goals are, but how much a HUGE effect they could have on your on-ice performance.
We know that when we stay committed to these 4 on ice and 4 off ice activities that by Jan 11th we will dominate our opponents right from the drop of the puck to the end of the game.
I can’t wait to hear how this team does in their tournament. With this kind of specific goal setting and goal getting action, I have no doubt that they will have one of their best performances ever this weekend.
What goals has your team set for the second half of the season? Do you need to re-vamp what you started with back in October or are you well on your way to having your best hockey season ever?
Work Hard. Dream BIG.
~ Coach Kim
