HEAD RULES: Goal Setting
by Fran Davis

Q:&A ... Q&A ...I’m so frustrated with myself ... I keep going round and round in circles because I don’t know how to set goals for myself in racquetball. Can you please help me?

I can’t stress enough how important it is to have goals for yourself not only in general, but in racquetball too, which is a big part of your life.

Here are some quotes that I thought would set the tone: 
“A dream is a commitment made in your mind; a goal is a commitment made on paper.” 
“A man without a goal is like a man without a heart … for we are goal-setting animals in constant pursuit of our dreams.”

After reading these quotes let’s really delve into goal-setting because it truly is the only way for us to self-actualize our dreams. But first things first…let’s set a few parameters:

Goals must:
• be realistic.
• have a target date.
• be attainable (50/50 chance of success).
• be visualized.
• be in a positive light.
• be believable.

General Time Frame of Goals:
• 0 – 3 months – Immediate
• 3 – 6 months – Short Range
• 6 months – 1 year – Short Term
• 1 – 3 years – Long Range
• 3 – 5 years – Long Term
• 5 + years – Ultimate

Sport Specific Areas:
• Physical Skills
• Mental Skills
• Physical Conditioning – Weights, Aerobic/Anerobic
• Nutritional
• Footwork – Speed, Agility, Plyometrics

Each one of the sports specific areas should have the 1 – 6 general time frame of goals…so basically with the five areas shown, you should have 6 goals for each, which gives you a grand total of 30.

Wow, that’s a lot of work you might be thinking. Just keep in mind, all successful people, in all walks of life, not just sport … 
… know who they are, know what they want, and set goals to get there.
… use the process of thinking it, feeling it, believing it and visualizing the end result.

Nothing in life comes easy. I was taught early on you have to work for everything you want…so racquetball is no different. If you want to be the best you can be and rise to your own potential take these very steps on goal-setting that I’ve laid out for you. 

The best of the best like Sudsy, Cliff, John, Jason and Jackie do it, so follow in their footsteps and you too can make things happen. — www.frandavisracqetball.com