Are you setting goals or setting results? Not sure?

Results are number oriented such as I want to hit .380. Hitting .380 is a result and if you just say I want to hit .380 you might as well just start making all sorts of claims and see if they happen.

Goals, are what get you to the result. What are you going to do to hit .380 is the goal? When you set goals like this, you will be able reach your goals each day.

Result: Hit .380, have 5Ks per game

Goals: Take 100 swings per day, Throw your bull pens with a purpose

Your goals are the work, they are the process that will inevitably give you the best opportunity for success. This goes back to Were you prepared? Measure your goals daily and your results at the end of the journey.

Your results are a direct measure of your goals and work ethic. If you want to hit .380 and you sit on your coach all year then come the first game you pick the bat up, you haven’t given yourself the best opportunity for success. When people do this, they just talk, they just like to be heard making claims about what they are going to do, and when they fail, they just say oh well. They are able to do this, because they really do not care about the result, they just want to talk.

Lou Holtz said it best when he said

“when all is said and done, more is said than done”

I want you to get out a note card and write down 3 results you want to achieve, and then flip it over and write down your daily goals that will help you achieve the result, and then stick it to the wall above your pillow, or tape it to your bathroom mirror.

(if you are a student athlete make one of these goals academic related)

Now each day, at the end of the day, when you are alone with your own thoughts and nobody to judge, or pat you on the back, you can honestly answer the question:

Did I do what I needed to today in order to achieve my results?

Only you know, and only you need to know, because at the end of everyday, all you have is yourself and your reflection while you brush your teeth. Look the person in the eyes, and see what they say back.

Be accountable to yourself and if you never let yourself down, there is no way you will let anyone else down.

Email me some of your results, and goals, I would love to hear them, and I may even be able to help you formulate your process.

samflamont@yahoo.com

When I was in 8th grade I wrote “I want to play SS in the major leagues” I came up short of that result, but I promise it wasn’t due to a lack of effort.

Oftentimes when I ask a player what his goals are, he rattles off a bunch of numbers like hitting .350, hitting 10 home runs, having an onbase% of .500, etc., problem is he never tells me how he plans to reach these numbers.  This is because I have asked for goals and the player gave me results.  It is important that both players and coaches understand the difference.  I will just list a few because I want players to be creative and set goals to their style of play.

Goals:

Have a good mental approach for each at bat.

Understand what the pitcher is trying to do and what he has. (approach changes for each pitcher) this is where using charts comes into play.

Know the strike zone, (this changes sometimes with the ump so be prepared to adjust, remember complaining does no good because you are still out, so adjust)

Take 100 swings minimum per day.

Prepare everyday and master the fundamentals of the game.

Results:

Hit .400

Hit 10 HR

Have more Walks than Strikeouts

Win a state, national, or world series Championship

It is important to understand that “Your Goals Should Get Results.”  This means your goals are to prepare and be mentally ready to playe everyday.  Preparation will be different for each player and each team but the goal is to understand yourself and understand what your coach expects you.

Results are what you get when you have prepare properly.  Although these results are not guaranteed even if your preparation is perfect, they are almost guaranteed to not happen if you fail to prepare.  So understand the difference between Goal and Results and remember to “Set Goals That Get Results.” 

By setting goals that get results you will be able to better understand if your goals are on track or if they need to be tweaked.  You can always look back and say if the left fielder didn’t make those two diving catches I would have hit .400 but you forget about the end of the bat bleeders that dropped, therefore your view is skewed because you forget to put those in the category of hits that maybe should not have been.  Either way this is not a good way to look at the game and will drive you crazy trying to count all the outs that should have been hits and hits that should have been outs because they should have been what they were.  You must give the other team credit and understand they are prepared as well.  The left fielder made the catch because the scouting report told him to shade the gap, the bleeder dropped because the scouting report said for SS to shade middle and you hit a ball just out of his reach in the hole. 

If you are prepared, have a good mental approach, understand what the pitcher is trying to do, and understand the situation you will be setting yourself up for success.  Have fun, play hard, and set goals that get results.

“Respect needs to be earned and you earn respect by proving yourself as a leader”

Coaches and players need to understand this principle and then put it into action.  I tell my guys all the time, I do not want your respects unless I earn it.  Just because I am a coach does not mean you should respect me, but I am going to work hard and bust my butt to earn your respect.  I am also going to treat you like men.  All I ask is you earn my respect in the exact same fashion I am going to earn yours.

“Coach” is a title, it does not command respect it simply puts you in charge.  Coaches must get their players to play at the highest level all the time and the only way to do that is have their respect.  A player might not like you everyday, just remember they do not like their Mother or Father or best friend everyday either, but if they respect you the same way they respect them then you are doing something right.  Players will get upset when they get disciplined or aggravated when they do not start, but it is how they handle it that matters.  Also, how you handle both of these situations will drastically improve the reaction from the player.  If a coach is up front with a player and handles each matter correctly the player does not have to like the decision.  As a matter of fact I do not want a player to like not starting, but I want my players to understand that every decision that is made is made with the team in mind.  

I let them know from the very start it does not matter if one of you make All-Conference or All-American, all that matters is the success of this team.  Our goals are what matter and winning is our goal, more specifically preparing ourselves to win is really the goal and a win is the result of proper preparation.  If each one of us prepare each day and play the way we can on game day, then we will win and all the other individual rewards will come too, but if each of us focus on individual awards the team goal will not be achieved.  Team above all.

In order to have a great team you must have a team that cares about each other and is accountable to themselves, teammates, and coaches.

When it comes to athletics most people will live up to the expectations that are put upon them.  This is a good and bad thing all at the same time because some coaches have high expectations for players and not so high for others.  This is when people over achieve and under achieve. (two terms I despise)

Lou Holtz said: “Humans are capable of far more than they realize and each individuals performance is predicated on what’s expected of him”

He also said: “Perfection is possible if you accept nothing less”

This is why I am a firm believer in the fact there is no such thing as overachieving because if a player achieves a level of play that was not expected of him that is the coach’s fault for not expecting more from that player.  In this case I wonder if the player would have achieved more had the coach expected him too.  A coaches expectations set the tone for the team and if your expectations are anything less than perfection you are setting your team up to fail. 

Under achieving happens for two reasons.  One is a coach over estimated a players ability in the recruiting process and the other is, the coach failed to help that player reach his or her maximum potential.

When it comes to expectations a coach must demand perfection.  This may seem unrealistic and it may be, but it will make your players strive for perfection and if they come up short of perfection they just may be great.  As a coach you must clearly define what you expect from your players and then clearly define what it is going to take to reach those expectations.  Some people might walk out right there and you may even lose your most talented player, but the players that remain are the ones willing to win a championship.  It is my belief that all players want to win a championship but there is a difference between wanting to win and being willing to win.  Being willing to win means you will do whatever is expected of you as a part of the team to help win a championship.  Wanting to win is simply a statement anyone can make, it holds absolutely no value in championship culture. 

My players know that I expect them to get every bunt down, make contact in every hit and run situation, and move a runner over every time the chance arrives.  I am not OK with 9 out of 10 because the one that does not get down could be the one that cost us the World Series.  Since my expectations are so high our preparation sets us up to achieve those expectations.  I do not tell the kids I expect this of them and then send them on their way.  I work hard with them, and practice these situations in live situations as to give them the opportunity to be perfect.  Set your players up to succeed and demand perfection of them and you may be surprised how much better your team is in comparison to outside expectations.