Post Game Progression

Methinks that these next few posts (including the two before this) are gonna get a little preachy/sports psychology-esque, but let's roll with it.
...or ruck over it, if you will.
We lost our first game of the season yesterday but the framing and the attitude drawn from it is what's really going to carry us far. I think that the way the team played was an exact indication of the benefits that can result from having a hard working team all around - related to the previous post, this team is so lucky to have a hard working yet accepting culture. We don't have any of those slacker starters or veterans that feel immunity or priority over other players. Everyone clearly works hard together and is on the same page.
It was a great combination to see starters/veterans setting the bar high then having rookies filter in and meet that standard. Who knows how different it would've gone if there was a "fuck it" vibe amongst the veterans, or in the other extreme if there was an overly critical vibe. Mistakes were embraced and tackled head on, one by one. This is so important because many rugby teams can get so caught up in their spirit of the game that they actually lose sight of what's really the goal.

Which segways right into the main theme of this post.....GOAL SETTING!

On individual and team levels, goal setting is so incredibly important.
NOTE: In this post, and many following this one, I am drawing directly from a book called Focused for Rugby: A proven approach for peak performance by Adam R. Nicholls and Jon Callard. It's a pretty easy read to order online and I highly recommend it! If you're interested in learning more about a certain topic that I discuss from this book let me know and I will make you a copy of the chapter :)

There is such a variety of goals that you can set for yourself and your team that it's insane, sometimes overwhelming. Especially if you're a new player or a new team, it can be daunting to figure out what to do in terms of goal setting because it seems like EVERYTHING needs improvement.
But narrowing down on a time frame and content will help you go further. It's as if you're about to clean the White House after someone threw a Fourth of July rager - you'll get it done faster and more effectively if you clean one room at a time rather than trying to sweep over every single space.
...............what the hell was that analogy?

Work with meh here.

In my social work realm, we always used the acronym SMART to remember all the important aspects of setting a goal. However, in this book they take it a step further and make SMARTER goals. Here's how:

Specific - no vague shit. "I will do my best" is not a goal, that should be a given. Making better tackles is a common rugby goal, however it may also be beneficial to take that a little further, such as "I will drive through my tackles." The more specifics the better, especially because if you start with an extremely specific goal it shouldn't take long to accomplish it and move on to the next one.

Measurable - for all the peeps into numerical data and logic, this will work well for you. Keeping numbers on your goals is one of the most concrete ways to see your own progress. Timing your mile each week or keeping track of your weight selections when lifting are a few ways you can continue to move forward yet also look back on your data and congratulate yourself. Even aiming to drop one less pass in game can be beneficial.

Action oriented - THIS IS IMPORTANT. Now that you have started the works of creating a goal, HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING TO ACHIEVE IT? Hypothesize your goals all day but in the end if you can't figure out how reach it, then that's all they are - goals. La dee freakin' da.

Realistic - Find the balance between realistic yet also challenging. Breaking through every single tackle on attack is not realistic. You cannot aim for perfection because NOBODY'S PERFECT! Know where you're at and set the bar from there.

Timed - Set a deadline. Short, medium, and long-term goals all have their own benefits but they're also drastically different. It's important to utilize all three types of timed goals because where one is beneficial, it is also lacking in something else. Long term goals are great because it's a lot of time for you to keep tabs on yourself and measure your progress, however they can also get lost and forgotten very easily. Short term goals are great because you will have quick results however certain things just take longer to develop.

Elastic - Give yourself some flexibility. Similar to the realistic aspect of goal setting, cut yourself some slack. Don't expect to be an All Black overnight. Even in the measuring of your goals, you can add a range rather than aiming for a specific number. "I will make 5 or more tackles in my next game" is better than aiming to make 8 tackles.

Repeatability - This is an interesting one. After you have achieved a goal, don't throw it out the fucking window. Keep it in your back pocket. I think that as a team we have struggled with this at practices, because we will achieve a goal of learning a new skill yet completely forget about it moments later when we have moved on to something else. Your goals are useless if you don't make them permanent factors in your playing. Similar to attack in rugby, the purpose of goals is to be continuously moving forward and making progress.

There are also two types of goal setting styles: performance oriented and success oriented. When setting performance goals, they're usually geared towards self improvement however they can also be used for team purposes. The primary focus is improvement as players. Success goals involve more comparison and competition, usually can involve benchmarking via social comparison.

HERE'S A HINT: CREATE PERFORMANCE ORIENTED GOALS.
Success oriented goals leave a lot of room for fluctuation because they depend too much on exterior factors. Of course it's okay to want to win and succeed as a player and/or team, but looking internally rather than externally will get you there more effectively. Focus on your own shit. We sometimes get too caught up in measuring our own success based off of where everyone else is. Either we're too hard on ourselves because everyone seems to be playing at a higher level or we're too lazy/easy on ourselves because everyone's playing at a lower level. Especially if you struggle with confidence and believing in yourself (*hand shoots up in the air*) comparisons to others can be extremely self destructive.

Personal life example: at crossfit a few weeks ago, we did a mile run after a workout. I benchmarked my progress off of how far ahead someone else was from me and immediately started getting down on myself because I thought they got too far ahead. However, in the end when I heard the time I ran a mile in, it was one of the fastest times I've ever had. If I had never found out that time, I would've continued going on under the impression that I had failed and made no progress simply because I wasn't as fast as someone else. But in reality, that was a huge accomplishment!

It's also not a bad thing to want to increase your own playing time or even work towards getting into a starting line up, both things that are natural and acceptable goals. But it gets hurtful when you begin comparing yourself to other teammates, and start working towards "beating them" for the position. THAT is a selfish way to reach your goal and can actually set you back in other areas. If you want to work towards starting in a game or even playing A-side at all, just focus more on what you can do to improve as a player and CALL IT A DAY.

Here's a great table listing questions about your goals and giving you space to physically write out the answers. Sounds childish, but keeps it clear cut and concrete (I know the image cuts off, but if you click on it then you can save this table and even print it for your own use!):

The way I see it - what harm can be done? Clearly if you are looking to progress and improve, there are resources out there for you. So give it a shot! What do you have to lose?