by HS
Hunter Field Target / Field Target (HFT/FT ) in eastern Canada finished its season in Nov/Dec. Until the matches resume in the spring, we have time now to prepare. Here we will discuss various aspects of goal setting.
Rarely is there ever only one way of doing something like this, so the thoughts offered are intended more to stimulate your thinking about your unique situation and how you might incorporate some of the ideas contained here, or substitute your own solutions. Even better, put your thoughts to paper and submit them for publication as an aid for the rest of us.
The end of the competitive season is an appropriate time to reflect upon the successes and failures, the causes and cures, and the changes required to address the outcome of this analysis.
Along with examining the tangible results of the previous season should come a similar self-reflective process dealing more with intangibles, such as did you have enough fun and enjoyment last season. This process may take 30 minutes or 30 days; it is up to you.
The end result should be that you know what you want out of the upcoming season (or seasons). Examples of this might be: improve standing scores 20%, score a minimum of 50% on standing lanes next season, shoot a perfect (clean) score on a standing lane, average 90% on kneeling lanes, place in the top 50% at all competitions, learn how your scope shifts with temperature change, enjoy the sunset at my range once per week, etc.
Some things are easier said than done, so how might we go about reflecting and analyzing our results?
- If you recorded your scores in a notebook, your phone, or your phone’s camera, examine these results.
- Search your results on the this web site in the Matches section and make note of them.
- Did you make notes while practicing at your club or in your basement range?
- Use whatever resources are available to you.
- Even better, plan a better way to make records and incorporate this into your routine for next season.
- Remember, if data gets recorded, if data gets measured, it likely gets addressed and appropriate plans of action put into place.
Once you have completed this process, instead of a general awareness, you should have a much clearer understanding of where you have been, where you are now, and where you want to be in the future.
In addition to these benefits you are now more organized than previously and have prioritized aspects of your shooting for the upcoming season.
As we near the goal-establishment step, we should next consider the tools and resources we have at our disposal or can acquire, that will help us progress toward our goals.
Some of these resources are readily available while some are scarce, depending upon our individual situations.
Examples of tools and resources include:
- Access to sport-specific training materials,
- coaching,
- gunsmithing services,
- suitable ranges,
- sufficient budget, and most importantly,
- time.
When setting goals it is highly advised to do so in a responsible fashion. Goals do not have to be so rigid that it seems they are set in concrete, rather, some goals may need to be set in sand to acknowledge the realities that life presents us such as work demands, personal health issues, or similar situations.
Somthing that I’ve effective used and is commonly recommended by experts is using S.M.A.R.T. goals:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Time-specific
There is a great deal of information available for you to research independently but for our purposes we will conclude here.
Up next we will get into goal setting