The Foundation is in Place

Again, a lot of things have transpired, and I'll try to cram as much as I can recall in one post. I may take a few posts to get everything across. Remember: these are my personal thoughts and opinions, not reflecting any body or authority. They are nothing but my own personal ramblings.

Avie's Sport Match

Simply stated, things didn't go as planned. Then again, how do you plan for something as big as someone's first Olympics? Yes, we spoke to people "in the know". We competed at the test event. Avie put in about 850 training hours between Sept. 1, 2007 and Aug. 8, 2008 (on top of her full time job as an engineer). We spoke with sport psychologists, tai chi masters, elite athletes and other coaches.

In the last few months, scores were very promising in training. Without making excuses or claiming greatness, Avie produced scores which could have placed her in the top 20 at the Olympics. But, competitions aren't decided by what you can do at home. Unfortunately, in training, consistency was an issue. Scores fluctuated. With all the work, all of the lessons learned hadn't been fully ingrained. So, "on the day of", instead of a peak, Avie hit a valley. Understandably, she took it hard.

The Olympics is a tough arena. You're up against the best in the world. BEING one of best is a small consolation for a true competitor when the desired results aren't produced. You want to represent your nation. You want to thank all of your supporters with a good showing, maybe even a medal. You want the greatness inside of you to shine forth. unfortunately, sometimes, it just doesn't happen according to plan.

Moving Forward

You can't change the past, but you can learn from it. When I work with athletes, a lot of importance is placed on the shooting diary. The diary acts as a bridge between training sessions, supporting continuous learning. It also adds clarity, ensuring that key points are captured and addressed when appropriate. Writing a diary is tough and there is no singular formula to use when making entries. I suggest that athletes answer the following three questions:

1. What did I do well?
2. What can I improve upon?
3. What will I work on next?

What are my first impressions upon wrapping up the match? How would I answer those questions?

What was done well?

Avie learned how to train and learned what was needed to make changes in her performance. As mentioned earlier, she put in around 850 hours training in the last 11 months, well over the 350-400 hours in the previous year. That's a significant increase, while maintaining and succeeding at a full time job. (Plug for OANDA.COM who supported Avie with enthusiasm and flexible hours, which assisted her get to Beijing.)

She also learned how to stave off injury, for the most part. Her shoulder is a bit iffy at the moment, needing attention by the COC medical staff, but okay overall. If she didn't properly warm-up, cool-down and treat the shoulder and elbow, she'd never have gotten this far. (Note: If you think that stretching and physical preparation aren't important for shooters, save your money and don't buy new equipment. You won't be competing with it very long.)

While there were ups and downs in the performance, the "ups" outweighed the "downs". Avie came back from some rough shots. One needs to know how to do that because perfection is elusive. While its a consistency thing, you need to handle adversity well a couple of times before you can handle it all the time. She's started down that path and I'm excited to see where it goes.

Most importantly, Avie made it to the Olympics. No, it wasn't about travelling. She's a competitor, not a tourist. She came here to perform, regardless of the outcome. That's a tough environment to be in, and not many people ever get here. Avie did and she wants to come back. Now Avie knows what the environment is like. With this knowledge, Avie can prepare for the Games, so she can perform at the Games.

What can be improved upon?

Off the top of my head, the training was working, but we started too late. Now, in all fairness, the 2008 Olympics weren't in the plan. I am a devotee of Ericsson's work on the development of expertise. The general Long-Term Athlete Development Model borrows from it and expands upon it, saying that an individual needs about 10,000 hours and 10 years deliberate practice (specific term) to develop expertise in most chosen domains of endeavour. There are some great books on the subject and I can send a copy of the initial research paper (when I get home) to anyone that wants it.

Well, Avie is just completing her 6th year in the sport. Our goal was to prepare her for her 10th year in the sport with the 2012 London Olympics. Then, she went and screwed up the plan, by winning a quota at the Pan American Games. Go figure. All of a sudden, we had an Olympics to prepare for in just over a year.

We needed more time to do it though. In the LTAD model (great read), you work an athlete from "Training to Train", through "Training to Compete", to "Training to Win". (There's a retirement phase, but shooters NEVER retire. They just stop paying team fees. *s*) Avie needed to be moved rapidly out of "Training to Train" into "Training to Compete".

So, I think that she did this very well, given the time frame. If this was run in another year, the training would have shown. But, the Olympics isn't about the past or the future. It is the "Best of the Day." Get there and give your all. Let the officials rank the results and hand out the cookies. Learn for the experience and move on. That's all that one can ever hope for.

Without question, there are other things that can be improved upon, by myself and by Avie. But those things are meant for review in a couple of weeks, looking back at the year, when we return home.

What will I work on next?

Personally, I need to become a better coach. For the most part, I was stuck on the sidelines, due to accreditation issues. Yes, I was accredited, but not allowed to do anything during the actual competition. That needs to be fixed in the future, so coaches can coach their athletes when times get tough.

Regardless, I need to become better during the training year. Athletes aren't the only ones with consistency or focus issues. I can be very handy on the technical side. Unfortunately, work clouds my focus, as does stress. Sometimes, I want to switch off and withdraw from the world. I need to manage those needs with the needs of my athletes.

I want more practical coach training. The ISSF coach academy is good but it is more theory. I want to closely observe what some of the more experienced coaches are doing and saying with their athletes. I need to be an active participant in that process. I've initiated a dialogue with a few fellows, and we'll see where that goes.

Today's Summation (Finally!!!!)

I am extremely proud of Avie and what she has accomplished. She is still relatively new to this sport (just over 6.5 years since first picking up a pistol). In this short period of time, she has grown from newbie to Olympian. Avie has learned what the Olympics entails. She's undergone intense media scrutiny and performed in front of family and friends in her mother country. That's a lot to deal with and she made it out alive. Not too shabby.

To be honest, I am extremely excited about what the future holds for Avie. She's intelligent and learns from experience. She's a competitor and a fighter. (She's also damn cute, but I'm biased.) Avie will move through these tough moments and make the future she desires. She has laid a foundation, upon which an impressive house will be built.

I had better sign off and run. I've been hogging this laptop at COH for about 2-3 hours and several people are plotting my demise.

Take care and chat soon.
Patrick
Patrick