August 3, 2010
Building a plan for next year
by Kristen Kjellman/
The 2010 regular season has come and gone, club tournaments are nearing an end, and camp season is approaching the finish line. As the bulk of your lacrosse life for 2010 has passed, it’s time to take stock on the past several months, recap your progress, and build a plan for the next steps in your development. Great young players move to the next level in the offseason; while their gains show up during the season, it’s what they do when they are not in full-on lacrosse mode that makes them great.
With that in mind, creating a plan for what you will do from now until the first day of practice in 2011 will go a long way in shaping your talent and readiness for next season.
Set goals
My coach at Northwestern was instrumental in helping me develop self-confidence in my game. She stressed that in order to be the player you aspire to be and win the games you want to win, you must believe it will happen. This prompted me to create goals for myself before each offseason and regular season. The goals did not revolve around a number of shots or assists, but focused instead on the parts of my game I was striving to improve. These goals involved shoring up my perceived weaknesses, especially when the season was over and those flaws were fresh in my mind.
Thus, my goals ranged from the number of times I would take extra draws each week to the number of times I would take additional 8-meter shots after practice. Setting these types of goals made me more confident that I could improve my game in the areas I considered critical.
Create a plan
After a season ends (spring, summer or even fall ball), reflect on your game and use that critique as the basis for your offseason. Once goals have been established, it’s important to stick to them; the easiest way to do this is with a realistic plan.
In other words, do not set goals that you will be unlikely to achieve. For example, during the summer I usually picked on only one main aspect of my game to improve. Once it was my left-handed shot; another summer it was my defensive positioning; and most recently it was my dodges from up top. I would work on these facets of my game when coaching at camps or in my free time at home. You only get better through hard work and dedication, and it’s easier to stay motivated and focused with a plan in place.
Persevere
Every athlete faces setbacks. It might be injuries, being benched or, worse, cut, or personal or family issues. The important thing is not let these setbacks derail your training or your focus on getting better; don’t give up. Tackle these hurdles with poise and confidence and you will gain the respect from your teammates and coaching staff.
My good friend Sarah Albrecht was my teammate at Northwestern for three years. During Sarah’s sophomore year, she tore her ACL and missed the season. Many times, you hear of athletes who don’t fully recover from these types of taxing injuries. Sarah did just the opposite. She worked extremely hard during months of rehab and was back on the field the following season. Not only did Sarah come back as strong as she was her freshman season, she came back even stronger. By the end of her senior year she was one of the top players in the country.
By critiquing your game, setting goals based on your evaluation and tackling the hurdles you face with confidence and tenacity, you can make the offseason the start to a great “next season.”
