Real Life Lesson in Setting HIGH Goals

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling
short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”

-Michelangelo.


One of my lifters, Buddy (17-years-old), entered his 3rd Weightlifting (WL) meet yesterday in Bethlehem, PA. A few months back we established a goal of qualifying for Youth Nationals. He needed to total 201-kg in his age and weightclass of 105-plus kg .

My plan was as follows: Open with 87-kg snatch and 107-kg C&J, and then go from there. He has done these lifts comfortably in training.

Snatch:

His first attempt he missed.
Second attempt he got.
Third attempt was 90-kg. He missed.

Up to this point he needed 114-kg in Clean and Jerk to get the 201-kg total.

I encouraged him to increase his CJ opener from 107-kg to 110-kg. I took some calculated risk. I figured if he got the 110, then he will have two attempts at 114. The reason for this was psychological in nature. It's mentally easier to go up 'only' 4 kilos versus 7 kilos.

First attempt he got. 110-kg in the bag.
Second attempt was 114-kg. The bar slipped.
Third attempt at 114-kg again he was able to clean it no problem. He jerked it, I got excited because I thought he got the minimum. But got redlighted due to elbows shaking.

My heart broke for him. I saw how disappointed he was..

I had to think of something quick to cheer him on.. But deep inside I knew he was crushed. I was crushed for him even more.

I congratulated him on a job well done. He gave it all. I emphasized that his openers this time were far heavier than his meet PRs last July.


For example, he set a meet PR of 75-kg in the snatch last time. Yesterday he did 87-kg.

He set a meet PR of 95-kg in C&J last time. He did 110-kg yesterday.

His total was 170-kg just a few months ago in July 2015. Yesterday he totaled 197-kg. A jump of almost 60-lbs. He was only 4-kilos away from our goal. But looking at the bigger picture, and following my own advice that the glass is always half full, an increase of 60-lbs in 8 months is a remarkable achievement.

Yes, it is a bit disappointing that he is not going to Youth Nationals. But it was time to even raise the bar.

[youtube]28Z-Efpo5LU[/youtube]


Then I told him, “Bud. Forget Youth Nationals. Let’s shoot for Junior Nationals in 2017!!”

He will need to total 225-kg before January 2017 to qualify for Junior Nationals 2017. I also encouraged him to drop a weight class. He weighed in at 109-kg yesterday so he competed in the 105-plus class. If he drops 4 kilos, he can compete in the 105-kg weight class. I told him this was Klokov’s weightclass.


[img]http://projectwarrior.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/klokov-push-press.jpg[/img]


And that got him excited! I could see the fire in his heart. [b]But most importantly, his smile was back on his face..[/b] We set a much higher goal, like Michelangelo said, even if he didn’t even lift.





This video was from July of 2015. You can clearly see the difference in his technique. He was also heavier back then. He is much leaner nowadays.

[youtube]iPJprR934vo[/youtube]



Junior Nationals, here we go, bitchez!!


So that’s the lesson I’d like to share with you broz.. Aim high.. Shoot for the stars. Don’t shoot for the ceiling at the local McDonalds restroom where you can touch the spider web while you’re peeing. If you miss the stars so what? You still have a very good chance of at least hitting the clouds.


Oh, in case you’re wondering why there is a floppy-eared, drooling midget donkey in a WL vid. There was an Easter Parade yesterday on the avenue in front of the meet building. I thought it was cool that they celebrated the Resurrection in a town called Bethlehem. :D

Subbed! Go Buddy!!!

Meets are much different than lifting in the gym.
Ive seen guys bomb out in power lift meets the same way.
They can lift X amount in the gym and when it comes to a meet under the pressure of time factor and rules it can be different.
My rule in PLing is to open up with what i can do a solid triple with.
Sometimes things happen and it's just not your day to lift big.
It sucks but if you learned something from it then move on to the next meet.

A 60lb increase in 8 months is no joke. That's a hell of an accomplishment and I'll bet dollars to donuts Junior Nationals next year is in the bag. Get it Buddy!

[QUOTE=IrishLassie78;1431232681]A 60lb increase in 8 months is no joke. That's a hell of an accomplishment and I'll bet dollars to donuts Junior Nationals next year is in the bag. Get it Buddy![/QUOTE]

This^^

I've said it before and I'll repeat it here- you're a good coach. Good on you for picking up your lifter when he needed it. He's young and will only get better but 60lb increase in 8 months is a hell of a start. Good luck to him!

Great job coach. It's just fuel for the fire....

Thank you brahs and sistahs,

When I was an undergrad, one of my goals was to become a member of Tau Beta Pi. It’s the engineering honor society. I needed to hit a certain GPA.

After the semester ended, I was informed that I had missed the cutoff by 0.01 points.. That 0.01 was Buddy’s redlight in the jerk because he didn’t have a solid lockout. So I can relate to getting it ‘sooooo close.’ LOL.. Stab in the heart…then twist the knife.. hahaha..

The kid will be 18 in September. Junior Nationals is for lifters in the 18-20 age range. We have three years to qualify. But the goal is for him to qualify in 2017.

He’ll be fine without a doubt. He learned a lot from this experience for sure. The interesting thing is that I also went through a self-assessment period this weekend as a coach. When I was in the Army, I truly believed that there were no such thing as bad soldiers; there were only bad leaders, bad officers. Same thing with coaching. If an athlete succeeds, the credit belongs to the athletes. If they fail, the coach is to blame.

In my heart, Buddy succeeded big time considering the jump he made. And I’m proud of him for all the hard work he put into it. But that 0.01 cutoff that he missed, that redlighted jerk that prevented him from Youth Nationals, that made me realize I also gotta step up my game as a coach. So just as he has the fire in his heart to qualify for the Junior Nationals, I also have the fire to produce my lifters to be the best they can be..

I am so glad that Buddy had you there. I know how heart breaking it is to devote an enormous amount of time and effort in something and show up and fail. He will get there and you will cheer him the whole way. I've said if before you but are an amazing coach and and man with a heart of gold. Give Buddy a huge for me and tell him he did well no matter what! :)

BUMP.

When I posted this a year ago, Buddy’s goal was to qualify for Youth Nationals. He missed it, so I raised the bar and aimed for Junior Nationals.

He entered a meet yesterday and came very close to qualifying.

He snatched 100-kg (220-lbs) and cleaned & jerked 127-kg (279-lbs). He needed a total of 232-kg (510-lbs). If he made the 3rd snatch attempt at 105, or if he didn’t panic in the 132-kg C&J, he would have qualified. In fact, he competed in the 105-plus weight class. If he made the cut off as a 105, he would have qualified with his total.

He was disappointed, but the great news is that he has 2.5 more years to qualify. The next meet we enter, he will qualify.

GUARANTEED.

Really proud of this kid.

Last year his total was 197-kg (433 lbs).

Yesterday his total was 227-kg (499 lbs).

An increase of 66-lbs in a year.

“Cool in the head.. Fire in the HEART.”

[youtube]krwgHtqjSBQ[/youtube]

That is an awesome update and great progress. Well done.

Thanks NG, Please keep us posted, I love following stuff like this. I really feel you have to have courage, and focus to step onto that platform, nobody can do that for you, that is a victory buddy has won. Buddy is lucky to have you in his corner.

[QUOTE=polishedball;1487865851]That is an awesome update and great progress. Well done.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, brother..

[QUOTE=Cantplankwell;1487868821]Thanks NG, Please keep us posted, I love following stuff like this. I really feel you have to have courage, and focus to step onto that platform, nobody can do that for you, that is a victory buddy has won. Buddy is lucky to have you in his corner.[/QUOTE]

Thank you, sir..

He is entering another meet in 5 months in August. It's the PA State Championship. He will qualify for sure..