A Vision and a Roadmap

August 12th, 2021

A Vision and a Roadmap

“Those who work the hardest, who subject themselves to the strictest discipline, who give up certain pleasurable things in order to achieve a goal, are the happiest.”
Brutus Hamilton, Olympic Decathlete and Coach

I want to (insert goal/accomplishment) because (list your reason) and (a supporting reason).

Yesterday I shared a couple of posts on Instagram and Twitter about the act of journaling and a notebook as the ultimate accountability partner.  It wasn’t until I visited Ashland University in January, 2005 that I came to really appreciate the importance and significance of journaling to keep track of training.  

As a student-athlete at SUNY Fredonia I kept track of my lifting sessions, but never anything having to do with throwing.  From time to time I take out those old training journals as a reflective exercise to see how I began my training journey, how it went, and how it ended.  I had my fair share of throwing coaches in college, all with different philosophies about how to train, when to train, and why I was training the way I was.  When I asked questions about a specific block of training, only Coach Barr gave me a response I was satisfied with that didn’t include, “Because this is the way I trained.”

Our training journals serve as roadmaps.  We essentially start on Day #1 in the hopes of accomplishing goal A, B, and C over the course of a week, month, block, season, year or collegiate career.  We may accomplish our goal until Day 50, 100, 500 or 1000.  Keeping a detailed journal will help you stay accountable to accomplishing your goals.  You will be able to look back and see where you started, where you’ve been, and how much closer you are to accomplishing your feat.  

Not keeping a journal allows us to wander aimlessly, sailing without a destination.  We might get somewhere, but it might not be where we wanted to go.  It’s easier to lose focus, get frustrated, and burnt out without keeping track.  You never know where you are going, but hoping to get somewhere eventually.