The 2019 season is well under way. Now is a good time to set your windsurfing/kiteboarding goals....if you have goals. Sometimes the goal is NOT TO HAVE ANY GOALS and just ride and enjoy. But if you do have goals, now is the time to write them down and define them. Maybe you want to learn a new trick. Maybe you want to improve your speed. Perhaps you are looking to understand the wave better. Whatever it is, write it down, define it, and set a plan.
I have written 9 goals for this season. Sometimes it is difficult to define goals for windsports, especially for "skills". But you can still do it. For example, one of my goals is to improve the "duck jibe". How does one define and measure 'improvement' so that it becomes a real goal? I can already duck jibe decently, but I want to develop it to be more radical and aggressive this year, so I put a picture in my head of what I want it to look like. The image is from a video. I have set a plan to move toward that "picture" in my head. I intend to dedicate 10 sessions of 20 minutes toward improving this move during the season. Before each of those 10 sessions I will tell myself exactly what I will focus on for the first 10 minutes. After the first 10 minutes I will reassess and determine what I want to focus on for the next 10 minutes. The next session I will do the same thing. It's easy, fun, and brings so much stoke. Do what a professional would do for just 20 minutes. Have a plan! It's easy to have a plan for 20 minutes. Then you have the rest of your 2 hour session to either relax and free-ride or set another 20 minute plan. Write down your plan and put it in your vehicle. You're gonna be out on the water anyway, so you might as well have a little plan for a small portion of your session. Define exactly what you will do in that 20 minutes, and you will move forward toward your goal.
Being and feeling free is the most important part of this sport for me, but I still like to improve as well. Try the 20 minute plan, and see how it goes. You might find that it fits into your world.
I have written 9 goals for this season. Sometimes it is difficult to define goals for windsports, especially for "skills". But you can still do it. For example, one of my goals is to improve the "duck jibe". How does one define and measure 'improvement' so that it becomes a real goal? I can already duck jibe decently, but I want to develop it to be more radical and aggressive this year, so I put a picture in my head of what I want it to look like. The image is from a video. I have set a plan to move toward that "picture" in my head. I intend to dedicate 10 sessions of 20 minutes toward improving this move during the season. Before each of those 10 sessions I will tell myself exactly what I will focus on for the first 10 minutes. After the first 10 minutes I will reassess and determine what I want to focus on for the next 10 minutes. The next session I will do the same thing. It's easy, fun, and brings so much stoke. Do what a professional would do for just 20 minutes. Have a plan! It's easy to have a plan for 20 minutes. Then you have the rest of your 2 hour session to either relax and free-ride or set another 20 minute plan. Write down your plan and put it in your vehicle. You're gonna be out on the water anyway, so you might as well have a little plan for a small portion of your session. Define exactly what you will do in that 20 minutes, and you will move forward toward your goal.
Being and feeling free is the most important part of this sport for me, but I still like to improve as well. Try the 20 minute plan, and see how it goes. You might find that it fits into your world.