Hi Lauren.
Let's re-phrase your goal and replace "make the Olympics" with "becoming an accomplished international shooter." The Olympics may be a defining moment in your shooting career; but, it is one of many international matches that you will attend. Let's focus on the big picture that will ultimately get you to the Olympics.
What do you need to do? What is the plan? Well, I've heard that it takes about 5 years to develop an international shooter. From what I've seen, this sounds right. Now, this is not just 5 years in isolation. This figure assumes that the athlete is working both hard and smart in their training, that they have access to a knowledgable coach, and they have the resources (facilities, equipment and competitive opportunities) to foster thier growth. An active lifestyle which promotes muscle tone and aerobic endurance is necessary. Sound application of mental skills (activation control, visualization, positive mental attitude, confidence, etc.) is absolutely critical. Planning skills and the using appropriate match tactics makes the difference as well.
Does this answer your question? Probably not. There is no one answer. Each athlete comes to the range in unique circumstances. They could be technically proficient but physically unprepared or not mentally tough. Conversely, they may be a motivated, strong individual with a solid work ethic, but their hold is substandard.
You need to put in time, at the range, in the gym and "in your head." Throughout the year, you'll need about 2 days a week just to maintain your current skill level, 3 days to promote some growth and 5 days seems to be optimal for growing as an advanced shooter. Warning: 7 days a week in the range for many weeks of hard training will result in performance degradation. This will be due to physical damage to your body or more often, mental fatigue (burnout.) You need time from the range to recharge through physical activities, reconnecting with family and friends (having a life!) and working on the mental side of your game. You'll vary intensity, frequency and volume in your training dependant upon where you are in the year.
This is all well and good. How do you implement this? Well, first thing, break down your goals, based upon a realistic (neither starry-eyed nor negative) assessment of where your game is today. Fit this into the context of where you are careerwise, academically and socially. Remember: you have limited time, and if you are interested in pursuing an advanced degree in engineering, then that will consume alot of your time, which in turn pulls from your training time.
Once you have a clear idea of your goals (physical, technical, performance outcomes and mental) in the context of your life, start building a quadrennial plan. The quadrennial plan will be somewhat open ended at this stage: essentially, where do you want to be in 4 years. Then, determine a series of outcomes you need to hit between now and then to achieve your goal. These can include winning the Nationals, improving your equipment, relocating to a city where you will have access to better facilities and coaches. Jot down the milestones you must achieve over the four years to reach your goal. This is your personal roadmap.
Now, you're ready to develop your annual plan. It will start with where you are today and position you to achieve all of the milestones mentioned in the first year of the quadrennial plan. These milestones then will be put into the context of the periods (Preparation, Competition and Transition) within the year. Each period is further subdivided, having different goals which, once again, foster growth.
Here's an overview of how to design an annual training plan, as detailed by Istvan Balyi Ph.D.and Alain Marion M.Sc. in "Designing an Annual Training and Competition Plan: a Step by Step Approach" (September, 1998).
Step 1: Determine the Demands of the Event
Step 2: Assess the Athlete(s) or the Team
Step 3: Evaluate last year's program:
- Training/preparation
- Performance
- Summary: strength of the former year’s program
- Summary: weaknesses of the former year’s program
Step 4: Set general goals and objectives for the new program
- Performance objective(s)
- Training objective (s)
Step 5: Identify the Events of new Program
- Calendar planning
- Optimize competition selection
- Identify training camps of the new program and their duration
- Identify sport science and medicine evaluation sessions of the new program
- Identify school dates that may have an impact on athlete(s)/ team preparation
Step 6: Determine the type of Periodization used in your program
Step 7: Determine the duration of the Competition Period(s)
Step 8: Determine the duration of the Transition period(s)
Step 9: Determine the duration of the Preparation period(s)
Step 10: Determine the Phases of each Period of your program
- Phases of the Competition Period(s)
- Pre-competition Phase of the Preparation Period (PCP)
- Specific Phase of the Preparation Period (SPC)
- General Phase of the Preparation Period (GPP)
- Phases of each Transition Period
Step 11: Determine the importance of key performance factors throughout the plan
Step 12: Determine the expected progression of the workload throughout the plan
Step 13: Re-assess previous Steps using
- Retrospective analysis of the former years of training and performance
- Testing and monitoring session prior to planning
- Sport-, event- or position-specific normative data
Step 14: Determine the Meso and Microcycle Planning structure of the plan
- Insert Mesocycles in the Phases of your annual plan
- Re-evaluate Mesocycle distribution from the point of view of calendar events
- Finalize Mesocycle distribution
- Adjust progression curves, if necessary
- Indicate the theme and loading pattern of the Microcycles of the first Mesocycle
Step 15: Design the training sessions of the first Microcycle
Write down how things went during the year. How did the plan work? Did you meet your goals? Could you have planned better? Was it too easy or too hard? This is all important, as it gives you the necessary feedback to plan subsequent year's annual plan.
Okay, I rambled, but you asked a very open ended question. I hope that you can get something out of it.
Patrick Haynes
htp://
www.targetshooting.ca
NRA/USA Shooting Certified Advanced International Pistol Coach
(Visit my Training and Downloads section for more information)