TargetTalk

I've always encouraged my BB shooters and coaches to keep performance journals, but I plan start making a bigger issue of it. Can anyone recommend any articles or templates. I need something simple because I'm working with 4th through 8th grade kids. I've been using the CMP one that you can download from their site but if there is something better out there for a younger group I think it could help.

For kids that seem to need constant encouragement to write stuff down, the CMP booklet is very good as at least they have the areas that they can keep track of there for them. I let them know that they can "write outside the lines" in terms of putting down other thoughts.

The ones who are more motivated may come and ask you ... or tell you, there is not enough room in those areas. (DING, DING, DING ... one to watch for!) Then explain to them a spiral, 3-ring binder, or even a regular blank journal is the way to go.
Tell them, and their parents to go hit a bookstore or even AMAZON (search: blank journal) and let them pick one out that is special to them and have them freeform their thoughts in those after each training session & match.

I note to them that a training session includes holding, shooting, visualizing, cleaning ... any task that they do that involves their shooting.

I'm a guy and it's terrible to confirm this .... the gals are going to be much better here ... probably by at least 5:1.

Also ... make sure they bring them with them to training ... (gosh ... especially the guys) it does no good to have a journal away from them when they have all the ideas in their heads in the "NOW". 15 minutes later, all that is most probably forgotten (sigh ... especially the guys).

I'm of the bent that I do not read their journals unless they ask me to look at something. I take this from Bob Foth's clinics a long time ago where he really emphasized putting down even very personal thoughts. If you encourage that, and then spring a surprise inspection, you'll likely find blanks/empty pages.

My daughter related to me a story where she and a college teammate went and looked back at their very early (when they were 10-11 years old) journals. One entry in a rifle clinic held the comment - "I'm so bored .... la, la, la, la, la"
Push them to put anything in these!

Thanks. One of my coaches emailed me an article that I found interesting. Wasn't till the end that I realized the writer was a golf coach. Much of what it had to say seem applicable though different from a lot of other articles.

You cannot manage what you do not measure.
You need to have a plan to reach your goals, and you need to be able to see if your plan failed, or if you just failed to work your plan. What the objective of each session is. What worked and what did not work.
This is a performance journal, not a “lack of performance” journal, and not a diary. A performance journal by my definition has no references to bad experiences or poor performances. It records what works and what doesn’t work. If you record your mistakes you are making a mental error and your self-image will suffer.


What do you think about this approach?

These are great, but maybe a bit deep for a 10-14 year old .... again depends on the kid.

It is pretty difficult to separate between the 2nd and 3rd thoughts.

I try to focus on the 2nd in technical terms. (The what worked and what didn't). More in the terms of the hardware ... setups, lighting/iris's things like that that will not be an issue with BB. Think maybe sling approaches maybe here (Our program does not do BB, so I may be out of it here)

The 3rd thought if you keep it performance based is fine. I try, and try to instill in my coaches and shooters that EVERY SINGLE PERFORMANCE has something good to be learned about it. I mean there are going to be times when a shooter has a much less than average score, but if you as a coach are watching, and approach it empathetically, you will always be able to draw out something that they did right and focus on that part.

Thought drift here .... I also have my shooters (well ask them ... few but the really serious do) track their averages over the last 2-3 months. (I'll track my younger shooters ... average???) If they are within 2-3 points of their average, well that's what an average is ... cannot always shoot a PR.

3rd thought again.
Check this out: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NWv1VdDeoRY

Also the USOC Coaching Newsletter has many great articles:
http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/ ... DlZkvuCl_y

With all due respect to both of you, if they are shooting BB gun you need to keep it fun. Writing in a journal isn't fun. Being made to write in a journal is punishment.

redschietti wrote:With all due respect to both of you, if they are shooting BB gun you need to keep it fun. Writing in a journal isn't fun. Being made to write in a journal is punishment.

Were I asking them to write a journal that I'd expect from 3p kids you'd be right. I don't intend to berate those that put in less effort with their journaling but I will be encouraging it. It'll be kept fun, but winning is fun and journaling increases the chances of winning.

I started shooting sports in the Coweta County BB Program in 8th grade and stopped competing when my final season at West Point ended. In the beginning, like most new shooters, I was focused mainly on score but I was learning a new rifle with a lot of adjustments compared to a D499. Starting out I wrote down score, rifle settings, and how those settings felt and what to change for next time. EX: Rifle felt really low and long, shorten lower buttplate rod by 1.5 and top by 1. The length of these notes tended to be long because I was trying to remember everything. As I got better and more confident, my notes got shorter and I started to look at the process more than the score. I may have shot a solid score but overheld or jumped at a good sight picture on a few shots and just write down something like "Trust the Process".

To directly answer your question, I wouldn't make a 4th grade kid, who is there just having fun, write down anything. If you have a BB and Sporter/Precision program or a kid who is looking to move on to one of those disciplines, I might make those kids start taking notes but BB is all about fun, building safe shooters, and building fundamentals in my opinion.