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MAKING A PLAN
“The good sailors all know how to race very well, but the champions have won the regatta before the racing begins.” - Paul Elvstrom, considered the greatest sailor in the sport and winner of four consecutive Olympic Gold Medals
“If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. Half measures will avail you nothing!” – Joe Duplin, considered one of the best college coaches; coached at Tufts in the 70’s and produced many collegiate All Americans and national champions
The purpose of putting together a “campaign” is to help you achieve a particular goal. Your chances of success are much better if you make an organized Plan about how to get from where you are now to where you want to go.
It’s fair to say that “planning” is not everyone’s favorite pastime. It is also just as fair to say that many very talented sailors, particularly sailors in their teens, have never come close to realizing their potential because they never took the time to plan their sailing involvement and growth; or they didn’t work very hard at all the non-sailing aspects of improving themselves as sailors.
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Paul Elvstrom and Joe Duplin had it right (see quotes above).
This website is designed to help you make the best, most realistic, plan you can make. Sections include topics from picking a class, to choosing a coach, to setting a budget and raising money, to finding dates for events, to learning about venues around the country…and much more.
Your Plan begins with a blank sheet of paper, a pen and a calendar. You can make the Plan by yourself, or with your teammate(s). You can also get help from parents, coaches, experienced sailors you know, and so on.
On the blank page you should create at least the following major sections:
1. Your Goals. What would you like to accomplish in one year? five years? ten years?
2. The Steps. What are the “steps” to accomplishing your one year, five year, ten year goals?
3. Execution. What do you have to do right now to take the “steps” toward your goals?
(read through this website completely for lots of ideas and information!)
Obviously the big action items will include:
• Choosing the class of boat you will race
• Choosing a teammate (can be another singlehanded sailor you are “teaming” up with)
• Deciding which events to go to
• Making plans for training for those events
• Organizing for some advanced coaching
• Doing all the logistical stuff for all of the above (plans for travel, housing, food, training sites, etc., etc.)
Get a Year-at-a-Glance schedule and write in all your commitments and desired events (school, family and job obligations, training sessions, etc.).
References
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