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Setting SMART goals for the summer training season

As the cross-country skiing season comes to a close, it’s time for elite and recreational skiers to shift their focus from competition to preparation for the next season. Setting SMART goals during this transitional period is crucial for maximizing performance and achieving success in the upcoming training season. SMART goals in endurance training are specific objectives designed […]

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2 weeks ago

April 21, 2025

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Setting SMART goals for the summer training season

SMART goals in endurance training are specific objectives designed to improve an athlete’s stamina, cardiovascular fitness, and overall performance in long-distance activities such as cross-country skiing. These goals are tailored to the individual’s capabilities and training needs, focusing on measurable outcomes such as increasing aerobic capacity, reducing race times, or completing longer distances within a specified timeframe. By setting SMART goals in endurance training, athletes can effectively track their progress, stay motivated, and make targeted adjustments to their training plans to optimize their performance.

SMART goal setting involves creating objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. By following this framework, cross-country skiers can tailor their training plans to address weaknesses, build upon strengths, and ultimately improve their performance on the snow.

Specific Goals

When setting goals for the training season, it’s essential to be specific about what you want to accomplish. Instead of a vague goal like “improve endurance,” aim for something more precise such as “5 kilometers on the SkiErg under 20 minutes”. Specific goals provide clarity and direction, making it easier to create a focused training plan.

Measurable Goals

Measuring progress is key to staying motivated and tracking improvement throughout the training season. Choose metrics that can be quantified, such as race times, distance covered, or heart rate zones. By regularly assessing your performance against these metrics, you can gauge your progress and adjust your training as needed. For example, 5 kilometers on the SkiErg under 20 minutes is a goal that you can measure, and adjust training as needed.

Achievable Goals

While it’s important to set ambitious goals, they should also be realistic and achievable within the constraints of your abilities and resources. Consider your current fitness level, available training time, and other commitments when setting goals. Push yourself to improve but avoid setting unrealistic expectations that may lead to burnout or injury. Going back to the previous example, if your current personal best is 5 kilometers above 25 minutes, it might not be realistic to expect to reach the under 20 minutes mark already next summer.

Relevant Goals

Make sure your goals are relevant to your overall objectives as a cross-country skier. Whether you’re aiming to compete at a higher level, improve technique, or simply enjoy the sport more fully, your goals should align with your broader aspirations. Keep your motivation high by focusing on goals that are meaningful and relevant to you.

Time-bound Goals

Setting a deadline for achieving your goals creates a sense of urgency and helps you stay accountable to your training plan. Break down larger goals into smaller, more manageable targets with specific timeframes for completion. This will prevent procrastination and keep you on track towards your ultimate objectives.

Example of SMART Goals for Cross-Country Skiers:

Specific: Improve double poling efficiency by focusing on long training sessions.
Measurable: Increase the average training distance by 20% over the next two months.
Achievable: Do two weekly double-poling sessions with 3 or more hours.
Relevant: This goal is relevant for improving Vasaloppet finishing time.
Time-bound: Achieve a 5% improvement in Vasaloppet finish time.

By setting smart goals for the upcoming training season, cross-country skiers can lay the foundation for success on the snow. With clear objectives, measurable progress, and a focused training plan, athletes can maximize their potential and strive toward peak performance in the seasons to come.

Consistency is key to achieving SMART goals

Consistency is key when pursuing smart goals in endurance training. To maintain consistency, athletes should establish a structured training schedule that incorporates regular workouts and rest days to prevent burnout and injuries. Setting realistic goals that align with personal capabilities and commitments helps maintain motivation and reduces the likelihood of setbacks.

Additionally, tracking progress regularly, celebrating small achievements, and staying adaptable to changes in circumstances or setbacks can help athletes stay on course and continue making steady progress toward their smart goals. Finally, cultivating a positive mindset, seeking support from coaches or training partners, and staying focused on the long-term benefits of achieving smart goals can help athletes stay consistent and committed to their training regimen.

This article was first published on ProXCskiing.com on April 19, 2024.

Wikipedia contributors. “SMART criteria.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 18 Mar. 2025. Web. 20 Apr. 2025.

Are you interested in training for cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.

Related Topics:athlete cardiovascular competition fitness season skiing snow sports track web

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High School Highlights: HP volleyball wins invite; New Trier baseball sweeps GBS; Trevs soccer keeps rolling

A summary of preps sports competition from area schools over the past week. Send scores and highlights to joe@therecordns.org. BASEBALLSt. Laurence 15, Loyola 0 The Vikings took it to the Ramblers on Thursday, May 1, in Glenview. New Trier 14, Glenbrook South 5 Trey Meyers recorded four hits and 4 RBI on Wednesday, April 30, […]

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7 minutes ago

May 2, 2025

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A summary of preps sports competition from area schools over the past week. Send scores and highlights to joe@therecordns.org.

BASEBALL
St. Laurence 15, Loyola 0

The Vikings took it to the Ramblers on Thursday, May 1, in Glenview.

New Trier 14, Glenbrook South 5

Trey Meyers recorded four hits and 4 RBI on Wednesday, April 30, as the Trevians completed a three-game sweep of the Titans.

Zach Perchik and Mason Bloom had three hits apiece for New Trier (17-5).

Highland Park 3, Niles North 2

Trent Harradine knocked in two runs for the Giants (18-3-1, 9-0) in the league victory on Tuesday, April 29.

New Trier 4, Glenbrook South 3

Mason Bloom had the go-ahead RBI in the Trevians’ comeback victory on Tuesday, April 29.

Mason Jurewicz worked four scoreless innings in relief to get the win for New Trier.

Loyola 7, Mount Carmel 5

Barrett Schifferdecker had a run-scoring single to help the Ramblers to the league win on Tuesday, April 29.

Highland Park 8, Niles North 2

Ben Lichtenfeld, Charlie Cohen, Trent Harradine and Ben Hilgart notched two hits apiece in the Giants’ win on Tuesday, April 29.

New Trier 10, Glenbrook South 3

Keenan Donaldson smacked a home run and Nick Bailey earned the win for the Trevians on Monday, April 28, in Glenview.

Ben Toft and Caiden Carpenter added two hits apiece for New Trier (15-5).

Highland Park 12, Niles North 0 (6 inn.)

Trent Harradine homered and knocked in four and Charlie Cohen tripled and knocked in four for the Giants on Monday, April 28.

Ben Lichtenfeld struck out four while throwing a shutout for Highland Park.

Mount Carmel 10, Loyola 6

Tommy Regan recorded three hits in the Ramblers’ league loss on Monday, April 28, in Glenview.

SOFTBALL
New Trier 5, Glenbrook North 1

The Trevians won their seventh game in a row on Tuesday, April 29, while staying unbeaten in the Central Suburban South.

Fenwick 6, Loyola 0

Ramblers couldn’t solve the Friars and fell to 6-12 on Tuesday, April 29.

New Trier 10, Hoffman Estates 0

Ava Jackson went 3-for-4 to pace the Trevians (9-3) on Saturday, April 26, in their sixth straight victory.

GIRLS SOCCER
New Trier 6, St. Charles North 0

Elie Shafer, a sophomore, recorded a hat trick in the Trevians’ Naperville Invitational victory on Thursday, May 1, in Northfield.

Noa Boeing, Catherine Shean and Dami Balogun also scored for New Trier (17-0-2).

Barrington 2, Loyola 0

The Ramblers fell in the Naperville Invite match on Thursday, May 1.

Highland Park 7, Maine East 0

Annie Manaster scored twice for the Giants in their league victory on Thursday, May 1, in Highland Park.

New Trier 4, Glenbrook South 0

Addy Randall tallied a goal and an assist in the Trevians’ league win on Tuesday, April 29.

Honor Dold added a goal as well for New Trier.

Loyola 1, St. Ignatius 0

The Ramblers earned the rivalry win on Tuesday, April 29.

Vernon Hills 2, Highland Park 0

The Giants dropped the league match on Monday, April 28.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Glenbrook North 23-25-25, New Trier 25-21-19

The Trevians (13-6, 4-1) dropped their first league match of the season on Wednesday, April 30.

Oak Park-River Forest 25-25, Loyola 16-18

Luke Malles racked up 9 kills while Drew Bevan added 8 for the Ramblers on Wednesday, April 30.

Loyola 22-25-25, St. Ignatius 25-20-23

Graham Stevenson passed out 15 assists and James Gervasio 14 in the Ramblers’ rivalry victory on Tuesday, April 29.

New Trier 25-25-25, Glenbrook South 12-27-21

The Trevs picked up the conference victory on Monday, April 28, in Winnetka.

Highland Park 25-18-15, Evanston 22-25-8

The Giants bested the Kits to win the Grayslake North Invite on Saturday, April 26.

Highland Park went 5-0 on the weekend, beating Grayslake North, Rich Township, Rockford Auburn and St. Patrick all in straight sets.

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Sports

Belardi and Bell Secure AVCA Top Flight Honors – Stanford Cardinal

LEXINGTON, Kent.– Junior Kelly Belardi and Charlotta Bell have earned AVCA Top Flight honors, the association announced Friday. Now in its seventh year, the Top Flight program recognizes beach pairs who compete in at least 15 matches together at a specific flight and win at least 75% of their matches. This year, 88 pairs representing […]

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12 minutes ago

May 2, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Kent.– Junior Kelly Belardi and Charlotta Bell have earned AVCA Top Flight honors, the association announced Friday.

Now in its seventh year, the Top Flight program recognizes beach pairs who compete in at least 15 matches together at a specific flight and win at least 75% of their matches. This year, 88 pairs representing 45 schools—from all three NCAA divisions, NAIA, and Two-Year Colleges—have earned Top Flight status.

Belardi and Bell are one of eight MPSF pairs to be honored. The duo has a 17-3 record this season, including a 15-3 mark as the Cardinal’s threes pair. This is the third honor in the past week for the pair, named MPSF Championship Most Valuable Pair for their efforts at the conference championship on Monday, and each earning Second Team All-MPSF honors on Thursday.

Stanford kicks off its NCAA Championship run today, taking on No. 14-seed Boise State at 12 p.m. PT in Gulf Shores, Ala. The match will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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Kutztown University announces search for new head women’s volleyball coach

Story Links KUTZTOWN, Pa. — Kutztown University announced Friday afternoon that it will conduct a national search for a new head women’s volleyball coach this summer. Allison Keeley, who coached Kutztown to a 24-56 record in three seasons, will not return to the Golden Bears next season. “We’d like to thank […]

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26 minutes ago

May 2, 2025

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KUTZTOWN, Pa. — Kutztown University announced Friday afternoon that it will conduct a national search for a new head women’s volleyball coach this summer.

Allison Keeley, who coached Kutztown to a 24-56 record in three seasons, will not return to the Golden Bears next season.

“We’d like to thank Allison for her dedication to the Golden Bear women’s volleyball program and our student-athletes over the last three years and wish her the best in the future,” director of athletics Renee Hellert said. “We look forward to working hard to identify the next individual to lead our program and student-athletes in the years ahead.”

Kutztown will now begin the search to identify its new head coach.

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Sports

No. 7 Beach Volleyball advances to NCAA Quarterfinals after beating No. 10 Cal, 3-2

Story Links GULF SHORES, Ala. – In its first-ever NCAA Championships appearance, No. 7 Texas Beach Volleyball took down No. 10 California, 3-2, to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. The Longhorns (28-9) will face former Big 12 foe and No. 2 seed TCU (29-5) in the quarters scheduled for Saturday at 10 […]

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31 minutes ago

May 2, 2025

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GULF SHORES, Ala. – In its first-ever NCAA Championships appearance, No. 7 Texas Beach Volleyball took down No. 10 California, 3-2, to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. The Longhorns (28-9) will face former Big 12 foe and No. 2 seed TCU (29-5) in the quarters scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. CT. The match will be streamed on ESPN2.

Friday’s opening round saw Texas take a 1-0 lead after a victory from the No. 3 pair of Maddison Parmelly and Karin Zolnercikova. The pair won in straight sets, 22-20, 21-9, for the 22nd time this season and improved their team-leading record to 27-6. It’s the third time this season the 2s defeated the Bears and marked the pair’s 15th-ranked win of the year. Parmelly now has 93 career wins.

Cal grabbed a 2-1 advantage after wins on courts 5 and 1. Macey Butler and Noa Sonneville then took the Bears to three sets to even the dual score to 2-2 from court 4 with a 21-18, 19-21, 17-15 victory. The pair improved to 25-10 on the season, and the victory marked the duo’s 14th-ranked win of the year and third-straight win over the Bears in 2025.

The final Texas point was won on court 2 off a Katie Hashman ace. The Longhorns’ duo of Hashman and Emma Grace Robertson won in three sets in a back-and-forth affair by a score of 20-22, 21-17, 17-15. The pair is now 25-12 on the year and earned its first win against the Bears this season.

Saturday’s match against the Horned Frogs marks the second time the teams will face off this season.TCU claimed a 4-1 win in early March.

Order of Finish:

3. Maddison Parmelly / Karin Zolnercikova (TEX) def. Alexand Young-Gomez/ Ella Sears (Cal) (22-20, 21-9)

5. Jenna Colligan/Ella Dreibholz (Cal) def. Ava Patton/Vivian Johnson (TEX) (21-18, 21-19)

1. Emma Donley/Portia Sherman (Cal) def. Chloe Charles/Eva Liisa Kuivonen (TEX) (21-17, 21-15)

4. Macey Butler/Noa Sonneville (TEX) def. Marilu Pally/Maile Somera (Cal) (21-18, 19-21, 17-15)

2. Emma Grace Robertson/Katie Hashman (TEX) def. Gia Fisher/Sierra Caffo (Cal) (20-22, 21-17, 17-15)

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Women's Tennis vs Bloomsburg on 5/2/2025

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May 2, 2025

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Women's Tennis vs Bloomsburg on 5/2/2025

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Volleyball Recruiting Blog: Top setters returning next season

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1 hour ago

May 2, 2025

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Johns Creek will be returning Class of 2026 prospect Adonia Haile—who surpassed 1,000 career assists last September while starring for the Gladiators. Haile and Johns Creek finished 25-9 last season after dropping a tough 3-2 loss to Sequoyah in the first round. In that defeat, Haile matched her season-high with 28 assists. Haile finished her junior season with a team-high 556 assists and had just 16 ball handling errors in 88 sets played. The 5-foot-7 setter tallied 179 assists as a freshman and then posted 485 assists as a sophomore in 114 sets played. Haile has increased her impact, while decreasing the errors and will be a pivotal piece for Johns Creek this season with both Sara Buoni and Hana Catic returning after breakout sophomore campaigns where they led Johns Creek with 275 and 232 kills, respectively.

Similar to Johns Creek with Haile, Cartersville will return its own Class of 2026 standout with setter Aubree Barrett next season. Barrett finished this past season with a team-high 527 assists and has 1,179 career assists after posting a breakout sophomore season with 650. As a freshman, the 5-foot-5 Barrett contributed at the net and had 96 kills before transitioning into the team’s setter.

Class 4A state champion Pace Academy has a lot of talent returning from this past year’s 43-6 squad that closed out the year on a 10-match win-streak. Helping to lead the way will be Class of 2026 standout Britton McGurn—who led the Knights with 462 assists last season in 98 sets played with just 13 BHE. The 5-foot-6 setter is a multi-sport star that also plays soccer and basketball and is coming off her most productive volleyball season yet. After posting 96 assists and a freshman and 120 assists her sophomore year, McGurn made a major leap forward with 462 assists and is poised for an even bigger senior campaign.

Norcross had one of its best seasons in program history last season—compiling a 36-6 overall record and eventually falling to two-time defending state champion Alpharetta in the playoffs 3-1. The Blue Devils have plenty to be optimistic about this upcoming season and will have Ellie Ruth Blue back after her incredible 1,142-assist junior season. The 5-foot-6 setter and A5 Gwinnett standout is a three-year starter that surpassed 1,500 career assists last year and helped her team lock up the No. 1 seed. Notably, Blue led Norcross with 56 assists in the team’s 3-1 win over Denmark and she had 51 assists in the Blue Devils’ 3-2 win over Buford before she tallied 38 assists in the 3-1 defeat to Alpharetta.

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