Levels of Athlete Commitment in Olympic Weightlifting
Probably every athlete starts out with very little idea of what it takes to be successful in a sport and to a large extent it is the responsibility of coaches to drip feed this knowledge when opportunities present.
Where are you in this athlete commitment structure?
The Level 1 Olympic Weightlifting Athlete
- Finds interest in the sport of Olympic Weightlifting and generally responds well to being coached
- Attendance at training is not regular and suffers too frequently from life events and other motivations
- Purpose of training is not Olympic Weightlifting specific, i.e. engages in Olympic Weightlifting to make progress in another sport
- Does not have a plan for participating in Olympic Weightlifting competitions through the year
- Has difficulty completing their Olympic Weightlifting training program due to lack of productivity or lack of attendance
- Not yet keeping a Olympic Training log or possessing any records of personal bests
- Is not aware of the need to support other Olympic Weightlifting Club Athletes or help out at Olympic Weightlifting competitions
The Level 2 Athlete
- Developing an increasing interest in the sport of Olympic Weightlifting and responds well to formal and informal athlete education processes
- Competes in Olympic Weightlifting competitions when advised
- Attends training on a reasonably regular basis but absences from training are not notified in advance or adequately explained.
- Follows a training program but implementation of the program lacks discipline
- Training suffers too often from poor self-management or lifestyle choices
- Does not engage in self-monitoring (records of training [training log], personal bests or body weight checks)
- Helps out at Olympic Weightlifting competitions if requested
- Beginning to identify as a club athlete and working with other athletes
The Level 3 Athlete
- Displays an intrinsic love of Olympic Weightlifting and a high level of motivation to learn about the sport
- Possesses long-term goals in the sport
- Attends training regularly, absences from training are adequately explained and alternative training arrangements are made if a training session is missed
- Demonstrates good productivity in training and respects the need to work at improving their own training process
- Engage in self-monitoring (keeping a log, personal bests record, regular body weight measurement and recording)
- Constructs a plan for participating in Olympic Weightlifting competitions through the calendar year (one of which is a National Olympic Weightlifting Championship)
- Monitors and manages effectively their daily needs for nutrition, sleep and recovery
- Is highly supportive of fellow Olympic weightlifting athletes in training
- Always available to help out at Olympic Weightlifting competitions in any capacity (official, coaching, competition set-up, etc) if they take place in their domiciled region or if they are competing in same event.
- Represents their state/region in a national event, or has a likelihood of doing so,
The Level 4 Athlete
- Displays an intrinsic love of Olympic Weightlifting and a total commitment to being the best athlete they can be.
- Committed to achieving high-performance goals (e.g. Olympic Weightlifting National Team Selection)
- Frequency and regularity of training reflects high performance goals
- Demonstrates exemplary productivity in training and works hard to maximise opportunities for improvement in their training process.
- Engages in self-monitoring (keeping a log, personal bests record, regular body weight measurement and recording)
- Works to a year plan of competitions which include national and international events
- Totally dedicated to monitoring and managing their daily needs for nutrition, sleep and recovery.
- Support of fellow club athletes is genuine but limited by their need to maintain a focus on their own training activity.
- Available to help out at Olympic Weightlifting competitions in any capacity (official, coaching, competition set-up, etc) where it does not clash with national or international events or training camps and is in their domiciled region.
