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"In coaching it’s important to get enthusiastic yourself, then to transfer that enthusiasm on to the players"

Reydan ‘Tita” Ahuna, women’s head volleyball coach for Hawaii Pacific University, knows something about motivating players to excel. She’s led three teams to NCAA national volleyball titles: in 1998 and 2000 as HPU Lady Sea Warriors coach and in 1987 as team captain for the last University of Hawaii Wahine team to win the title.

In 2000, Ahuna was named NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year.

She says that perhaps the most Important step in motivating her players to victory is convincing them they can do it. “Before each practice I tell stories of achieving goals and overcoming adversity to inspire the team," says Ahuna.

One story Ahuna shares with her players concerns an aged donkey that falls into a well. The farmer decides it's impossible to save the animal and that the well will be its final resting place.

So he and the other townsfolk start to shovel dirt on the donkey's back. As the rocks and earth land on the animal, the donkey shakes them off and stands on each successive shovelful. As the mound of dirt in the hole gets higher and higher, the donkey is eventually able to step out of the hole itself.

The message to players: Don’t let anything keep you down, and turn criticism into opportunities to succeed. The story coincides with the observation of many fitness experts who say that New Year’s resolutions frequently get derailed due to a discouraging setback. It's important to keep on track and accept that these setbacks are inevitable, they say.

They also note that people who participate in fitness support groups are more likely to achieve their goals than those who go it alone.

That's also true for the HPU Lady Sea Warriors, says Ahuna “A large part of getting players motivated is making them feel that each member of the team is depending upon them to do their best,” she says.

Ahuna relates a recent session with the players when she took a puzzle and handed each team member a puzzle piece with her name on it.

After saying that each person was unique, like the puzzle piece she held, Ahuna explained that every player was essential to completing the puzzle and creating a successful team.

It was this story, Ahuna says, that helped the Lady Sea Warriors beat Chaminade in three sets this year.

I have friends who are part of a walking group and it works the same way,” says Ahuna. “If someone doesn’t feel like going, the others encourage her to make the effort. A little peer pressure works.”

Likewise, Ahuna thinks that the enthusiasm to achieve is contagious. “In coaching it’s important to get enthusiastic yourself, then to transfer that enthusiasm onto the players,” she says.

You may not be a member of a sports team, but the idea of having an enthusiastic coach can still apply, according to Honolulu corporate and personal coach Cat Gelman. Gelman says that a personal coach can help people achieve their goals through a technique she calls “life mapping,’ whereby people identify their core values.

“There is no right or wrong value,” says Gelman. “For some people, its creating wealth. For others, it’s teaching or adventure or spirituality. The key to finding motivation is attaching what you want to achieve to your core values.”

For example, explains Gelman, if your core value is creating, wealth, you should attach physical fitness to this value by making as many connections as you can between increasing wealth and improving your health and fitness. This might mean linking fitness to having the energy, confidence and pleasing appearance needed to build wealth.

Ahuna agrees that the motivation to achieve goals and win games comes from a core desire. ‘A player must have the inherent desire to win,” she says “For me, there is nothing more motivating than someone saying I can’t do it. It makes me more determined than ever.

Nevertheless, Ahuna thinks that positive reinforcement is key to inspiring her teams. She surrounds them with positive sayings she garners from her own life, the Internet or the experience of friends.

Likewise, experts say, achieving your fitness goal is helped by surrounding yourself with supportive images. Reading fitness magazines and getting involved in healthy activities with others of similar interests boosts a person’s likelihood of success.

Fitness goals should also be achievable. Honolulu sports psychologist Don Greene, who helps elite athletes and musicians achieve peak performance, says that New Year’s resolutions can set up individuals for failure if goals are not realistic for their level of motivation.

As for Ahuna’s own New Year’s fitness resolutions, she’s committed to participate, along with her team members, in the off-season strength and conditioning program that she’s organizing. "Its better than my usual resolution - to stop eating," she jokes.

In fact, creating realistic goals is one of the most important aspects of maintaining fitness resolutions. Here are some other suggestions:

1. Have a plan. Goals are great, but have an action plan to get there. When are you going to exercise? Have a regular schedule. What kind of exercises are you going to do? Be varied in your choice of activities to avoid the scourge of boredom.
2. Reach out for support. It’s easier to maintain a fitness program with the support of family and friends. Let them know that this Is something you’re serious about and that you need their encouragement.
3. Stack the deck for success. You’ll achieve goals more easily if you associate with others who participate in fitness-oriented activities and have the same interest in fitness.
4. Develop fitness awareness. Become a student of fitness by reading articles like those in “Body & Mind.” You’ll condition yourself to think healthier.
5. Don’t let setbacks derail you. You’ll have good days and bad. There will also be times when you feel a few aches and pains, or when a cold or flu wreaks havoc on your workout schedule. An interruption to take care of yourself is essential, but don’t let it force your fitness train off the tracks for good.
6. Reward thyself. When you do reach one of your goals, reward yourself with a shopping spree, dinner out, a massage or whatever fits your desires and budget.