Practice should be a process to improve daily. Unfortunately the majority of people just practice to practice. They have no daily plan to execute to get better. They will run a lot of cattle with or no improvement. They waste a lot of runs on the cattle and on their horses. Every day in a new practice session, the do not build on the previous day’s practice. They will eventually improve but most of the time it is by blind luck. The improvements are unpredictable and difficult to replicate.
So why is it important to have a process in place?
Those who improve the most and the most efficiently have a process to their practices. They work on improving daily. Each run is an opportunity to improve and is treated as such. They do not waste runs on the cattle or on their horses. They don’t expect to make great changes or improvements by accident. They understand that by having a process in place, they will see a continued and gradual improvement every day. The process will lead to these students spending more time roping the dummies and spending time on the practice machines. They are not afraid to rope the Heel-O-Matic. They will spend the time on the small details to improve.
Because of the plan they can build on the successes from the previous day’s practices. They can learn from their previous mistakes instead of repeating them daily. Improvements are predictable and easy to replicate because of the process used to create them.
So how do you start a process for improvement?
The first step is to understand that the quickest way to improve is through repeated small improvements. Do not expect major improvements overnight. The process is what it is, it is a process. The more work you are willing to put into the process of improving the greater the results you will see. Generate plan for your practices and stick with it. You may not see the improvements right away but if you stick with your plan you will start to see the improvements. Continue to build on the improvements, find what works for you and your learning style and utilize the resources you have.
Gradually build your process of improvement. Try not to fall back in to your comfort zone practices. Challenge yourself to make small improvements. As part of the process recognize the small improvements and use that as motivation to keep making further improvements.
Start developing a process to improve.
C.J. Aragon was named the 2008-2011 Grand Canyon Region Coach-of-the-Year. 2014-2015 WJCAC Coach-of-the-Year, 2016 Southwest Region Coach-of-the-Year, and 2010 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach-of-the-Year.
