TAKE 5 with USA Wrestling's Alyssa Lampe

When
our youth athletes strive to achieve their personal best, victory is won on and
off the mat. Encouraging our kids to set individual goals and focus on maximum
personal effort benefits both the player and the team – in a variety of ways.

Athletes
who come to realize that personal development can be even more rewarding than a
win are mastery-focused athletes who build the confidence and initiative needed
to succeed – in sports and in life.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Responsible
Sports
sat down with USA Women’s Wrestling freestyle standout
Alyssa Lampe
to get her thoughts on personal bests and personal records.

In
our exclusive TAKE 5 interview, Alyssa told us that
she “didn’t really have any goals” as a youth athlete, but once she reached
high school, that started to change.

“I
started goal setting in high school,” said Alyssa. “A few of my coaches
understood the importance of goal setting, so we'd have to set weekly
short-term goals and restate our goal for the end of the season.”

Alyssa said that today, she is motivated by a
very powerful, clear and aspirational goal.

“Currently,
my long-term goal is to win [at] the Olympics in 2016,” said Alyssa. “I set a
goal every day in practice to motivate me to ultimately achieve my long-term
goal.” Alyssa told us about some of those daily goals in our interview.

Alyssa believes that personal records
and personal bests are a “positive motivator” for any wrestler.

“You
don’t want to just go through the motions of practice, or you’ll stay where
you’re at,” said Alyssa. “You also need to tailor your goals as you achieve
them to keep that motivation going.”

Alyssa added that if she could
encourage young wrestlers to focus on just one particular personal record or
goal, she would suggest they keep it simple.

“I
would say the most important personal record a young wrestler should focus on
is something small, like doing a move they've been working on in practice and
hitting it in a competition,” said Alyssa. “It just makes you hungry to do it
more and more. That kind of motivation allows you to truly love what you’re
doing.”

To
read the full TAKE 5 interview with Alyssa, visit ResponsibleSports.com. And come back next
month for another exclusive TAKE 5 interview! 

At
Liberty Mutual
Insurance,
we constantly look for ways to celebrate the countless acts of responsibility
shown by people every day. We created Responsible Sports, powered by Positive
Coaching Alliance,
as part of this belief to help ensure that our kids experience the best that
sports have to offer in environments that promote and display responsibility.
We believe kids can learn valuable life lessons when coaches and parents come
together to support winning on and off the mat.

©2014
Liberty Mutual
Insurance Company.