Training Diary Template
How to Use This Template
A training diary is your personal record of practice, progress, and insights. It helps you track what works, identify patterns, and accelerate improvement. Copy the sections below into your preferred format (Word, Google Docs, Excel, Google Sheets, or a notebook).
The Power of Reflection
What gets measured gets improved. What gets reflected on gets mastered. A training diary transforms random practice into deliberate development.
Daily Training Entry Template
Copy This Section for Each Training Session
Date: ________ Time: ________ to ________ Duration: ________ minutes Location: ________ Terrain: Hard / Medium / Soft / Mixed Weather: Sunny / Cloudy / Windy / Rain
Training Partners
Today's Intention
(What was my main focus for this session?)
Technical Practice
| Skill Practiced | Reps/Time | Success Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pointing | |||
| Shooting | |||
| Terrain Reading | |||
| Shot Selection |
What Worked Well?
What Needs Improvement?
Key Insight
(One main learning from today)
Mental Game
Energy Level (1-10): _____ Focus Quality (1-10): _____ Confidence (1-10): _____
Mental Challenges Today:
How I Handled Them:
Mental Technique Practiced:
- [ ] 3-Breath Reset
- [ ] Inner Coach Reframe
- [ ] Mindful Awareness
- [ ] Visualization
- [ ] Other: ________
Physical Condition
Body Feeling (1-10): _____ Any Pain/Discomfort: _____ Fatigue Level (1-10): _____
Physical Notes:
Tomorrow's Focus
(Based on today, what will I work on next session?)
Competition/Match Entry Template
Copy This Section for Each Competition
Date: ________ Tournament: ________ Format: Triples / Doubles / Singles Team: ________
Pre-Competition
Sleep Quality (1-10): _____ Nutrition: _____ Mental State (1-10): _____ Physical Warm-up: Yes / No Mental Warm-up: Yes / No
Match Results
| Round | Opponent | Score | Result | Key Moments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | W / L | |||
| 2 | W / L | |||
| 3 | W / L | |||
| 4 | W / L |
Final Placement: _____
Performance Analysis
Technical Performance (1-10): _____ Mental Performance (1-10): _____ Tactical Decisions (1-10): _____ Team Communication (1-10): _____
What I Did Well
What Cost Me Points
Monthly Summary Template
Copy This Section Each Month
Month: ________ Year: ________
Monthly Statistics
Total Training Hours: _____ Total Sessions: _____ Competitions Entered: _____ Win Rate: _____%
Technical Progress
| Skill | Start of Month | End of Month | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pointing Accuracy | |||
| Shooting Consistency | |||
| Terrain Adaptation | |||
| Shot Selection |
Mental Game Progress
| Area | Start of Month | End of Month | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure Management | |||
| Focus Quality | |||
| Confidence | |||
| Inner Coach Usage |
Monthly Highlights
Best Training Session:
Best Competition Performance:
Biggest Breakthrough:
Most Valuable Learning:
Challenges Overcome
Ongoing Challenges
Next Month's Priorities
Specific Practice Tracking Templates
Pointing Practice Log
| Date | Distance | Terrain | Attempts | Within 10cm | Within 20cm | Within 50cm | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Instructions:
- Track pointing accuracy at different distances (6m, 7m, 8m, 9m, 10m)
- Record terrain type (hard, medium, soft)
- Count successes in each distance range
- Calculate success rate over time
Shooting Practice Log
| Date | Target Type | Distance | Attempts | Direct Hits | Carreau | Displacement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Target Types:
- Static ball
- Ball against cochonnet
- Ball in cluster
- Moving target (advanced)
Mental Training Log
| Date | Technique Practiced | Duration | Situation | Effectiveness (1-10) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Techniques:
- 3-Breath Reset
- Inner Coach Reframe
- Visualization
- Mindfulness Practice
- Pre-shot Routine
- Pressure Simulation
Quick Daily Entry (Simplified)
For Busy Days - Copy This Minimal Template
Date: ________
Trained: Yes / No Duration: _____ min Focus: ________ Energy (1-10): _____ Quality (1-10): _____
One Win:
One Learning:
Tomorrow's Focus:
Reflection Prompts
Use these prompts to deepen your diary entries:
After Training
- What surprised me today?
- When did I feel most confident?
- When did I struggle? Why?
- What would I do differently?
- What am I grateful for from this session?
After Competition
- What did I learn about myself today?
- How did I handle pressure?
- What would my Inner Coach say about my performance?
- What will I practice differently based on today?
- What am I proud of, regardless of the result?
Weekly Reflection
- What pattern am I noticing in my practice?
- Am I practicing what I struggle with in competition?
- Is my mental game improving?
- Am I enjoying the process?
- What needs to change next week?
Monthly Reflection
- Am I closer to my goals than last month?
- What's working in my training approach?
- What's not working?
- Do I need to adjust my goals?
- What do I want to remember from this month?
Tips for Effective Diary Keeping
1. Write Immediately After Training
Why: Details are fresh, emotions are real, insights are clear
How: Keep diary in your bag, set 10 minutes aside after each session
2. Be Honest, Not Perfect
Don't: Write what you think you should write Do: Write what actually happened and how you really felt
3. Focus on Process, Not Just Results
Don't: "Missed 7 out of 10 shots - terrible" Do: "Missed 7 out of 10 shots - noticed I was rushing my routine, will slow down next time"
4. Look for Patterns
Review your diary weekly to spot:
- Recurring technical issues
- Mental game patterns
- Energy/performance correlations
- What conditions you perform best in
5. Celebrate Progress
Every month: Read entries from 3 months ago Notice: How much you've improved Acknowledge: The work you've put in
Digital vs. Paper Diary
Digital (Google Docs/Sheets, Notion, Apps)
Pros:
- Easy to search past entries
- Can add photos/videos
- Automatic date stamps
- Can share with coach
- Always accessible on phone
Cons:
- Screen time
- Can feel impersonal
- Distractions from notifications
Best For: Detailed statistics tracking, long-term pattern analysis
Paper (Notebook, Printed Templates)
Pros:
- Tactile, personal connection
- No distractions
- Easy to sketch diagrams
- Satisfying ritual
- Better for reflection
Cons:
- Can lose notebook
- Hard to search old entries
- Can't easily share
Best For: Daily reflections, immediate post-training notes
Recommendation: Hybrid approach - paper for daily entries, digital for monthly summaries and statistics
Sample Entries
Example: Good Training Entry
Click to See Example
Date: March 15, 2024 Duration: 90 minutes Location: Club terrain Terrain: Hard Weather: Sunny, light wind
Today's Intention: Improve pointing accuracy at 8m
Technical Practice:
- Pointing at 8m: 30 attempts, 18 within 20cm (60%)
- Noticed I'm more accurate when I take 3 breaths before throwing
- Struggled when wind picked up - need to adjust for wind better
What Worked Well:
- Pre-shot routine was consistent
- Stayed calm after misses
- Adjusted grip for hard terrain
Key Insight: My accuracy drops when I rush. Slowing down by 2 seconds improves success rate significantly.
Mental Game:
- Energy: 8/10
- Focus: 7/10
- Used Inner Coach after 3 bad throws - helped me reset
Tomorrow's Focus: Practice pointing in windy conditions, maintain slow routine
Example: Good Competition Entry
Click to See Example
Date: March 20, 2024 Tournament: Regional Championship Format: Triples Final Placement: 5th of 16 teams
Performance Analysis:
- Technical: 7/10 - Pointing was solid, shooting was inconsistent
- Mental: 8/10 - Stayed calm under pressure
- Tactical: 6/10 - Made one bad decision in semi-final
Best Moment: Carreau in quarter-final to win 13-12
Toughest Moment: Semi-final, 11-11, rushed a shot and missed badly
Key Learning: When score is tight, I need to slow down even more, not speed up. My Inner Critic tried to take over ("Don't mess this up!") but I caught it and used Inner Coach instead ("You've made this shot 100 times, trust your routine").
For Next Competition: Practice pressure situations in training - simulate 11-11 scenarios
Related Resources
- Goal Setting Template - Set and track your improvement goals
- Workshop - Group sessions on mental game and reflection
- Training Session - Structured practice with peers
- Mental Strength - Build mental resilience
- Mindfulness - Develop awareness and focus
Quick Start Guide
New to diary keeping? Start here:
Week 1: Use Quick Daily Entry (5 minutes after each session) Week 2: Add one reflection prompt per entry Week 3: Try full Daily Training Entry Week 4: Do first Weekly Summary
After one month: Add Monthly Summary and specific practice logs
Common Diary Mistakes
- Too detailed - Spending 30 minutes writing, then quitting after a week
- Too vague - "Trained today, was okay" doesn't help you improve
- Only recording failures - Celebrate wins too!
- Never reviewing - The power is in reading past entries
- Waiting too long - Write within 30 minutes of finishing
Download Templates
Copy-Paste Ready
All templates on this page are designed to be copied directly into:
- Microsoft Word
- Google Docs
- Microsoft Excel
- Google Sheets
- Notion
- Evernote
- Any note-taking app
Simply select the template section you want, copy (Ctrl+C / Cmd+C), and paste into your preferred tool.
Start with these three:
- Daily Training Entry Template
- Competition/Match Entry Template
- Weekly Summary Template
Best Moment:
Toughest Moment:
How I Responded:
Mental Game in Competition
Pressure Situations:
How I Managed Pressure:
Inner Critic Activity (1-10): _____ Inner Coach Activity (1-10): _____
Mental Techniques Used:
- [ ] 3-Breath Reset
- [ ] Inner Coach Reframe
- [ ] Mindful Awareness
- [ ] Visualization
- [ ] Routine Consistency
- [ ] Other: ________
Key Learnings
Technical:
Tactical:
Mental:
For Next Competition:
Weekly Summary Template
Copy This Section Each Week
Week of: ________
Training Overview
Total Training Hours: _____ Number of Sessions: _____ Competition Hours: _____ Mental Training: _____ minutes Physical Training: _____ sessions
Weekly Progress
| Goal Area | Target | Actual | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|
This Week's Wins
This Week's Challenges
Pattern Recognition
(What patterns am I noticing in my practice/performance?)