Effective Goal Setting: Strategies for Athletes and Coaches

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(Effective) Goal SettingStrategies for
Athletes and Coaches

• Association for Applied Sport Psychology EXPO
• Salt Lake City, UT
• September 2006

Kirsten Peterson, Ph.D. Senior Sport
Psychologist U.S. Olympic Committee
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Introduction

• Why Goal Setting?
• Key Definitions
• Elements of (Effective) Goal Setting
• Obstacles and Strategies for Implementing a GS
  Program that Works

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Why Use (Effective) Goal Setting?

• Directs and changes behavior
• Increases individual control
• Provides means to motivate and evaluate progress
  in absence of competition
• Great life skill as well as sport performance
  enhancement skill

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Goal Terminology

• Outcome versus Performance versus Process Goals
• Long-term versus Short Term Goals
• Are SMART

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Making SMART Goals

• S

• S
• M
• A
• R
• T

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Specific Goals

• Goals should be straightforward and emphasize
  what you want to happen.
• WHAT are you going to do?
• Action worlds that reflect behavior, not just
  intent.
• Not I will try or I intend but I will DO
• WHY is this important to do at this time?

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Measurable Goals

• If you can't measure it, you can't manage it.
• A good goal shows when it has been reached.
• The goal should be stated with that endpoint in
  mind.
• Establish concrete criteria for measuring
  progress toward the attainment of each goal you
  set.
• Work 10 minutes a day on my technique ??

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Achievable (but Challenging) Goals

• A goal needs to stretch you slightly so you feel
  you can do it and it will need a real commitment
  from you.
• The feeling of success which this brings helps
  you to remain motivated.
• I will get out of bed this morning! ??
• I will win every sprint workout in 2009 ??

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Relevant Goals

• Make sure your goal takes you where you want to
  go
• Hand-make 20 holiday gifts by December 24 may
  be a great goal, but during an Olympic year?

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Time-Limited Goals

• Putting an end point on your goal gives you a
  clear target.
• I will come in an extra half-hour to drill
  before practice. ??

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Goal Strategies

• The goal tells you what you will do.
• The strategy tells you how.
• I will increase my squat strength by 20 pounds
  by 3/1/2010
• How? Create a plan with my strength/conditioning
  staff, increasing reps and weight according to
  that plan, beginning on 1/1/2010.

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Goals Strategies, II

• Some sport skills harder to define than others
• Sometimes it can take a long time to see
  improvement
• Break down the skill to key components
• Determine a timeframe for practicing the skill
• Examples of technique and strategies?

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Goal Commitment

• If it doesnt change your behavior in some way,
  it isnt a good goal.
• How will you remember?
• Who will help you stay on track?
• How will you reward yourself?

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Goal-Setting Progression Exercise
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Step 1. Write down one long-term or dream
outcome goal

• Examples
• Winning a specific event or tournament
• Achieving a specific time or score in an event
• Getting a desired ranking
• Making a team
• Dont edit thislet yourself dream!!

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Step 2. In order to give yourself the best
chance of reaching your outcome goal, are there
any performance goals you will need to meet to
accomplish that step?Write down at least
one.Example To be eligible to enter some
tournaments, you must achieve a standard of
performance.
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Step 3. Pick that first performance goal. What
are the key process goals you will need to have
in your arsenal to increase the probability of
having that performance come out the way you
want?
These should be behavioralthings you do.
Example as a swimmer, if you identified your
performance goal as the time you wanted to be
under in your race, your process goals may
include the need to work on your flip turn,
stroke technique, and conditioning.
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Step 3 ½. Make those process goals EFFECTIVE

• Make sure they are SMART
• Make sure they each contain specific goal
  achievement strategies
• Example wrestling offense on mat
• Practice getting my lock tight 20x each practice
  for next two weeks
• Once I lock, practice going right, left 20x ea
  pr for next two weeks

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Step 4. Take one process element. How will you
begin working on that element regularly in
practice?

• Example
• Will these goals require you to spend extra
  training time?
• Do you need to consult with your coach? about
  different technique drills, etc.?
• List what you need to do start working on this
  element

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Step 5. Committing

• Marriage, not dating ?
• When will you start to work on this?
• How will you reward yourself?
• Goal progressions are rarely a straight line of
  progress.
• Examples of things that will set you back?
• What are strategies to deal with these?

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Using (Process Goal) Goal Setting in Training

• Technique learning and refinement
• Improving endurance
• Competition simulations practicing competition
  strategies
• Developing quality practice behaviors
• Dealing with distractions
• Train like you compete,
• compete like you train

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Making Training Goals Work(coaches)

• Reserve some time at the beginning/end of
  practice for your athletes to remind themselves
  of their goals and to evaluate how their work
  went.
• Devote a portion of training time to allowing
  your athletes an opportunity to work on their
  goals.
• Take advantage of opportune moments in practice
  to remind an athlete that a particular training
  situation or practice drill would be a great time
  to work on a specific goal.

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Making Training Goals Work(athletes)

• Take time before/after practice to remind
  yourself of your goals and grade yourself on how
  you did working on them.
• Take advantage of times in practice to work on
  your goals
• Create extra opportunities outside practice time
  to work on your goals.

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Using (Process Goal) Goal Setting in Competition

• Train like you compete,
• compete like you train
• Good competition process goals can focus
  attention, reduce distractions, increase
  confidence
• Develop process goals that define HOW you want to
  compete what will you do?
• Focus on behaviors, not just intent
• Include refocusing strategies

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Whats My Job? Exercise

• In competition, helps athletes to focus on what
  they can control.
• Is outcome your job?
• What are 2-3 behaviors that coincide with your
  best performances?
• How will you remember to focus on them?
• How will you train that?

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Top 10 Reasons Goal-Setting Programs Fail

• Drumroll, please!
• 10. Lack of understanding of the process
• 9. Lack of commitment to the goal (not seen as
  relevant)

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Top 10 Reasons Goal-Setting Programs Fail

• 7. Lack of commitment to the process over time
  (lose steam)
• 6. Lack of knowledge about what makes a good
  goal
• 5. No time spent reinforcing the process (whos
  on your team?)

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Top 10 Reasons Goal-Setting Programs Fail

• 4. Failure to reward goal accomplishment
• 3. Lack of flexibility built into the program
• 2. Goals set that are too easy or too hard

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Top 10 Reasons Goal-Setting Programs Fail

• 1. Goals that dont make it out of this room to
  training or field of play.

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