Goal Setting for Athletes
What it is & Why it’s important
The Importance of Goal Setting for Athletes
Goal setting is an essential skill for athletes to have in their toolkit.
Setting goals allows you to see what you’re working towards. Rather than wandering aimlessly, you know exactly where you want to go. So when you have a goal to earn a D1 scholarship, you have a purpose every day.
And ultimately, it provides you with direction. Because if you don’t know where you’re going, you may just go through the motions every day. So rather than showing up and just doing what you have to, you see the connection between what you’re doing and how it will get you closer to achieving your goal.
Goal setting is something I do with every single client in their very first session. That is how important it is.
The Pitfalls of Goal Obsession
But… goals can be tricky.
Sometimes, goals become a stressor for athletes.
Let me be clear though. It’s not the goal itself that is the problem; it’s that the athlete is so focused on achieving the goal and reaching their desired outcome that they forget about the most important part.
The process it will take to get there!
In my approach to goals, I make sure to emphasize the process over the outcome. Without the process, the goal isn’t going to happen.
This would be like saying you want to drive to a new destination, but not looking up the GPS directions in maps first or even leaving maps open while you drive! You need the process of how to get there in order to reach your destination.
Without directions, you can tell yourself where you want to go all you want, but it’s not going to help you get there.
This fact is incredibly important because the more an athlete focuses on the end goal, the bigger the gap seems between where they are currently and where they want to be. They’ll feel like they are so far away from the D1 scholarship because they have no idea what they need to do to get there.
And when that gap feels big, it’s stressful. You feel the pressure to get there without knowing how. Ultimately, performance is hindered as a result as well.
Whereas when you focus on the process, that gap is shrinking daily. You have a plan and you know what to do in order to bridge the gap between your current abilities and your desired goal.
Emphasizing the Process
So how do we set goals?
We start big and continuously get smaller and more focused on the process.
The first thing we do is nail down what you are working towards. That main outcome goal that’s the big pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Then we narrow it down to performance goals. Performance goals are the standards you need to have in order to make that outcome goal happen. It’s how you need to show up and the main areas of focus that will lead to you achieving your goal.
Then, we take it another step further to process goals. Process goals are essentially the process that you will need to go through in order to achieve your performance goals. I like to think of this as what exactly do you need to DO that will lead to you achieving your performance goal.
For example:
Your outcome goal might be to earn a starting spot on your team.
Your performance goals might be:
Play with confidence
Your process goals will be: Improve positive self-talk, Visualize how I want to play, Celebrate what I do well
Manage pre-game anxiety
Your process goals will be: Create a pre-game routine, Utilize deep breathing
Practice on my own
Your process goals will be: Run for 30 minutes two times a week, Do 30 minutes of drills on off days, Practice shooting for 15 minutes after practice
As you can see with this example, we start with the broad goal, and at each step, we are honing in on the exact process needed to really make this goal happen.
So rather than just saying you want to earn a starting spot, you actually have a plan and actions you can take to make it happen.
Daily Goals and Habit Formation
But guess what? We don’t stop there.
We go even further by creating daily goals! At the end of the day, achieving goals often comes down to creating new daily habits that allow you to become the athlete that you want to be.
So by creating daily goals, we create the habits that will allow you to achieve your goal. By cultivating daily habits that support athletic development, athletes can effectively translate long-term goals into tangible actions and results.
Daily goals are very specific and actionable things you can do daily. Again, this is about the process rather than the goal itself. Because when the process becomes a habit, your goals are inevitable.
Goal setting is a cornerstone of athletic success, but it's essential to approach it strategically, focusing on the process and incorporating daily habits that drive progress. As an athlete, mastering the art of goal setting can pave the way for achieving your dreams on and off the field.
We create a curated plan that walks you from where you are today to where you want to be with each step laid out.