Setting Positive Sports Goals For The New Year
As a new year begins, you want to help your athlete set appropriate goals for their athletic activities this year.
Goal setting is an essential piece of the sports child’s mental game.
As Michael Jordan said:
“You have to know your goals before you can do them.”
Setting appropriate goals is a fundamental part of growing as an athlete, and without them your sports kids’ improvement may stall out, especially relative to peers who are setting goals.
Goal setting enhances young athletes’ commitment to their sport and motivation to improve, giving them tangible steps toward improving.
Further, goal setting lets your sports kids know WHAT they want to accomplish and streamlines the practice time working toward their goals.
Part of the goal-setting process is helping your young athletes focus on their current strengths and weaknesses and track the improvements in these areas.
Proper goal setting requires honest reflection about kids’ existing game.
The first goals that your children must set are their long-term or “dream goals.”
These are the goals that cover years out in the future, such as breaking records, winning championships, or receiving scholarships.
In addition, it’s important to set short-term (to be met this month), intermediate (to be met in the next six months) and process goals.
For process goals, kids should focus on solid passes in soccer, or mental game goals, such as staying in the present.
You and your sports kids will need to take an honest look at their existing abilities to set short-term, intermediate, and process goals.
Identifying kids’ strengths and weaknesses will help determine what to focus on.
These shorter-term goals should be attainable and should help identify a clear path to your children’s intermediate and dream goals.
Make sure to make these goals positive, such as, “I will,” and avoid any negative goals, such as, “I will not strike out,” or, “I will not let the opposing player score on me.”
These negative goals are called “avoidance goals,” which only help your children focus on what NOT to do.
Instead, when setting goals, your athletes focus on what they want to do!
Finally, kids need to think about goal getting strategies.
How will your athletes strive for their goals daily in practice and training?
Please contact us if you have any questions about goal setting and goal getting!
Boost Your Self-Confidence With Expert Mental Game Coaching!
Expert mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn can help your sports kids overcome their sports mental game issues with personal coaching.
You can work with Dr. Cohn himself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone. Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!
You can learn more about our mental coaching programs here.
What are our mental coaching students saying?
“Ashley wanted me to let you know that she placed very well at her competition this past weekend, thanks to you! She won the short, won the long, and had her personal best. She now looks at her competitions like ice shows and has fun. It is really nice to see her thoroughly enjoying the skate. She is very focused and very confident. We definitely attribute this to you.”
~Brenda Glassco, Skating Parent
“I want to thank you for the great work you are doing with Ty. He seems to be soaring with confidence right now. We are flying out to see him pitch next weekend. He threw well Friday night and is drawing a lot of interest from several Division 1 schools.”
~Randy Sullivan, Baseball Parent
“I wanted to say that your program was one of the contributing factors that has helped Michelle improve her hitting. Last week she had the most relaxed, confident games at bat ever! The mental exercises have started to make things click. The mental program is something she can practice in other facets of life. I am pleased that we decided to invest in your program, the results are showing.”
~Jim Ellis, Michelle’s father
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