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Sport Psychology (PSY407)

LESSON 10

A TEAM APPROACH TO SETTING GOALS

There are three components of a team approach to setting goals and they are: (a) the planning phase, (b) the

meeting phase, and (c) the evaluation phase.

The Planning Phase

Planning is the first stage for setting goals for team. At this phase the coaching staff conducts a need assessment

exercise. In a need assessment, the coaching staff carefully reviews the team as a whole, and each individual,

relative to areas of needed improvement. Start with the team as a whole and list the strengths and weakness of

the team. From the list of weaknesses, you can articulate specific team needs and write them down.

From the list of team needs, you may conclude that the team needs to improve in team cohesion (togetherness),

physical fitness, and ball handling skills. From these team needs, you should write down specific goals that state

in observable terms if and when team goals are achieved. For example, when training camp begins, each

member of the team will be able to run three miles in less than seven minutes.

Areas of needed improvement are listed for each athlete on the team. Following this exercise, goals should be

written that are specific, measurable, and realistic. They should be written and planned in a way consistent with

the SMART principle.

Before moving into the next phase that is the meeting phase the coach must carefully consider how best to

approach the athletes with the needs assessment and goals for the team and individual athletes. Athletes must

accept and internalize the goals that coaches give them. This is the best accomplished by involving the athletes

in the actual goal-setting process. There is no sense in approaching this step from a dictatorial perspective,

because if the athlete does not internalize a goal, then it is not his.

In addition to considering how to involve the athlete in the goal-setting process, the coach must plan how to

implement the goal-setting process and to monitor it once it is implemented.

The Meeting Phase

The most straight forward component of the meeting phase is the initial meeting, in which team goals can be

reflected upon and discussed. This can be very useful in terms of discussing previous year's performance and

giving a realistic assessment of what to expect for the future. Coaches should educate athletes on the differences

between outcome, performance and process goals. Process and performance goals tell the athlete exactly what

they must do as a team to accomplish outcome goals.

In a subsequent meeting, coaches should instruct athletes on the SMART principle and on how to write and put

into words their own personal goals. Together coaches and athletes mutually agree on goals to be targeted.

In addition to setting clear, measurable goals, coaches must implement a plan or strategy to achieve the stated

goals. And in setting goals, coaches must assist athletes in developing a plan to accomplish the goals.

A series of short-range goals should be set to help break the long-range goal into smaller units. The coach and

athlete must decide what daily running schedule would be most beneficial for the athlete. A detailed strategy

must be decided upon if the athlete has any hope at all of achieving a difficult goal. Every goal must have a plan

by which to achieve it.

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Sport Psychology (PSY407)

The Evaluation Phase

The evaluation phase of goal setting should take place at the end of the competitive season, but also

throughout the season. Goals set by the team and by individuals should be monitored regularly.

Monitoring of process and performance goals should take place following each competition, as well as

after practice sessions. It is critical to the evaluation component of goal setting that performance statistics

be kept on every game and match.

Outcome goals are easier to monitor because they relate to success or failure. Without constant

monitoring, feedback, and evaluation, the goal-setting process will not be effective.

Common Goal-Setting Pitfalls

Failure to consider the principles of effective goal setting would represent ten different ways to

undermine the goal-setting process. In practice, though, there are several common pitfalls, or reasons

goal setting does not result in improved performance.

These pitfalls come under the general headings of:

Poorly written goal statements

Failure to devise a goal-attainment strategy

Failure to follow the goal-attainment strategy

Failure to monitor performance progress

discouragement

Poorly written goal statements

One common problem for athletes is that their goals are so vague and general that they cannot tell if they

are making progress (Weinberg 1997). Violation of the SMART principle in setting goals is the most

common reason goals are not met. Among other things, a goal must be specific, measurable, action

orientated, realistic, and timely.

Failure to devise a goal-attainment strategy

A goal without a plan to achieve the goal almost always results in ineffective goal setting. Without a well-

conceived plan to improve drive distance and accuracy, approach shot accuracy, and putting accuracy, it

is unlikely the athlete will achieve the goal.

Failure to follow the goal-attainment strategy

Once a goal-attainment strategy or plan has been decided upon, it is necessary to follow the plan. Not

completely committed to the program, the man fails to lose any weight during the first six months, so he

gives up and decides goal setting dose not work.

Failure to monitor performance progress

Failure to monitor measurable and observable progress in sport makes it impossible to tell if goal setting

is working. for example if you're a quarterback in college football, and your goal is to increase pass

completion percentage, you wont have to worry about monitoring your progress, because the coach will

tell you exactly how many passes you attempted, and how many you caught.

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Sport Psychology (PSY407)

Discouragement

There are many ways that discouragement can sabotage the effectiveness of goal setting in sport. Here are some

of them;

Goal difficulty

Athletes get discouraged with goal setting when the goal appears too difficult or nonrealistic. If performance is

being monitored, adjustments in goals can be made. If goals are too hard and seem impossible to obtain, it

makes sense to adjust the goal to make it more reasonable.

Use of outcome goals

When an athlete sets only outcome goals and does not realize the goals, this can be very discouraging. For

example if your goal was to win seven out of ten soccer matches, and you have already lost five games with only

five to go, what you really have to do is just revise the outcome goals down from 75% wins to 25% wins, but it

would be better if you focus on achieving performance and process goals. It is never too late to start setting

personal performance goals.

Too many goals

Whatever the reason, athletes can get discouraged when they try to accomplish too many things at once. If an

athlete is just learning to play the game of tennis, there are numerous areas of needed improvement. The athlete

should not try to accomplish too much at once. She should slow down and focus upon one goal at a time.

References

Cox, H. Richard. (2002). Sport Psychology: Concepts and Applications. (Fifth Edition). New York: McGraw-

Hill Companies

Lavallec. D., Kremer, J., Moran, A., & Williams. M. (2004) Sports Psychology: Contemporary Themes. New

York: Palgrave Macmillan Publishers