Mental Prep
Goal Setting & Athletic Performance
Training "smart" is more important than the amount of daily practice. Too often an athlete believes that the more he or she practices, the more proficient he/she will become. However, this plan is not only ineffective, but it can also be detrimental to achieving the desired outcome. An athlete who practices frequently and hard without an overall plan will be more likely to suffer the effects of overtraining such as burn-out, exhaustion, and increased injuries rather than actually improving performance. By developing a set of specific goals and a plan for reaching those goals, athletes can more effectively use their practice time and even reduce the time required in practice to attain their goals. Obviously, this does not mean that an athlete can achieve all-conference honors or win championships with little practice; it means that the athlete does not need to waste time through ineffective practice and through the harmful effects of overtraining.
Setting performance goals is beneficial for a number of reasons. In addition to improving the quality of practice, it reduces boredom and increases motivation. When the athlete is able to observe progress towards a goal on a daily or weekly basis, he or she is more likely to remain interested in achieving that goal. If instead, he/she engages in routine practice towards an outcome that is six months away, it is easier to become discouraged. In addition, goal setting helps the athlete know what is expected, which allows for greater attention to a particular skill that needs to be developed. Thus, practice becomes more focused and efficient.
Finally, setting realistic, achievable goals increases the athlete’s self-confidence, which is crucial to the ultimate outcome of success. Self-confidence increases because his/her attitude regarding success becomes more positive as goals are accomplished.
This issue of goal setting is especially important when developing complex skills such as those required in football. Football is one of the most complex of athletic endeavors because it requires the development of numerous skills that must be smoothly integrated with one another to achieve a successful performance. In addition, each member of the team is responsible for his responsibility. The athlete needs to be completely committed to the outcome and able to see himself as capable of achieving that outcome. If all the intermediate goals can be viewed as leading progressively towards the final outcome, the athlete can believe not only the possibility, but of the probability of success.
How to Set Goals
1) To set effective goals, the difference between performance-oriented goals and outcome-oriented goals must be understood. Performance-oriented goals, which focus on achieving specific skills, are more effective than outcome-oriented goals, which focus on winning or achieving an outcome. Such goals are more effective because they are under the control of the athlete, which improves problem-solving ability and increases persistence. In addition, the athlete becomes more likely to value learning over the risk of making mistakes. The outcome-oriented athlete will try just hard enough to make a play while trying to avoid the risk of error or loss. This prevents many athletes from truly challenging themselves to achieve their greatest potential. Outcome-oriented goals do have their place, however, in identifying what the athlete ultimately wants to achieve such as obtaining all-league or All-American status. However, the performance-oriented goals give him the steps to reach that goal.
2) The next step in goal setting is to assess the athletes current skill level and to identify what specific skills need to be developed further to achieve the desired outcome. For instance, if the athlete's outcome-oriented goal is to rush for 1,000 yards, he needs to determine what performance factors need to be improved. Through observing his performance on tape and getting feedback from others, he might determine that that he needs to improve his footwork and develop better start mechanics.
3) Once the specific goal has been identified, the goal should then be stated in a positive, measurable way that is realistic, but challenging. For example: "My goal is to run a 4.6 40 yard dash."
4) Target dates are then identified: "My goal is to increase my 40 yard dash speed in 3 months. To do so, I will need to increase my speed by .05 each month.
5) The athlete should then determine what are the methods to achieve this goal. For the above example, he might decide to increase the amount of time dedicated to footwork drills and to increase his efficiency when in the acceleration phase of the sprint.
6) As the athlete works toward his goal, he should record his progress and share it with others. The process of sharing the goal and progress with others increases his commitment and allows others to give him encouragement.
7) Finally, the athlete should have a reward system in place when goals are achieved. This encourages follow through and the development of future goals.
Mental Toughness in Sports
No matter what the sport, athletes come to you with a certain level of athletic ability. This ability is inherited and is something you have virtually no control over. At each level of competition the playing field begins to narrow and what separates the athletes extends far beyond genetics. It is determined by other factors that are extensions of the athletic self.
I like to look at my athletes as being similar to computers and cars. We can go to the store and choose from several different models of each. We can choose from many different styles and features but what really determines the machine's full potential is what we put in them. We can have a state of the art computer but without the proper software it will fall far short in performance. The same holds true for a vehicle. Without proper maintenance and fuel, the car will perform well below its capabilities.
When training athletes you will be faced with many challenges and it is up to the coach to identify areas of strengths and weakness. From my experience I have found that many young athletes experience different levels of performance anxiety. I have often heard athletes leave the field after a poor performance and say to me "I am a failure" or "I could have done better." I have also heard athletes look at competitors and face defeat before they even set foot on their respective playing fields. The challenge faced by a coach in these situations is how do we get these athletes to play a different movie in their heads. This is not a simple task because I have seen many of these examples from athletes in the peewee levels all the way up to the professional ranks. This is also evident in many professions outside of sports. What separate people are their abilities to cope with stress and to identify what causes the stress.
One method that I have employed with my athletes is the Competitive Adjective Inventory. This is a checklist of 26 different performance related adjectives. Each adjective is paired with its polar opposite and the athlete is asked to rate him or herself on a Likert scale ranging from 1-10. When they are finished they identify four areas of weakness. With the weakness that they identify they write a one-page essay on how this area affects their performance. An example of this is if an athlete feels they have poor performance acting skills, they would write a brief summary on how their emotions are difficult to hide during an athletic competition. When they are finished with these essays, I have them think about the areas on the inventory that they were strong with. They are to think about explicit examples of when they were strong and what the situations were. With the positive thoughts in mind, they think of different affirmations to repeat to themselves when they are faced with the situation that they are weak with. If an athlete is tired before a big game they can say to themselves," I know that Michael Jordan was also tired before big games but he still found a way to win." Another example of this could be if an athlete is in a situation when they are down in points or behind in the game. He or she can say, "I love having my back against the wall and if anyone can handle the pressure it is me." By continually practicing positive self-talk I have seen athletes transform themselves from being talented athletes who came close to talented athletes who became champions.
By better understanding themselves as humans who are not perfect and make mistakes. And by letting them learn that even the best in the world have performance anxiety. An athlete can identify what is holding them back when competing and this mental edge can often become the fuel that takes them over the top.