Why the Goals You and Your Athletes Set Usually Don

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Why the Goals You and Your Athletes Set Usually
Dont Work

• Rick Albrecht, Ph.D.Grand Valley State University

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Two Things We OftenForget About Competitive Sport

• Sport is supposed to be FUN
• Success in sport is NOT about beating another
  team or another individual your true
  competition is always with YOURSELF

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• The best way to keep sport fun and to remind
  yourself that YOU are your only competition is by
  setting good goals for yourself every single day

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Heres The Good NewsAbout Goal Setting

• Goal setting is one of the quickest and easiest
  ways to improve athletic performance
• Goal setting is something that comes naturally to
  most people especially athletes

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Now, Heres The Bad NewsAbout Goal Setting

• Your athletes probably dont know how to set
  goals that will help them improve their
  performance
• Unfortunately, you probably dont either!

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Why Dont We Know HowTo Set Effective Goals?

• Simple We were never taught!
• Our coaches and trainers never let us in on a
  very important secret
• ALL GOALS ARE NOT EQUAL!
• Some goals help, some do nothing, and some even
  hurt performance

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The SINGLE BIGGEST MISTAKE We Make When Setting
Athletic Goals

• Goals should ONLY be set to improve a
  PERFORMANCE
• NEVER the RESULT of a performance

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You Really Cant ControlThe Result of a
Performance

• In Team Sports
• Teammates
• Officials
• Coaching Strategy
• Luck

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You Really Cant ControlThe Result of a
Performance

• In Individual Sports
• Other Persons Skill/Ability
• Theres NO DEFENSE in many individual sports

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Theres No DEFENSEin Individual Sports

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The Ten Commandmentsof Effective Goal Setting

• 1. Set both LONG TERM and SHORT TERM goals

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Long-Term Goals Are Useless IfNot Supported By
Short-Term Goals

• Athletes need to set both long-term and
  short-term goals

LATER
NOW
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The Ten Commandmentsof Effective Goal Setting

• 2. Set goals for EVERY PRACTICE

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The Ten Commandmentsof Effective Goal Setting

• 3. Set goals in EVERY area related to performance

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Using Goal Setting To ImproveAll Areas of Sport
Performance

• Set CONDITIONING goals
• Set MENTAL TRAINING goals
• Set NUTRITIONAL goals
• Set HYDRATION goals
• Set SLEEP and RECOVERY goals
• Set ACADEMIC goals

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The Ten Commandmentsof Effective Goal Setting

• We need to help our athletes set S-M-A-R-T-E-R
  goals
• 4. Set SPECIFIC goals

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The Ten Commandmentsof Effective Goal Setting

• We need to help our athletes set S-M-A-R-T-E-R
  goals
• 4. Set MEASURABLE goals

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The Ten Commandmentsof Effective Goal Setting

• We need to help our athletes set S-M-A-R-T-E-R
  goals
• 4. Set AGREED-UPON goals

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The Ten Commandmentsof Effective Goal Setting

• We need to help our athletes set S-M-A-R-T-E-R
  goals
• 4. Set REALISTIC goals

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The Ten Commandmentsof Effective Goal Setting

• We need to help our athletes set S-M-A-R-T-E-R
  goals
• 4. Set TIME-SENSITIVE goals

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The Ten Commandmentsof Effective Goal Setting

• We need to help our athletes set S-M-A-R-T-E-R
  goals
• 4. Always EVALUATE goals

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The Ten Commandmentsof Effective Goal Setting

• We need to help our athletes set S-M-A-R-T-E-R
  goals
• 4. Always RECORD goals

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The Problem With Team Goals

• No snowflake in an avalanche
• ever feels responsible
• --Voltaire

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Here Are Some PrettyCommon Team Goals

• Our goal is to get 20 rebounds in todays game
• Our goal is to rush for 150 yards in todays game
• Our goal is to score 5 or more runs in todays
  game

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A Couple Obvious Questions...

• Have you ever seen a team rebound a
  basketball? YES NO
• Have you ever seen a football team rush for 150
  yards? YES NO
• Have you ever seen a team drive in or score a run
  in baseball?
• YES NO

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Not-So Obvious Answers...

• Have you ever seen a team rebound a
  basketball? YES NO
• Have you ever seen a football team rush for 150
  yards? YES NO
• Have you ever seen a team drive in or score a run
  in baseball?
• YES NO

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Problem With Team Goals

• Team Goals (like winning) can lead to
  inconsistent play and upsets

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Goal To Win

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Bob LadouceurDe La Salle High School

• 151 Consecutive Wins
• An Overall Record of 287-14-1
• More Perfect Seasons (17) Than Losses (14)
• ESPNs 1 High School Team in the Country 5 of
  Last 6 Years

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• How did Bob Ladouceur get a high school football
  team to win 151 consecutive games and have more
  perfect seasons than losses?
• Hint By NOT setting a goal to win!

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Lets Hear What TheCoach Has to Say
Everyone asks me how Ive won 151 straight
games my answer is always the same By NOT
concentrating on winning! If you work hard
enough, the wins will come.

Bob Ladouceur Head Coach
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John WoodenUCLA Bruins

• 10 NCAA Championships in 12 Years
• 6 Times Voted College Coach of the Year
• 88 Consecutive Victories
• 38 Consecutive NCAA Tournament Wins
• 4 Undefeated Seasons

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• How did Coach Wooden become the most successful
  basketball coach of all time?
• Hint By NOT setting a goal to win!

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Lets Hear What TheCoach Has to Say
I never mentioned winning or victory to my
players. I never referred to beating an
opponent. Instead I constantly urged them to
strive for the self-satisfaction that always
comes from knowing you did your best.

John Wooden Head Coach
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Lets Hear What TheCoach Has to Say
Did I win? Did I lose? Those are the wrong
questions. The correct question is Did I make
my best effort? Thats what matters. The rest
just gets in the way

John Wooden Head Coach
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The Big Take-Home Message

• Your performance and the performance of those
  you work with will improve greatly if you set
  EFFECTIVE goals!

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Effective Goals Are

• Totally under your control
• Both Long-Term and Short-Term
• Are set for every practice
• Are set in all areas of performance
• Are S-M-A-R-T-E-R
• LETS PRACTICE

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NEED HELP?

• Rick Albrecht, Ph.D.
• B-2-216 Mackinac Hall
• Grand Valley State University
• albrechr_at_gvsu.edu