Go for the Goal

Goal setting is such an important aspect of sports. Whether you have your eyes set on the Olympics, a college scholarship, making the high school team, getting a time standard or learning a new skill, you need a plan. It reminds me of my favorite quote:

USA Swimming features a really helpful article on goal setting by Dr. Amy Kimball in their series, the ABCs of Mental Training. In the article, Dr. Kimball outlines the 6 steps to effective goal setting:

1. Know where you are headed

2. Know how to get there

3. Identify milestones of success

4. Identify obstacles

5. Create a system

6. Set different types of goals

It is important that the goals athletes work with their coaches on goal setting so that intermediary goals and milestones can be set. Keeping a training journal can also be an effective way of setting goals and monitoring progress towards those goals. (Feel free to print out the training journal pages we created just for girls!)