Goals and Prep

• Goal setting: SMART targets

  • Specific: specific to the demands of the sport
  • Measurable: must be possible to measure whether they have been met
  • Accepted: must be agreed by the performer & coach
  • Realistic: must be possible to complete the goal
  • Time phased: must eb set over a fixed period of time
• Benefits of being mentally prepared:

  • develops high confidence levels
  • controls emotions and arousal
  • improves motivation
  • improves concentration
  • improves commitment levels
• Mental prep techniques:

  • Imagery: a performer may imagine themselves in a calming environment to reduce tension and arousal
  • Visualisation: visualising a good performance
  • Mental rehearsal: picturing urself performing the perfect performance
• Advantages of SMART:

  • Specificity: performers will know their goal and will have specific requirements
  • Measurable: good to monitor progress as it can be measured
  • Agreed: feels like u have ownership of the target
  • Realistic: high chance of seeing improvement, therefore more motivated
  • Time: allows performer to see the improvement and prepare punctually for an event
• Disadvantages of SMART:

  • Specificity: SMART target can lead to too much focus being placed on reaching the goal
  • Measurable: Limit creativity if there is too much measuring
  • Agreed: Relies heavily on suitable levels of intrinsic motivation
  • Realistic: N/A
  • Time: Increased pressure to meet the deadline