Goals In Sports: How To Quickly Improve Sports Performance
Nowadays, There are many variables that make an athlete evolve within their discipline We could talk about concentration, motivation, perseverance, dedication or commitment.
In this case, we are going to focus on a way to progress quickly and effectively through goal setting. Both researchers, sports psychologists and coaches agree that establishing short, medium and long-term goals is totally effective in improving the athlete’s abilities, as well as maintaining motivation.
This strategy is not a new idea; Well, in other areas such as in companies or organizations it has been used for many years. A clear example would be the achievement of incentives or rewards, as a worker achieves certain objectives for the company.
However, The use of systematically setting goals in the training of athletes has been implemented more recently, and with excellent results
Extensive research supports the effectiveness of goal setting as a motivational technique and optimal performance-enhancing strategy.
Defining the term “goal”
An objective or goal is defined as the acquisition of an optimal level of performance on a specific task and in a time interval established in advance. From the perspective applied to sport, this strategy refers to the achievement of certain domains of a task that increase sporting performance, such as improving a swimmer’s personal record for a championship.
When we talk about establishing objectives or goals, we mean designing a training plan focused on achieving small advances or steps to achieve mastery of a certain skill. Besides, The main advantage of this goal or objective setting procedure is that establishing tasks to master certain skills of a sport in a short period of time means that we compete with ourselves and motivate ourselves to overcome our own marks or limits.
Some mechanisms of the motivation process that are put into action are:
Classification of goals
The objectives or goals can be divided according to different aspects. For example, taking into account the period in which they are carried out, we would be talking about short, medium and long term objectives
Short-term goals
The short-term goals or objectives , are programmed to be achieved in one week of training. For example, an athlete manages to lower his own personal best by 1 second during the entire training week.
Medium-term goals
The medium term goals They are planned to be achieved in one or two months. For example, an athlete can establish marks that allow him to compete in major events such as national or international championships.
Long term goals
The long term goals They are those that are established with a view to an annual season. For example, an athlete manages to compete with the best in the Olympics.
The importance of collective objectives
There are objectives or goals referring to the athlete himself within a group or team. A team is a sum of individualities made available to the collective. Therefore, improvement in individual performance will lead to improvement in team performance
The objectives established for the athlete himself imply that he concentrates better on what he has to do at all times to achieve the final goals. Therefore, these are aspects that can be trained individually and that will benefit the collective. For example, the forward who aims to score a certain number of goals in each training session.
However, there are aspects that can only be trained at a collective level. For example, the defensive mechanism of a rugby team has to be perfectly coordinated to be effective.
In summary, When we talk about goals or objectives referring to teams, each individual must put all their capabilities to improve individually and collectively both having to be compatible.
Characteristics of the objectives or goals
For the establishment of goals or objectives to achieve desirable results, the following must be respected.
The objectives to be achieved must have a certain threshold of difficulty taking into account the athlete’s capabilities realistically.
They must be concrete (for example, lowering my mark by one second in two weeks), as these work better than general aspects. (I will do the best I know how).
They must be tangible characteristics , that can be measured. (Score five goals in a training match).
Focus the objectives in positive terms ; since focusing on achieving success entails focusing on achievement, rather than avoiding failure.
In short, the setting of objectives or goals within the training of any athlete helps in an important way to improve their own skills and, therefore, to their progress, overcoming limits that not even the individual himself was aware of. shake.
