GOAL SETTING IN FOOTBALL
Football is often called ‘The Beautiful Game’, in part because it requires a combination of so many skill sets to be successful. To become a great football player, your son/daughter must train their technical skills, physical fitness, mental toughness, and strategic thinking. If they want to achieve to a high level in the game, it’s important to set goals and work toward achieving them.
Setting goals in your son’s/daughter’s football journey is important as it:
- Enhances their motivation and commitment.
- Helps them stay focused on the process in the now.
- Assesses their strengths and weaknesses so they can structure practice accordingly.
- Keeps track of their performance improvements and progress.
It might be helpful to explain the importance of goal setting to your son/daughter as being like a long car journey (it actually is!) with many stops and different routes along the way. They need to plan the journey, make sure they’re going in the right direction, and maybe you need to stay overnight somewhere, so they will need to research cities and hotels along the route. Their football career is no different. They can’t go from being ‘pretty good’ to ‘amazing’overnight. If you could, then everybody would just do it! They’re going to need a plan.
The Goal Setting process helps your son/daughter understand where they are currently and also where they want to go.
Goals can be categorised in many ways most often to short-term, medium- term and long-term goals. It’s important that the goals aren’t so complicated that your son/daughter isn’t sure what it is they are trying to reach.
*A short-term goal may be something they want to achieve in a week.
*A medium-term goal might be what they want to achieve by the end of the season.
*A long-term goal might be that they want to play overseas or for their country.
Goals that are set should be S.M.A.R.T.
- S – Specific: Describe specific details in terms of who, what, when, where and how.
- M – Measureable: Ensure their goal quantifiable so they can track their progress.
- A – Achievable: Make sure they are being realistic, that their goal is actually possible.
- R – Relevant: Make sure their goals are important to them and will actually benefit them.
- T – Time-Specific: Create deadlines to encourage accountability and timeliness.
- Set Specific Goals: The first step to achieving any goal is to set a specific target. In football, this could mean setting a goal to complete more passes, increase their speed, or score more goals. The more your son/daughter can identify what success looks like, the greater their chance of getting there. If the goal is specific it’s easier to plan their route to get there. Example: I want to get at least 8 assists this season.
- Make Goals Measurable: It’s important to make your son’s/daughter’s goals measurable so that they can track their progress. Example: ‘I will beat my juggling record by the end of the season.’
- Set Realistic Goals. While it’s important to set ambitious goals, it’s also important to make them realistic. Setting unrealistic goals can lead to frustration and disappointment. Both long and short term goals are important. Example: I want to improve my score on the beep test by two levels.
- Write Goals Down. Even if your son/daughter can remember their goals, there is power in writing them down. When they commit to something in writing or when they tell someone about their goals it takes to a higher level of accountability. Encourage your son/daughter to keep trck of their goals in writing, and update them and check them off the list as they achieve them.
- Create a Plan. Creating a plan for achieving their plan will help them stay focused and motivated. This could include setting deadlines.
Finally, it’s important for your son/daughter to set goals that are re-assessable and able to be adjusted to meet unexpected change in their life.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me for support: wellness@gcufc.com.au or 0438 184 994
Best wishes
Jeff