PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS
TRAINING: GOAL SETTING AND SELF-CONFIDENCE
written by Dr.
Christine Lottes
In the last two issues (May)
(June/July)
of pelinks4u we began to look at how coaches can
train athletes to be mentally tough. As we enter a new school
year with new athletic seasons beginning, we continue our
mental training articles with a coach's script and a reproducible
athlete's handout for a goal setting workout that also assists
in building athletes' self-confidence.
| Coach's
Script for: Psychological Skills Training: Goal Setting
and Self-Confidence
Bring to practice: coach's script, a copy of the athlete's
practice plan for each athlete (follows the coach's
script), pencils or pens, chalk or dry erase markers.
Review: (To assess athletes'
understanding/retention of last practice's material)
- What are the six Mental Toughness Skills we will
be learning? Goal setting, imagery, relaxation/energization,
self-talk, energy management, stress management.
- You need to spend time on
concerns you have that you _can_ control. Don’t
spend time on or think about what you _can’t_
control.
- Answer out loud either
"can" or "can't" control, and,
if it is both, what can control:
- Official's call once made: can't.
- What friend thinks of me: can't, but can be
loving and possibly influence.
- Amount of playing time: can't, but can attend
practice, work on skills.
- How I look: can shower, get rest.
- Weather: can't, but can dress and prepare for
it.
Today we are going to work
on Goal Setting and Self-Confidence. |
Goal setting isn't new. Athletes and coaches have always
set goals for themselves and for the team. Goal setting does
have mixed success. Consider these two examples (coach may
change the examples throughout the lesson to be specific to
the sport being coached):
- Anne and Kathy's basketball coach worked with them to
set-up a preseason weight training and foul shooting program.
The athletes could do the workout together, and record it
on a sheet which included weekly goals and rewards. As both
athletes saw their strength growing, and their percentage
of shots increasing, they were motivated to continue the
program and were excited to report to the opening of team
practice.
- Contrast this with Will who was
a talented tennis player. He had goals set for him by his
parents and coaches that were well above what he could attain.
He failed to meet those goals, and his performance on the
court reflected that his self-confidence was taking a hit.
In this case, unrealistic goals resulted in Will no longer
wanting to play tennis.
The difference in their programs? Anne and Kathy's goals
were realistic and motivating, while Will's were too high
and stress inducing.
- Systematic goal setting programs can be successful in
developing self-confidence if
you set goals that you can control.
- These goals you set that you can
control will be realistic, specific
& measurable. These are called
process goals. They will lead
to good performances during competition and to outcomes
that you desire.
Three Types of Goals:
- Process Goals: focus on improving form, technique, and
strategy.
- Performance Goals: address overall
personal performance such as running without tiring, and
needing to come out of a game, getting by an opponent more
consistently, or shooting or clearing the ball more accurately.
- Outcome Goals: emphasize outperforming
other competitors, as well as the objective outcome- that
is winning.
We have control over process goals, while outcome
goals are not totally under our control (outperforming other
competitors, placing high, or winning).
We learned in our last lesson that we have areas of concern.
Usually there is something we can control/influence within
that concern, and that is where we spend our time and energy.
When we do something that we can control this is called a
process goal. As we focus on process
goals, our circle of influence will expand over things we
are concerned about, like the outcome.
For example, if I work hard at practice (process) there
is more of a chance I will play well (performance) and more
of a chance I'll win a competition (outcome).
Example: (If I'm concerned about a friend) If I work hard
to learn how to communicate (listen to my friend, and also
express my own thoughts and feelings (process)) there is more
of a chance that I'll communicate what I think and feel (performance)
and more of a chance our friendship will be successful (outcome).
Why is the concept of control so important in setting goals?
Basing your definitions of success and failure on factors
beyond your control is detrimental to self-worth. Focusing
on things you can't control won't increase your opportunity
for success. Instead, you'll develop an external locus of
control - giving control to others and blaming others. But,
if you focus on what you can control, and accomplish goals
you can control (process goals), your self-confidence will
grow!
Let's look at the benefits of
goal setting1:
- Goals enhance focus and concentration.
- Goals boost self-confidence.
- Goals help prevent or manage
stress.
- Goals help create a positive
mental attitude.
- Goals increase intrinsic motivation
to excel.
- Goals improve the quality of
practices by making training more challenging.
- Goals enhance playing skill,
techniques, and strategies.
- Goals improve overall performance.
We want you to set goals you can control, and gain self-confidence
in the process. These goals are called Process
Goals.
Outcome Goals require athletes
to attain performance goals, such as playing 50 minutes without
running out of energy, stopping 90% of the shots on goal,
or running the 100 meters in 10.22 seconds. To attain these
performance goals, athletes must achieve a series of process
goals that focus on improving conditioning, form, technique,
knowledge or strategy such as improving one's shot, communicating
with teammates, or running for longer periods of time.
In practice and in competition we'll focus on the process
goals of what we can control. No matter what the outcome,
we'll be confident that we competed well and feel good about
it!
- Indicate if the following are process
(1) or performance
(2) goals. Then match
the process goal that you can control, to one possible
performance goal.
- _1_ Exercise 30 minutes a day, 4 times
a week in my target heart rate range.
- _2_ Accept official's calls without
question g.
- _2_ Be more fit a.
- _1_ Do packet from Coach
- _1_ Study 2 hours for five days of each
week.
- _2_ Run mile under 8 minutes d.
- _1_ Practice focusing and acting on what
can control.
- _1_ Lift weights two times a week.
- _2_ Improve grade point average e.
- _2_ Get stronger h.
- Write two sport process
goals. Then place an "X"
if the goal conforms to each principle listed (In
order to help athletes learn how a process goal must
meet all 3 principles, "a"
is an example that is incorrect, while "b"
is an example that is correct).
| |
realistic |
specific |
measurable |
- ___Get in shape__ __X__
_____ _____
- _Jog for 20
minutes_ __X__
__X__ __X__
- _________________
_____ _____
_____
- _________________
_____ _____
_____
|
- Write down the position
you might be playing this season. List the skills
that are important to success at that position. In
the second column, list possible ways to measure performance
so that only performance of the player, & not
the outcome as influenced by someone else, is measured.
Position: _________________________________
| Skills |
Ways to
measure |
| 1. Dribbling |
1. Number of touches in 60
seconds |
| 2. |
2. |
| 3. |
3. |
Did you list ways you can measure your skills in terms
of performance you can control - not what others control,
or occurrences that are the result of luck or chance?
Exchange paper with someone, and discuss your answers
with them.
- Determine a terminal performance
goal toward which you are striving this season. Then
determine your baseline or usual performance level
at that task. Finally, list three progressively more
challenging process goals that will move
you toward achieving your terminal performance goal.
Make sure that when the athletes complete their "staircases"
they list specific, measurable,
realistic goals. Example:
Free Throw Percentage: Baseline- 48%, Goal 1- 50%,
Goal 2- 52%, Goal 3- 54%, Terminal Goal- 56%.
- As you accomplish goals
you set, you will find your confidence increasing.
We call this being "optimally confident."
Let's look at some definitions related to confidence,
and then you will describe an athlete who fits each
definition.
- Optimally confident: having
a realistic sense of what you can accomplish.
Those who have this set realistic goals based
on their own abilities.
- Diffident:
lack confidence. These individuals suffer from
a fear of failure and a high concentration of
self-doubts, which combine to produce a negative
self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Falsely Confident:
unfounded confidence in competencies, and an act
to cover up a diffident attitude. The individual
tends to act "cocky," and in some instances,
arrogant. Falsely confident individuals further
compound their confidence problems when their
performances show their true competencies.
- I am currently a ____________________________
athlete. As I set and accomplish process
goals, I will either become, or will
become, an even stronger Optimally Confident
athlete.
|
At the beginning I said that:
- Systematic goal setting programs where athletes learn
how to set process (not outcome) goals can be successful
in developing athlete self-confidence.
- Set goals that are realistic,
specific, measurable. They will lead to performances and
outcomes that the you desire.
- As you accomplish your performance
goals, you will build self-confidence.
- If you understand this, you can
lose an event as far as the W-L goes and not lose confidence.
- Example: (Coach can use own example).
Near the end of one season, my team was nationally ranked
which meant that every team we played was "up"
for us (in terms that we will learn in upcoming pelinks4u
articles, they were at their optimum level of psychic
energy).
- We not only had to maintain our
optimum level for each game against teams that weren't as
skilled, but also be ready for teams that were as or more
skilled. One team in particular was more skilled than we
were. Unless psychologically they let down, they had the
skill to win the game. They did end up winning, but my team
played the finest ever. We briefly met after the game and
I highlighted what they had done skill-wise, and how they
had psychologically stayed focused. I was excited about
their play, and because they could evaluate the strength
of the other team skill-wise and psychologically, they were
too. If you had met them as they walked away, you would
have thought they had won on the scoreboard.
- They had controlled their process
and performance goals. They had no control over the outcome.
Since the other team played to their ability physically
and psychologically, the other team won.
- You can "lose" on the
scoreboard and still "win" in process and performance
goals which impact your self-confidence.
Coach: To assist your athletes, work on this list
for your sport:
• Process Goals: focus on improving
form, technique, and strategy.
- stick on ground when around ball 90% of
time.
- GK: talk to teammates every 2 minutes.
- drop back shoulder on penalty stroke.
- in practice run back on defense when ball
changes hands.
• Performance Goals: address overall
personal performance
- focusing on the present.
- shooting or clearing the ball more accurately.
- every time get back on defense ball side,
goal side and feet pointed away from own goal.
- pull out and cut in on free hits.
• Outcome Goals: emphasize outperforming
other competitors, as well as the objective outcome- that
is winning.
- Win game
- go to district
- go to state
- letter in sport
GOAL
SETTING & SELF-CONFIDENCE (click here 4 printable handout
for athlete)
COACHES
SCRIPT (click here 4 printable handout for coach)
1Some of the material in this practice plan is taken from:
Sport Psychology for Coaches (2008) by Drs. Damon Burton and
Thomas Raedeke, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL
Upcoming October article on Mental Training…
In the next edition of pelinks4u we will be discussing
imagery skills - how to involve all the senses and successfully
use imagery to enhance the quality of the athlete's practices
and performances. A script for the coach, and a reproducible
handout for athletes will be provided.
(back
to pelinks4u homepage) |
