Athlete's Mental Gym
Mental Skill: Set Good Skill Development Goals
The most effective goals you can develop as an athlete are ones that focus on improving a specific skill in your sport. Skill-based goals need to be your primary focus because improving a skill or fundamental is one of the only aspects of your sport that you can totally control.
Furthermore, your ability to develop skills that elevate your performance can have a ripple effect on larger goals that are more dependent on other people’s performance and decisions such as: winning a team championship or getting more playing time.
By answering the following five questions, you can develop one important skill goal for the season that will help you elevate your performance to the next level.
Step 1
What is the skill I need to improve this season and what is my goal for improving it?
Step 2
When I am executing that skill successfully, what will I see myself doing during competitions?
Step 3
What are specific ways I will practice and develop that skill throughout the season, and what’s my timetable for developing it?
Step 4
What help do I need from others to develop my skill goal?
Step 5
What do I need to do differently to take more personal responsibility to achieve my skill goal?
