S.M.A.R.T Goal Setting Principles
It's a very good idea for people to set goals as they pursue something meaningful. You should organize any goal you have in mind. Whether it is a process goal, outcome goal, or performance goal, you need to have something you aspire for. Aspirations are essential and should be the focus. SMART goals are another way to organize your goal and keep you accountable and organized. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time
We want our athletes to take a multi-disciplinary approach to improving. They can set many different goals beyond just improving their performance or scoring goals. Athletes can set practice goals, mental game goals, fitness and conditioning goals, as well as nutrition goals. One warning though.... perfectionists will set goals and see them as a task to master, and this could cause burnout. Instead, athletes need to see goals as general guidelines that can be continually evaluated and adapted.
The staff would like to help all of you achieve your goals. Please take some time to set up your own personal and Team Goals you have for the upcoming season.
Click Here to complete personal and Team Goals.
1. Specific
When making goals, they have to be precise and not too general. Saying you want to win matches is not specific. Something like, I want to win matches by decreasing my unforced errors on my backhand side when the ball is hit high.
2. Measurable
Being able to identify if you're getting closer or further away from your goal is critical. With goals, you're trying to achieve them, and if there is no way to achieve them, that is a waste of time.
3. Attainable
We love to see student-athletes demonstrate drive with ambitious goals. However, a major part of balanced and realistic goal setting is ensuring that your goals are also attainable. Aiming to have two or fewer double faults per match is an easy way to track progress and achievement over the season.
4. Relevant
Does this goal make sense? Does this goal align with what it is you trying to achieve? If you're working on your doubles strategy, you shouldn't spend the entire day hitting groundstrokes. Make sure you're doing the appropriate drills to get better!
5. Time
Set a specific time that you want to try and achieve your goal. Time is good because it will keep you on your toes because you know you need to put in the work if you want to achieve your goals in the allotted time. Be mindful that even if the goal isn't complete in the timeline you predicted, that's ok, continue to make strides towards this!