Playing in TAS competitions fosters a sense of achievement in many of our young athletes, whether that’s our Junior teams overcoming a fear or mastering a new skill, or our top players hitting new heights in the sport as they aspire to an elite level. Goal setting encourages a growth mindset as students learn about taking responsibility for their actions and begin to understand that their abilities can be developed through hard work and persistence. If they then achieve their goals their self-esteem, confidence and self-image are positively boosted.
Here are ways to help your student athlete set and achieve their goals this term.
Encourage Your Athlete To Identify Their Strengths & Weaknesses
Goals give you a clear direction of where you want to go and what you want to achieve, so have an open discussion with your student athlete about what their strengths are and some areas they may need to improve. Get them started by taking some time to reflect on their accomplishments and experiences, think about tasks that they naturally struggle with and consider the feedback they’ve had from players and coaches. This will ultimately help them set goals that are realistic so they can focus their efforts and energy towards specific outcomes.
Set Long Term Goals Together
Goals provide a sense of purpose and give you something to strive for so it’s best to encourage your young athlete to set long-term goals that are challenging but also achievable. It can be overwhelming for kids to tackle big goals so it’s important to break them down into manageable steps to help your athlete stay motivated. This also allows them to see their progress along the way and not let challenges set them back. The long-term goal could be as simple as making it onto a specific team or winning a particular competition, so you could break that down into small tasks like working on specific skills such as shooting, dribbling, passing or serving.
Create A Plan Of Action
Help your child create a plan of action to achieve their goals by creating a training schedule, working with a coach and identifying resources they need. Setting goals makes you accountable for your progress and results so a plan of action will help them stay on track, remain focused and make any necessary adjustments they need to their plan. You could work out a weekly schedule with your child of what days they have training and games then add anything extra they’d like to do like practising drills and exercises on the school field on Wednesdays.
Celebrate Their Successes Along The Way
It’s important to be supportive and celebrate both big and small achievements along the way as this will help your kids stay motivated, remain focused on their goals and encourage them to keep going even when things get tough. Achieving their goals can enhance their self-esteem and confidence as it provides a sense of accomplishment and reinforces their belief in their ability to succeed so take the time to recognise and acknowledge your young athlete’s achievements, even if it’s a simple high-five or fist bump. You might also want to encourage your young athlete to reflect on their achievements and what they learned from the experience as this can help reinforce the positive aspects of their success and help them identify areas for further growth and improvement.
By following these tips, you can help your school kids develop the important life skill of goal setting so they can achieve success at school and beyond.