| Success in athletics is achieved from the accumulation of many experiences, including successful accomplishment of tasks, and the unfortunate failures and set-backs that sometime occur. All of these experiences, both positive and negative, work together to teach you, and form your "knowledge" of your coaching and teaching philosophy. Successful ventures give you goals to revisit. Failures and setbacks encourage you to identify targets for making adjustments.
By setting goals, you can establish these targets and officially note your intent to achieve them. If you don't shoot for the target, where are you suppose to aim?
Coaches play a very important role in the goal setting process, and you should be aware of exactly what you contribute. Coaches goals can be broken down into three main areas:
- Goals for your athletes
- Goals for your team
- Goals for yourself.
Athletes' Goals
As the coach, you are responsible for the development of your athletes. Your leadership will set the pace for your athletes. Helping them set personal goals that they can work toward will greatly enhance their focus as well as their performances. By meeting with your athletes on a one-on-one basis in private, you can best understand each other. Discussing the athletes goals, technical skills, strength, conditioning, diet and nutrition will help you identify the goals of your individual athletes and in turn, they will know your expectations of them.
Team Goals
When you can get a group of people all working together with one common purpose in mind you will create a powerful synergy. Every person on your team should know exactly what the team goals are. By doing so, you will create strong team unity that will drive everyone forward in the pursuit of excellence.
Coaching Goals
As the coach of your team, you have a tremendous influence on your athletes. In some cases, even more influence than their parents. It is imperative that you set only the most positive examples for them to follow. You must set personal coaching goals and hold yourself accountable to achieve these goals. Your athletes will see this and emulate your actions. They will respect your guidance and knowledge and in turn, follow your instructions more intently. This will greatly enhance the opportunity for all individual, team and coaching goals to be accomplished.
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