Goal setting for dummies.

The book "Age-related training" highlights three types of objective:

Process goals- Quite simply, process objectives are solely about development of a participants skills or abilities, within or outside of the Handball court. A process objective might be to be better at a particular shooting technique, or tackling for example. These process objectives help players to stay focussed during the training environment, and take responsible for their own development within the defined area.

Performance goals – These are goals that are directly associated with the participants’ own performance. When creating performance goals the coach must ensure that they are controllable; within the players control. A performance goal to ‘score 9/9 goals’ in a particular match is not controllable, and other factors can affect the outcome; what if the goalkeeper has the best game of his/her life? What if you get injured, or have a quiet game? Performance goals must be controllable in the sense that the participant must have the power to control the outcome. A performance goal to give as much positive feedback to teammates, or to run as fast as possible to the counter attack, are examples of well defined performance goals.

Outcome goals – Simply put, these goals are result orientated, where a focus is placed on winning or success. These are often the hardest objectives to set because they are beyond the control of the participant. For example, outcome goals such as winning X amount of matches during the season or finishing in 1st position in the league are difficult to manage and measure because it must take into account the opponents.

A good mix of these three goals is important. Players might naturally be results orientated, but very often these are not within our control, therefore not always achievable or realistic. By understanding and implementing the different process and performance goals for training and matches, coaches can develop players not only motivated by results, but also by personal development.

It is easier to do something about those things that are within our control. Losing a match that you hoped to win (Outcome target failed) might often have positive aspects in terms of individual and team performance (performance targets met). Knowing that the team fought well, gave 100% and remained positive throughout are brilliant performance outcomes even if the opponents were just better on the day.

If you as the coach are aware of how to communicate with your players about individual goals for training and training exercises, then they will, over time begin to become more aware of their own goal setting processes and start to set their own goals.

For example, you could start the training by saying:

• The target for today's training is; .......

• Therefore, there will be focus on; ........

• My expectations are that; ........

Throughout the training, you can keep them focussed on the end objective by asking questions and providing continuous feedback. So long as you focus on the things that work (2/3) and the things that can be developed or improved (1/3)

By doing is this way, you can both recognise players for their efforts whilst also challenging them to be (even) better and develop