| Having goals can increase effort because the | | | | A player must know exactly what they've got |
| players have a means of measuring their | | | | to do. That means you will both have to |
| performance and contribution against. | | | | agree a set of actions that will help the |
| | | | player achieve their goal. |
| SMART goals have long lasting motivation | | | | |
| benefits. | | | | For example, an action based element could |
| | | | read like this... "I will increase the |
| When you review performance against set goals | | | | accuracy of my crossing from corner kicks |
| and the player has shown an improvement, | | | | putting the ball into the box on no less than |
| raise the bar a little higher. Each time the | | | | 8 out of 10 occasions." |
| player will be motivated to achieve a new | | | | |
| level of performance providing the | | | | REALISTIC |
| incremental increase is still within grasp. | | | | |
| | | | Goal have got to be within the reach of the |
| If you've not been overly exposed to SMART | | | | soccer players. |
| goal setting then let's run through what we | | | | |
| mean by SMART goals and how we can use them | | | | That's not to say that you are going to set |
| with our players. | | | | "soft targets". Targets that are so within |
| | | | reach that the players aren't motivated to |
| SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Action | | | | stretch themselves because its too easy. |
| based, Realistic & Time bound. | | | | |
| | | | However, setting realistic goals is a tough |
| SPECIFIC | | | | balance, make them too easy and the players |
| | | | won't try, make them too hard and the players |
| The more specific a goal is the easier it is | | | | will give up quickly because they don't |
| to identify when and whether its been | | | | believe they can do what it takes. |
| achieved. The goal should be a detailed | | | | |
| description of what the required outcome is | | | | TIMEBOUND |
| that both player and coach want to see | | | | |
| happen. | | | | It is very important to set definitive time |
| | | | limits for each of the players goals. |
| MEASURABLE | | | | Remember too, that you should build in |
| | | | regular reviews with the players to assess |
| Unless a goal is measurable, how can you | | | | their progress and revise the goals that they |
| establish whether there has been an | | | | have. |
| improvement or not? | | | | |
| | | | Have a go.... |
| Goals should be measurable in terms of | | | | |
| quality, quantity, shots, tackles, runs and | | | | Get yourself some paper and a pen and write |
| saves. When players can see they have made | | | | down a high level goal that you want your |
| progress towards achieving the goal the | | | | team to achieve following the SMART goal |
| motivational benefits really kick in. | | | | setting principles. |
| | | | |
| A baseline starting point should be | | | | Remember, keep them SMART! |
| established and the goal set from the | | | | |
| baseline measurement. From this baseline, | | | | Claim your complimentary copy of the 'Soccer |
| and having the target, players can measure | | | | Coaching Guide' provided by Junior Soccer |
| how far they have come. | | | | Coach and receive hints, tips and techniques |
| | | | to improve your team's performance AND your |
| ACTION BASED | | | | expertise as a coach. |
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