The importance of goal setting for sports performance

One of the most widely accepted definitions of a goal, as Locke, Shaw, Shaari, and Latham define it, is “attaining a specific level of proficiency in a task, usually within a time limit” (Locke & Latham, 2002, pg 705). Goal setting is considered one of the more successful strategies for increasing athletes’ motivation, confidence, and task focus (Papaioannou & Hackfort, 2014). Goals can give an athlete meaning to their training, allow them to direct their focus and attention to the skills required to complete the task and act as a motivational tool.

In sport, some of the more commonly discussed types of goals are outcome, performance, and process goals. Outcome goals relate to the result of a competition (i.e., win, lose, placing achieved). This type of goal can serve as a good motivational tool in the shorter term; however, in the longer term, it is discouraged as it can create anxiety for an athlete. For example, an athlete training for IPF Worlds may have a goal of placing on the podium and winning a medal; this pressure put upon themselves to achieve this feat may cause them anxiety in training and on the competition day, which could result in poorer performance. Failure to achieve their desired goal could also reduce their self-esteem leading to continued poor performances. Performance goals refer to metrics or standards that an athlete/team is trying to improve on or achieve. Performance goals are a useful way for an athlete to measure their own progress and keep their focus on the controllable factors. For example, a powerlifter might have a performance goal of increasing their competition PRs (personal records) at each competition – this helps them stay focused on themselves and what they need to do in order to achieve this, and also if achieved, it demonstrates measurable progress with their strength. Process goals are directly related to performance goals in that they represent what the athlete must focus on while performing their sport. Again, looking at the example of a powerlifter, he/she may have a specific goal surrounding getting a smoother lockout on deadlifts. They may therefore work on technical improvements and aim to improve this week on week with heavy weight. Their achievement of this in training will increase their self-efficacy, and therefore entering a competition, they are confident in their ability, and this would therefore correlate to better performance.

Goal setting is practical because the conscious goal of the person attempting the task, in turn, regulates their performance on the task. Goals are formed by evaluating performance using internal comparisons and criteria. Therefore, setting specific and demanding goals helps athletes achieve higher performance levels. Goals are believed to direct attention to action and help athletes focus on what they need in the short and long term. The research within this field also supports this ideology that high goal specificity and difficulty enable an athlete to perform better than they would with effortless goals, “do your best” goals, or no goals at all (Papaioannou & Hackfort, 2014). Olympic coach Kenny Armstrong puts this perfectly when he tells his athletes: “Setting challenging goals creates a fear of failure, but setting no goals guarantees it.”

In an individual setting, a female powerlifting athlete, for example, may have an objective goal to deadlift 200kg in the next twelve months. This goal for her age and weight may be considered a difficult feat, but it is also definite. Literature suggests that she will focus on working towards this task in terms of execution within training, nutrition, sleep, and managing external stressors. Additionally, when the athlete experiences inevitable frustrating training sessions, having the goal set will help her to stay on track, stay motivated and persist through the tough times in pursuit of achieving the goal. Fast forward twelve months, all the athlete’s hard work comes to fruition, and she achieves her goal; not only has she set a personal record for herself and thus see clear progress in her strength performance, but she will also have gained confidence from achieving this goal. Conversely, the same athlete with no goal may not have trained as hard, may have gotten distracted, and may not have set any personal records or enjoyed training as much. Therefore, performance may become subpar or stagnant at best.  

It is also worth noting that while there is an abundance of research that supports the topic of goal setting being required for optimal performance, there are also some scenarios whereby goal setting leads to reduced performance. A common mistake among some athletes is setting too many goals or failing to set specific or realistic goals. In this case, some athletes will find the goals too difficult to achieve and may give up, or their confidence may decline, and their performance may suffer. It is, therefore, of utmost importance when goal setting that for it to be most optimal for performance, the goals need to be SMART (smart, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-constrained). The SMART model has proved to be effective in aiding athletes to set goals that are achievable and to measure their progress against these. For example, an athlete might set the goal of increasing their successful third attempts by 33% within the next 12 months. This goal captures all the elements of the SMART model – it is specific, it is measurable (33% acts as a benchmark against which she can review), it is achievable, it is realistic, and it is also time-constrained (to be achieved by the end of the season). This clear goal can help her with motivation to train more for execution to competition standards in pursuit of achieving this goal. In the process of doing so, she can start recognising her improvements, therefore increasing her self-confidence, which will also, in turn, improve her performance. 

It is clear that setting specific goals helps athletes stay focused on the task at hand. Similarly, research shows that athletes need both short-term and long-term goals to stay motivated and accomplished. While athletes can usually quickly identify and set long-term outcome goals, it is short-term goals that help them focus on minor improvements while providing continuous feedback with regular monitoring (Papaioannou & Hackfort, 2014). A study conducted by John Partington and Terry Orlick investigating sport psychology services provided to Olympic athletes discovered that setting goals for each training session yielded better performances by that athlete in the Olympics. Setting goals was a key differentiator between those Olympians who were successful versus those who were not (Partington & Orlick, 1987). In summation, goal setting plays a crucial role in reaching optimum sports performance.