Welcome to the June 2005 Coaching & Sports section! As always, we continue to bring you original information presented by a diverse group of professionals in coaching and sport psychology. However, we are taking a different approach this month by featuring succinct, but informative, sport psychology fact sheets.

Each fact sheet consists of two main components. First, the scientific or background information is outlined to help coaches and athletes gain a better understanding of the particular skill. The second section takes a practical approach, and offers several suggestions about how to put the specific skills into action.

It is anticipated that the fact sheets will help coaches, parents, and athletes expand their knowledge of, and comfort level with, using various mental (or psychological) skills. We hope you enjoy these scientific/practical sport psychology fact sheets. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you would like to comment on them or to submit your own ideas for publication.

Jenelle N. Gilbert & Wade Gilbert
Coaching & Sports Section Editors

GOAL SETTING – The Theory
Costas Tsouloupas & Luke Lichtenwaldt
California State University, Fresno

What is a Goal? - An objective, a standard, an aim of some action, or a level of performance or proficiency (McClements, 1982). GOAL SETTING energizes athletes to become more productive and effective (Cox, 2002).

2 Types of Goals:
	Subjective Goals: General Statements of intent, (e.g. "I want to look good in my bathing suit").
	Objective Goals: Attaining a specific standard. There are three parts to objective goals. (A mix of all three is most effective.) They are:
		Outcome Goals: Focus on the outcome of an event and usually involve some sort of interpersonal comparison.
		Performance Goals: Specify an end product of performance that will be achieved without regard to others.
		Process Goals: Focus on a specific behavior exhibited throughout a performance.

Why Does Goal Setting Work? (Locke, Shaw, Saari, & Latham, 1981):
	Allows for Directed Attention (now we have something to focus on)
	Mobilizes Effort (must put forth the effort to reach the goal)
	Builds Persistence (can’t give up if we want to reach the goal)
	Development of New Learning Strategies (forces us to look for new ways to reach the goal)

Common Goal Setting Pitfalls:
	Poorly Written Goal Statements
	Failure to Devise a Goal-Attainment Strategy
	Failure to Follow the Goal-Attainment Strategy
	Failure to Monitor Performance Progress
	Discouragement
		Goal Difficulty is too high or unrealistic
		Use of only outcome goals
		Too many goals

How do we make effective goals? (Weinberg & Gould, 1999)
	Make goals specific, measurable, and observable.
	Clearly identify time constraints.
	Use moderately difficult goals; they are superior to very easy or hard goals.
	Write goals down and regularly monitor them.
	Use a mix of process, performance, and outcome goals.
	Make sure goals are internalized.
	Use short range goals to reach long range goals.
	Create a support network for yourself.

Remember to be SMART. Use the SMART approach for goal setting. Goals should be:

Download the printable fact sheet and the references.

The Science & Practices of Building Confidence
Kristen Mattox and Sharon Kerr
California State University, Fresno

Confidence in competitive sport is a result of particular thinking habits more so than physical talent, opportunity, or previous success. These thinking habits, when persistently practiced, result in higher levels of confidence.

Practicing the skill of controlled thinking, an athlete can enlist consistent positive thinking which elicits positive feelings and leads to improved performance.

Prerequisites for Gaining Confidence
	Thoughts – Performance The athlete directs his or her thoughts onto those aspects of environment and self that produce powerful, confident feelings to enhance performance.
	Honest Self-Awareness The athlete must always ask the question, "Am I really thinking in the way that will give me the best chance of success?"
	Develop an Optimistic Explanatory Style Explanatory Style refers to the way an athlete responds to and explains both good and bad events that occur in his or her life. It defines optimistic and pessimistic individuals.
		Permanence - the degree to which one feels events will repeat themselves and continue to affect one's life either negatively or positively.
		Pervasiveness - the degree to which one feels that a particular experience will generalize to other contexts.
		Personalization: The degree to which one feels they have control over what happens to them.
	Embrace a Psychology of Excellence Thoughts about one’s self are aligned to produce energy, optimism, and enthusiasm.

Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy beliefs are not judgments about one's skills, but rather judgments of what one can accomplish with those skills. In other words, self-efficacy is about what one thinks he or she can do, not what one has done. Having a strong self-efficacy is important in athletics because you must believe you can be an accomplisher.

Self-Talk & Confidence
Anytime you think about something, you are in a sense talking to yourself. Positive Self-Talk is a valuable tool for enhancing confidence and performance. The practice of boosting or uplifting one's self is valuable for the athlete because the athlete will attach positive labels to him or herself, thus increasing confidence. Negative Self-Talk does the opposite. Talking negatively to one's self will cause the athlete to attach negative labels to him or herself which will impact confidence and hinder performance.

Download the printable document and the references.

Instilling Beliefs in Your Athletes

Self-talk for Building Confidence
Find out what your athletes are saying to themselves. Are they often putting themselves down or over-criticizing? This kind of talk hinders the athlete in two ways: performance and confidence. By constantly beating themselves up they are beating themselves down. Talk to your athletes about changing the way they talk to themselves. Encourage them to say positive affirmations to themselves. Have them reflect on what they do well. Encourage up-beat talk. Don't allow negative self-talk on your team! "I can do it" sounds a lot better than "I suck!"

Imagery - Imagination is the most underused, powerful tool we humans have.
To build confidence in your athletes try this. Have them lay back and relax on the gym floor. Ask them to take a few deep breaths and let their bodies loosen. After a few minutes, encourage them to picture themselves performing a skill that is normally difficult for them. For instance, a basketball player who has had a rough time with free-throws might choose this skill to imagine. As they picture themselves performing this skill prompt them to be successful at it in their imagination, (i.e., making all the free-throws). Have them imagine what it would feel like if they were able to perform this skill perfectly. What would people say? How would they react? Try to elicit the feelings they would have if they were really good at this specific skill.

	Do you believe you can reach your dreams or attain your goals?
	Are you putting yourself in situations that give you the greatest chance of believing in yourself and achieving your goals?
	Are you looking for the good things in your performance and in your life? Everyday?
	Are you seeing your own progress and appreciating it?
	Are you thinking and acting in ways that make you feel positive and confident?
	Are you trusting yourself, your preparation, and your focus? Can you do better?
	Are you allowing your performance to unfold freely?

Download the printable document