by Dr. Richard Stratton
We often hear a lot of talk about goals and goal setting. At the beginning of the season coaches are often asked "What are your goals for your team this year, coach?" This is certainly a valid question even if it is not stated correctly; that is, the goals should be the team's goals, not the coach's goals for the team. But why do we even use goals? Setting goals has at least three purposes:
Another way to describe types of goals is to address what one wants to accomplish. Here we are talking about mastery goals and competitive goals. Mastery goals, sometimes referred to as task oriented goals, focus on learning to perform skills. Unlike competitive goals, mastery goals are self-referenced. That is, athletes compare their current performance to their own previous performances with self-improvement being the goal. One of the nice things about mastery goals is that the athletes themselves are responsible for success or failure to achieve these goals. Competitive goals, sometimes referred to as ego oriented goals, focus on outcomes, typically winning. These goals involve social comparison, that is, comparing an athlete's or team's performance against that of another athlete or team.
While there is nothing wrong with wanting to win, one problem with competitive goals is that is is possible to achieve a competitive goal, winning, without playing well. Another major problem with competitive goals is that an athlete or team does not have as much control over success or failure because they cannot control the performance of the opposition. Thus it is possible to perform your best but not accomplish a competitive goal. Although there is not an absolute answer to this problem, the best strategy seems to be to focus primarily on mastery goals and secondarily on competitive goals. Achieving mastery goals will likely lead to also accomplishing competitive goals.
This article provided by Dr. Richard Stratton, Health and Physical Education Program, Virginia Tech
