Three Types of Goals All Youth Athletes Must Have
I write about youth wrestling often. However, most of what I write applies to all youth sports, not just wrestling. Correspondingly, today as I share the three types of goals that youth athletes must have, even though it’s in the context of youth wrestling, this goal setting approach applies to all youth sports.
With that said, when it comes to helping young athletes set goals, it’s best to keep it simple. Help them create goals using three categories:
- Go up Goals
- Grow up Goals
- Give Up Goals
Go Up Goals
Go up goals are goals that require going up to the next level to achieve something. In youth wrestling, a go up goal would be something like getting on the podium at a tough national or state tournament. In another sport it would be something like making the #1 travel team in your state or possibly making varsity as a freshman.
This goal type is the one most people are very comfortable with and therefore go up goals are the most common. However, these goals are also the type athletes have the least control over. Moreover, while go up goals can provide a spark of motivation, this motivation is not sustainable since the fruition of the goal is usually months or even years in the future.
This is why go up goals can never be set in isolation. Without the other two goal types, go up goals may even hurt more than they help.
Grow up Goals
Grow up goals are goals that show a clear sign that the athlete is growing up and taking ownership of the process of achieving their go up goals. For example, a grow up goal for a youth wrestler may be to wake him or herself up earlier each day to do pull-ups without parental influence or help.
For young athletes, grow up goals are the most important out of the three types of goals. The process of taking ownership is the most important step in the athletic maturation process. As long as an athlete’s parent owns the process, an athlete will never fully realize their true potential.
Give Up Goals
Give up goals are goals that require giving up something through sacrifice. For example, a youth wrestler may give up their PlayStation, Xbox, or phone during the season to help them stop wasting time that could be used to achieve their go up goal of placing at a national or state tournament.
The key with give up goals is to help young athletes understand that if they aren’t willing to sacrifice something to achieve a go up goal, then that goal is not as important to them as they think. Moreover, sacrifice is intrinsic, and is 100% within their control. Therefore, athletes cannot make any excuses for not achieving a give up goal. These goals simply come down to how badly they want their goal to go up.