Chris Mance II - Mental Skills Coach

One of the best things a parent or coach can do to support an athlete who needs motivation is to help them document and track their process for making progress. When an athlete feels they are not making progress, they lose motivation. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics cites that making progress is one of the most important factors in keeping sports fun.

Often, an athlete is making progress and doesn’t realize it. Or even worse, they think they are making progress and then abruptly find out they’re not. Either way, this is extremely demotivating.

Therefore, helping an athlete keep track of the process can be a game changer, especially when an athlete is struggling. To do this, an athlete must have performance and process goals to go with their outcome goals.

1. Split Outcome Goals into Three Parts

Start with the athlete’s most important outcome goal they want to achieve over the next year or so. Split that goal into three parts.

• First, there is the outcome part of the goal. This is the part they want to achieve at the end.
• Second, there is the performance part of the goal. This is the part that defines how they will measure and track the skill level they must reach to achieve the outcome they want.
• Third and finally, there is the process part of their goal. This is the daily / weekly tasks they must complete to execute the process of improving their performance.

2. Plan Out the Process and Performance Progression

A progression is the process of moving gradually towards a more advanced state. You don’t just go from the couch to running a marathon. You must walk before you run, then you must run a mile before you run 5 miles, etc.

To break a goal down into a progression, focus on the processes of making progress. This thought pattern should break down the anatomy of the progression into three characteristics:

1. Repeatable: The goal progression must center around a routine the athlete can either do daily, weekly, or something in between
2. Measurable: The goal progression must be one that the athlete can measure and track the performance of a skill with precise numbers that lead to a visual representation of progress over time. The tool to track could be as simple as a checklist or as complex as an app that automates tracking. What’s more, when there is not an easy way to measure progress, a coach can instead track progress using the elements of discovery. For example, discovering what works and what doesn’t, discovering processes that deliver repeatable results, or even discovering an athlete’s strengths.
3. Systematic: The goal progression must intertwine with an overall system of proven processes that create synergy (running three days a week + doing squats and lunges twice a week + 2 days of rest = process synergy).

3. Empower an Accountability Partner

It’s often difficult for young athletes to hold themselves accountable to those things that don’t come naturally. Athletes with maturity are better at this, but even these athletes need support to hold them accountable to the tedious task of tracking and measuring progress.

The fact is, when an athlete is in pursuit of an important goal empowering an accountability partner to kick them in the ass when they fall short of their progress milestones is critical. A parent or friend as an accountability partner does not work well in this role. Parents and friends are great cheerleaders, but they will be despised in the role of an accountability partner.

To that end, this is one of my specialties as a mental skills coach. In my role as an athlete’s coach, I will:

• Help them define their goals and split them into outcome, performance, and process goals.
• Develop a realistic plan for progress using process and performance progressions.
• Most importantly, hold them accountable to that plan with daily check-ins and weekly accountability calls.

For more information on my coaching programs, contact me here.