Setting Swimming Goals An Introduction

Last Updated on November 5, 2022 by admin

**“I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.” Michael Phelps (USA)**

In this article, we’ll provide advice, hacks and tips as an introduction to setting swimming goals and how you can make your swimming goal-setting more effective.

The benefits of setting swimming goals

Goal setting is not just confined to swimming, it’s a life skill, which helps establish and focus on clear targets, priorities and expectations.

They are a useful tool in enabling both the swimmer and the coach to gauge the swimmer’s progress and development towards achieving their ambitions.

The swimming goal-setting process

The coach distributes the goal sheet.

The coach will provide the swimmer with a goal sheet, for them to record their swimming goals.
The swimmer completes the goal sheet
Together, the swimmer and coach, review the completed goal sheet and make agreed changes where necessary.
The swimmer adds their completed goal sheet to their swimming log.
The goal sheets are periodically reviewed throughout the season by the swimmer and the coach.

Taking Responsibility for Your Swimming Goals

**It’s important that the swimmer takes responsibility for setting their own swimming goals**

Although it’s great for a parent to assist the swimmer in completing their goal sheets, especially if they’re new to goal setting, it’s important that the swimmer takes responsibility for setting their own swimming goals.

The swimmer should set and work towards realistic, age-appropriate goals, with a focus on improving performances, learning new skills, and cooperating with their teammates.
Even if the swimmer falls short of their original goals, knowing that they have taken responsibility for their performance, will help them to become a better swimmer.

Swimming Goal Types

There are three types of swimming goals, process-based goals, outcome-based goals and mini-goals.

Process Goals:

Process goals are those goals that focus on a means to an end. For example: committing to swimming training on a daily basis or improving my backstroke turns.

Process-based goals are typically easier to achieve but might not be as satisfying as outcome-based goals.

Outcome-Based Goals:

Outcome-based goals are those goals that focus on achievement; for instance, qualifying for a certain championship or achieving a butterfly personal best time.

Outcome-based goals are typically harder to achieve but bring a greater sense of satisfaction.

Mini-Goals:

Sometimes the swimmer’s coach may set a ‘mini-goal, to help achieve a larger outcome-based goal’. For example, if a swimmer has a goal to achieve a regional freestyle qualifying time, the swimmer may be set a processed-type goal, such as practicing tight streamlining off their freestyle turns.

Short-Term and Long-Term Swimming Goals

It’s important to set both long-term and short-term goals. For example, a swimmer may have a long-term goal to qualify for the regional championships.

In order to achieve this, the swimmer and coach should identify the steps the swimmer needs to take for them to be successful.
These steps could be achieved as a series of short-term goals

Realistic Swimming Goal Setting

Since swimmers are often motivated by success, it's important to choose realistic goals. — Since swimmers are often motivated by success, it’s important to choose realistic goals.

When setting goals, it’s wise to choose both process-based and outcome-based goals.

It’s also best for swimmers to set goals according to their strengths and weaknesses.
Since swimmers are often motivated by success, it’s important to choose realistic goals.
For example, reducing your personal best 100m backstroke time by five seconds may be extremely difficult, but training daily for speed is a more achievable process-based goal.
Once simple goals are achieved, the swimmer may then have the confidence to tackle more difficult goals.

How to Set Smarter Swimming Goals

For goal setting to be more effective the swimmer should make their goals “smarter”.

The letters S-M-A-R-T-E-R all stand for the specific words, listed below.

Specific: If the swimmer wants to improve a certain skill, the goal needs to be specific, such as: “I want to improve my backstroke finish” rather than “I want to improve my backstroke”.

Measurable: How will the swimmer judge when they have reached their goal? “I will be able to go hard into the backstroke finish every time, without looking around”.

Agreed: The swimmer will need to speak to your coach about their goals. They can then both agree on the course of action needed to achieve them.

Realistic: Try not to set a goal that is too much of a challenge. If the swimmer wants to achieve a County record, set out to achieve several smaller improvements rather than one big one.

Time-Bound: Give the swimmer time to achieve their goal. Not too long or they will lose interest, say six months maximum or perhaps the date of the county or regional/state championship.

Evaluate: The swimmer together with their coach should regularly check their progress toward their goals and plan the next step.

Recorded: The swimmer should record the progress they make towards achieving their goals, ideally in their swimming log.

Evaluating Swimming Goals

On-going evaluation is an important part of the goal-setting process, without which the goal-setting process, becomes ineffective.

The key to an accurate evaluation of a swimmer’s goals is the provision of relevant training and competitive information.
Whether it’s a record of competition race times, test set times or stroke counts, the evaluating information should be a consistent measure of a swimmer’s progress and development toward a swimmer’s goals.

End-of-Season Swimming Goal Evaluation

An end-of-the-season evaluation of the swimmer’s goals is a key stage in the goal-setting process.

Its main purpose is for the swimmer and the coach to analyse whether the goals were successfully achieved or not.
If the swimming goals were successfully achieved, was it because they were too easy, or were the goals successfully achieved by a process of planning, commitment, execution and ongoing evaluation?
If the swimming goals were not successfully achieved, was it because they were too tough, or were the goals not achieved because of a breakdown in the planning, commitment, execution or ongoing evaluation?

Re-setting of Swimming Goals

Evaluating a swimmer’s performance could result in the need to either re-establish or reset their goals.

It’s important when re-establishing or resetting a swimmer’s goals, that they are in line with the current rate of the swimmer’s development and progress.
However, there may be other factors that could influence a swimmer’s rate of development and progress.
These include a training load increase or an improvement in the swimmer’s health.

Incentives

Most swimming clubs have their own range of incentive schemes to reward swimmers.

Whether it’s for reaching a certain level of technical competence, for swimming a certain stroke, in a certain time or for swimming a certain distance.
Sometimes swimmers do need extra motivation to complete their goals. Sometimes a parent should look for tangible rewards that they can offer their child for meeting their swimming goals.
Whether it’s a new pair of goggles or some other equipment. Offering rewards shows your child you’re proud of their success/commitment/dedication/hard work etc. while showing your support and helping to raise their confidence.

Takeaways

Setting swimming goals should be a key component of every swimming programme.

It enables the swimmer to establish and focus on clear targets, priorities and expectations.
It also enables a swimmer to measure their progress and development, towards achieving their goals.

Swimming resource library

We have provided a swimming resource library, containing links to all of our publications and blog articles. To access any article simply click on the attached page link: Swimming resource library

Swimming Publications

We produce a growing range of publications on a wide range of swimming subjects.

These include competitive swimming drill publications for backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.
Which are now available in both Amazon Kindle and paperback formats.
For information regarding our portfolio please follow our link: Swimming publications.

The Competitive Swimming Exchange – Facebook Group

The Competitive Swimming Exchange is a Facebook group to help exchange ideas and information to collectively improve the sport we love.

It’s an international group for all swimmers, coaches, teachers, masters, triathletes and swimming parents.
It’s for all those who are interested in competitive swimming, either in the pool or in open water.

For more information about joining this group please use the following link: The Competitive Swimming Exchange

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