Goal setting in sport and exercise: Research and practical applications

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to briefly review the major theoretical and empirical research in goal setting related to sport and develop applications for best practice. Different types of goals were discussed and Locke's theory of goal setting provided the foundation for future research. After briefly reviewing the goal setting literature in sport and organizational settings, principles for how to apply goal setting to enhance performance were developed. The development and implementations of a goal setting system was presented including planning, meeting, and evaluation stages. Finlly, effective goal setting practices based on empirical literature were discussed.