In the intricate world of baseball, where precision, strategy, and athleticism converge, intentional goal-setting often marks the journey toward excellence.

Regardless of the level of play—whether Little League or the Major Leagues—setting and pursuing goals is a foundational pillar that propels players toward success. 

In this pursuit, the SMART goal framework emerges as a guiding light, offering a structured path to achievement, and we will get to the nuts and bolts in this article.

KEY GENERAL POINTS

1. Clarity in Aspiration: Setting the Stage for Success

At its core, goal setting provides clarity in aspiration. It's defining what success looks like and creating a roadmap to reach that destination.

This might mean setting performance targets like improving OPS, K%, MPH, or enhancing fielding proficiency for a baseball player. The very act of articulating these objectives sets the stage for focused and purposeful development.

2. Goal Progression Along the Competitive Roadmap 

From the Little League to the Major Leagues, the developmental landscape in baseball varies, but the importance of goal setting remains constant. For young players, goals revolve around skill acquisition, teamwork, and game enjoyment.  

As players ascend through the ranks, goals evolve to encompass advanced techniques, strategic acumen, key metrics, and the pursuit of collegiate and professional aspirations. The key is aligning goals with the developmental stage to ensure they are both challenging and achievable, which builds confidence and motivation.

A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE SMART GOAL FRAMEWORK 

Enter the SMART goal framework—a methodology that brings precision and structure to goal setting. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Specific: Goals should be clear and well-defined. Instead of a vague aim like "improve hitting," a specific goal might be "increase contact rate by 10%" or "throw 65% strikes."

Measurable: Progress should be quantifiable and use objective. This means using metrics to track advancement. For example, measuring the number of successful stolen bases or error-free games and, of course, showing boosts in arm strength using the data from the ArmCare platform are just a few examples.

Here is an RC13 Sports client who aimed to increase his ArmScore above 100 and have a balanced shoulder by Thanksgiving 2023. This athlete also had velocity enhancement barriers as his imbalanced external rotation strength limited his throwing arm speed. The mission was accomplished on October 23rd, 2023.

Achievable: Goals should be challenging but realistic. It's about finding the sweet spot between aspiration and feasibility, avoiding too easy or excessively ambitious goals.

Relevant: Goals should align with broader objectives. In baseball, this means ensuring that individual goals contribute to team success and align with overall player development.

Time-bound: Goals should have a defined timeline. Establishing deadlines creates a sense of urgency and helps maintain focus. For instance, perfect a new pitch within a set number of weeks.

THE ICING ON THE CAKE

When my consulting firm brings on an athlete, our first onboarding meeting revolves around specifying goals before anything gets started regarding player development and athletic wellness.  

The firm's slogan is "Our Goals Are Achieving Your Goals," and many of our high-end contracts are tied to bonuses for both the athlete and the performance advisors in attaining client goals.  

As a result, we spend time dissecting how to lift barriers that could get in the way of goal achievement. 

These key frameworks provide even deeper layers to the SMART goal approach, and I call them the FOUR COURSE GOALS.

2. The Appetizer 

An example would be, "Sit in the 90s, develop a 12-6 curveball, and raise the SO/BB ratio to 2.5"  

These are objective measures that bring about success on the baseball field, and they provide us a way to objectively measure the athlete's progress and guide our everchanging player development and athletic wellness landscape.   

Here is also where I review the first ArmCare exam and will input where we need to head from a throwing arm strength and range of motion standpoint.  

Each client has different needs. Some have weakness, some have shoulder balance issues, some fatigue more than they should, some don't recover well, and some do not have a high enough Strength-Velocity Ratio (SVR). We constantly fix those attributes, and they hit the accelerator button on achievement.

3. The Main Meal 

An example would be, "Be named as an NCAA All-Conference Freshman after my first year."  

Everyone has this in their mind, but we ensure that we respect the behaviors and process metrics required to sit at that table and grab that steak knife.  

4. The Dessert

An example would be, "Be on an MLB team's radar and secure an agent."

This is what has the client coming back and renewing, as they find that their hard work, attention to detail, and meticulousness about their mind, body, and environment all come together to accomplish more than what they initially set out to do. 

Get Started

To conclude, SMART goal setting is pivotal in any athlete's competitive experience.

All you need is a pen and paper. Once you lay out your Four Course Goals, make sure to have copies that you can put on your mirror in the morning, have as a background on your phone, and be fully immersed in what you want and need to do to get there.   

It all starts with what you want to achieve, and you will reach your goals when you do the little things right and that you always believe.  

Spring Training is here, and it cannot be overstated that sitting down with your athletes ahead of the season and ironing out what they want to set out and accomplish is more important than what is done on the field.

Lastly, if you are wondering what Hors D'Oeurves you should focus on this season to get to your Main Meal, watch the video clip below from our MLB Habits Course, as you are what you eat.

Go here to get the full MLB Habits Course and start checking off the goals you have for your game.

Ryan

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