Increase Motivation and Determination Prioritise and get more out of your time Get better results Monitor Progress Provide Valuable Feedback Short and Long Term Goals When goal setting, it is important that you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. Teams and individual athletes usually set long-term goals by the end of the season or year. Likewise, at the start of your personal development plan, you should have a clear idea of what you want to achieve by the end of your plan. To achieve these long-term goals, you need a series of short term goals. As the performer successfully achieves each goal their motivation stays high and their CRE improves. For example: Short Term Goal - To be able to move under the shuttle quick enough, so that I am able to contact the shuttle with a straight arm. Medium Term Goal - To show improvements within my level of CRE, by improving my multi-stage fitness test score by half a level, by week 3. Long Term Goal - To improve my overall fitness and skill level, so that I can play effectively and challenge to win a school badminton tournament. Prior to embarking on any individual programme it is essential to establish a realistic starting point. Many factors will influence this such as: Time available to reach target Previous Experience (Stage of Learning) Ability to monitor progress THINK S.M.A.R.T.E.R For goals to be effective, they should be S.M.A.R.T.E.R. This means they should be: SPECIFIC Your goals should be clear and precise. They should reflect your ability and experience within your chosen activity.
Level of arousal in badminton may be described as how motivated or complacent you are about the game you are about to play or actually playing. The correct level of arousal allows you remain focused and determined for every point, producing your best performance, no matter the situation you are in during the game. (Well up, well down, lost or won a run of points, received a bad line call etc.) You are therefore more likely to make correct decisions and produce a positive result. Having too high a level of arousal may produce an aggressive, over attacking impatient style of play, which may not be the correct tactics against that particular opponent. It can also develop tension in your grip, producing bad quality strokes and errors. Conversely having a low level of arousal can lead to a casual style of play, where you arrive late to the shuttle and strokes are sloppy and inaccurate. This can occur if you are playing an opponent who is too good for your standard (‘I’m never going to beat her’) or someone you have beaten easily in the past. (‘I’ll beat him easily anyway’) Optimum Level of Arousal The level of arousal required for different sports significantly varies along with how athletes get themselves to this mental state. Think of Usain Bolt as he embraces the crowd and jokes about on the start line and the New Zealand rugby team as they perform the Hakka. If you took this high level of arousal to another sport, such as the gymnastics beam or rifle shooting, you can see the problems that this will cause to the performer, where a calm mind, relaxed muscles and steady breathing are required. Think of the ‘Catastrophic’ Effect of Over Arousal - German Diver, London Olympics Dropping the baton If a Performer is Under / Over Aroused - Watch the Cracks appear!!!!! Errors due to nerves getting the better of you Lack of drive to succeed culture rather than reflect on self Dwell on the past and errors rather than the future Anger (Focus on mistakes) Impossible to goal set Anxiety dominates play (observed in mannerisms and body language) Concentration deteriorates Fatigue (Negative thoughts) Level of Arousal is impacted by: