When starting out as a young athlete, you’ll have to navigate through many obstacles that will help you grow. Having short-term and long-term goals are not only necessary but essential in your overall success as an athlete.

Having a list of short-term goals is like the pieces to a puzzle that will help you complete the entire long-term puzzle/goals. When it comes to short-term goals, these are the small targets that usually come from within, alongside a collaboration from the people around you. Without guidance and direction from short-term goals, having any long-term goal come to fruition will be an uphill battle.

For example, a baseball pitcher can have a long-term goal of pitching in the MLB, but without short-term goals, he will most likely have no way of finishing that monstrous task alone. Having short-term goals will always help build confidence.  As they are completed you begin to look for new short-term goals to create a puzzle masterpiece – leading you towards long-term outcomes.

Let’s say you want to play in the major leagues but are 10 years old. Good short-term goals would be to play catch with a purpose every day and become more and more accurate. That’s a simple short-term goal that can be repeatedly manifested and be a useful stepping stone to always revisit when the long-term goal seems out of reach.

Coaches are there to guide and mentor you in finding short-term goals that can be the building blocks for future success. Short-term goals can come and go but the long-term goal should remain the same. Long-term goals can also be paired with other long-term goals but never be replaced.

For example, you’re a pitcher at 10 years old.

Your goals are to throw harder and have more accuracy. Those two goals alone will have a subset of short-term goals all by themselves. One goal might be to find an instructor that will aid in helping understand and execute sound mechanics to achieve more velocity, safely, while maintaining repeatable mechanics that help maintain accuracy.

Understanding the patience it may take to add more short-term goals is helpful in reaching those long-term goals. Having a lofty goal, like playing in the MLB, is fine, but you’ll have to have other long-term goals to help pave the way. First playing in high school, then college, then minor league baseball, then MLB.

All four of those goals at 10 years old are long-term goals. Athletes that listen more and talk less tend to get more done and shatter those short-term goals. Short-term goals can be as simple as writing on your cap what you want your earned run average to be for your 10U season or how many strikeouts, walks, etc. Your short-term goals should be within reach. Long-term goals can be more in the dreamer category.

Executing and understanding how to hit those short-term benchmarks will bring a fearless attitude that will help pave your way to success.