How to Set Realistic Goals and Stay Focused as a High School-Aged Soccer Player

High-level athletes are often characterized by their lofty long-term goals, like playing college soccer or going pro. Only some, however, are able to actually stay on track towards these goals and eventually make them a reality.

How do they do it? By knowing exactly what they have to do to today get there, and not having just one long-term goal on their mind.

Here are a few pointers for staying focused on your goals as a high school soccer player:

Break Down Your Long-Term Goal

Step one for making your long-term goal more realistic and achievable is breaking it down into a series of smaller, short-term goals. You are much less likely to achieve your long-term goal when you only have a vague idea of what you actually have to do to get there. On the contrary, doing more research about your long-term goal and learning the specific steps you have to take makes it significantly easier to achieve.  

For instance, let’s say your long-term goal is to play college soccer. A great starting point for breaking down this goal would be learning the academic requirements and athletic standards you’d have to meet in order to get recruited by your dream school. What level were the players recruited to that school playing at?

Depending on the answer, earning a spot on a club in your region that plays at the level the college is recruiting from might be the first major milestone you have to cross towards your long-term goal. Now, repeat the same process and find out what you have to do get to that milestone.

Focus on Short-Term Goals, or Challenges

The overarching idea is to break down each goal into increasingly smaller goals, or “challenges.” To be clear, when we say “smaller,” we mean goals that can be achieved in shorter time frames.

So, if your goal is making your local club, your first step towards that goal might be improving your athleticism, specifically your speed. In this case, you could set a challenge to achieve a faster time on the 40-meter dash after 30 days of training. And just like that, you have a task in front of you, and you can start working on it right now. Instead of daydreaming about college soccer, you can focus on this challenge, and then take another step - or create another challenge - towards making your local club.

Complete New Challenges on a Constant Basis

By continuously completing short-term goals and challenges, you stay on track towards your long-term goal. When you know you’re consistently making progress, your goals feel more achievable, and you don’t have to be a sports psychologist to know that a positive outlook is conducive to success. In fact, if you can maintain a positive attitude while completing increasingly difficult challenges, you are well prepared for the life of a high-level athlete.

At Beyond Goals Mentoring, we know how difficult it is to continuously elevate your game while simultaneously prioritizing schoolwork and a social life. That’s why we’re dedicating to helping young athletes develop the mental tools to stay focused on their long-term goals without endangering their mental health. We’ll also make sure your athlete gets plenty of joy and fulfillment out of their sport, since all that hard work is meaningless if you don’t love what you’re doing.

So, if your athlete has big goals but isn’t sure where to start, let’s set up a mentoring session today.