Setting Goals Discuss the importance of setting goals within your development programme I set goals:- To make training specific to me and so that I can progressively overload effectively To have something to aim for To motivate me to achieve and try hard To have something measurable to compare I used S.M.A.R.T.E.R

Specific I made sure that the aspect of fitness I was working on was important for an effective performance in basketball. I also ensured that I improved/ targeted the aspect of fitness that was a weakness for me. In my case this was my cardio respiratory endurance

Measurable I had to make sure that I could check for improvement in an objective manner through testing, and measuring and monitoring my heart rate, to make sure that my development programme was effective in improving my fitness level. This would allow me to adapt/change the programme if I was not improving as quickly as I should.

Agreed I agreed my goals/targets with my teacher as she had lots of experience and knowledge in fitness development programmes. This allowed me to choose appropriate training methods and realistic work levels.

Realistic This ensured that my goals/targets were realistic and not to easy or hard. If my targets were to easy I would not improve my fitness levels to my full potential. If my targets were to hard then I would not be able to attain these, risking injury and becoming increasingly demoralised.

Time I had to make sure that my targets constantly changed for different weeks of the development programme to take in consideration my improving fitness levels Eg progressively overloading go 25 minutes or 4 sessions per week.

Exciting Giving myself targets to aim for helped to keep me focused and motivated. This also gave me an objective for every training session

Recorded By writing down my targets this gave me a permanent record and allowed me to compare my levels at the start and end of the fitness programme, as well as all the way through the programme

SHORT, MEDIUM & LONG TERM GOALS I split my goals/targets into three separate phases of short, medium and long term goals

Short term goals These were goals that I set for every week of my training session – what do I want to achieve by the end of this session/week? For Cardio Respiratory Endurance an example of this was in the pre season. I gave myself the target to always be working in my training zone and after the first week to increase the time I was running in my training zone from 20mins to 30 mins

Medium Term Goals What do I want to achieve by the end of the training programme? Medium term goals were targets that I gave myself to reach by the end of my development programme which was about 4 months away. *A specific example from my CRE development programme was to improve my multi-stage fitness test score from 9.1 to 13.2

Long Term Goals What do I want to continue to achieve? I also had long term goals which were for years in the future. My long term goal in the CRE development programme was to reach the fitness levels apparent in top national basketball players Ultimately though I wanted to stay on court for the duration of the game and play to my most effective skills so I helped the team to win.

Stages of the Season When setting goals I need to take into account the Season or time of year PREPARATION PHASE– PRE SEASON This is the time prior to competition when my levels of fitness are at their lowest. Training should be less challenging as my body will not cope with greater demands. Intensity should increase my levels of Cardio Endurance though. Example: Continuous Running/Fartlek

COMPETITION PHASE – DURING SEASON By this stage my fitness has improved and my body can cope with more demands. Training should focus on Cardio and skills related fitness to allow me to peak for games. Example: Skills Related Circuit Training TRANSITION PHASE – POST SEASON After the competition my body needs a rest. However, I want to avoid Reversibility, so I do light Cardio work to maintain a general level of fitness. Example: Jogging