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The purpose of this investigation was to explore Olympic athletes’ perceptions concerning the frequency and effectiveness of goal setting strategies as well as goal preferences and barriers to achieving these goals. Participants were 185 male and 143 female Olympic athletes from a variety sports. Each athlete completed a questionnaire detailing their perceptions, use, and effectiveness of a number of different goal-setting strategies. Factor analysis revealed four similar factors for goal effectiveness and goal frequency and two distinct factors for goal barriers. Descriptive results revealed that all of the Olympic athletes practiced some type of goal setting to help enhance performance, and they found their goals to be highly effective. Athletes also reported that improving overall performance, winning, and having fun were the three most important goals. In addition, setting difficult goals that were somewhat above the level at which they perform was the most preferred level of goal difficulty. Future directions for research are offered including exploration of developmental differences and variations in coach versus athlete perceptions.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify how frequently and effectively collegiate athletes set goals and goal strategies and assess differences in goal practices across effectiveness groups. Participants were 321 male and 249 female college athletes participating in 18 sports at four universities, who completed the Collegiate Goal Setting in Sport Questionnaire. Descriptive results indicated that most athletes set goals but rated them as only moderately effective. MANOVA findings revealed that highly effective goal setters used all types of goals and implementation strategies more frequently and effectively than their less-effective counterparts. Discriminant analysis results revealed that the frequency of product-related goals and goal implementation strategy usage and the effectiveness of process-related goals best discriminated between effectiveness groups. Discussion focuses on the need to educate practitioners about the value of goals and how to use them most effectively.

Research investigating the use of several team building (TB) interventions collectively in one case study is sparse. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, via action research, the process of implementation of a season-long (12 months) multifaceted TB program with a junior league ice hockey team in Finland. The team consisted of 22 players, aged 15–16 years, and three coaches. Inductive content analyses revealed that performance profiling, individual and group goal setting, and role clarification produced additional value to the TB program. Group norms became a vital part of group goal setting. The results are discussed in relation to existing definitions of TB and the importance of using a multifaceted approach to TB.