Your Athlete Has Big Goals. Now What? How to Turn Their Sports Goals Into a Plan to Reach Their Next Level

Goal setting for youth athletes: how to turn big sports dreams into a development plan.

Ask your athlete what they want to accomplish in sports, and they'll probably have an answer.

“I want to make varsity.”

“I want to be a starter.”

“I want to play in college.”

“I want to get faster.”

“I want to score more.”

“I want to be the best player on my team.”

Young athletes usually aren't short on goals.

The problem is that most athletes don't have a goal problem. They have a plan problem.

They know where they want to go.

But they don't always know what needs to happen between where they are today and where they want to be.

And that's where goal setting needs to become more than writing a big dream on a piece of paper.

Because wanting something isn't a plan.

Working hard isn't a plan.

Going to more camps, joining another team or adding another private lesson isn't necessarily a plan either.

Athlete development should be more intentional than that.

Your athlete needs to know:

• Where am I trying to go?

• What's the next level I'm trying to reach?

• What do I need to get better at to get there?

• What am I going to do consistently to improve it?

• And how will I know if it's working?

That's how a goal becomes a development plan.

Start With the Dream

I believe youth athletes should dream big.

If your athlete wants to play varsity, play college sports, earn a scholarship or even become a professional athlete someday, I'm not going to be the person who tells them they can't.

Let them have the dream.

In fact, I want athletes to have something they're working toward.

But there's an important distinction sports parents and athletes need to understand:

The dream gives you direction. It doesn't tell you what to do next.

An 11-year-old who dreams of playing college baseball doesn't need to spend every day worrying about college recruiting.

A middle school basketball player who wants to make varsity doesn't need to obsess over the varsity roster.

Those goals may be where they're ultimately headed.

But athlete development happens much closer to where they are right now.

So once we know the dream, the next question becomes:

What's Your Athlete's Next Level?

The dream might be years away.

The next level should be closer.

Maybe it's:

• Making the middle school team.

• Earning more playing time.

• Moving from recreational to travel sports.

• Making JV or varsity.

• Becoming a starter.

• Competing on a higher-level club team.

• Getting ready for the recruiting process.

• Becoming physically capable of competing against bigger, faster or stronger athletes.

This is where the big dream starts becoming something your athlete can actually work toward.

But we're still not done.

Because “make varsity” is a goal.

It still isn't a development plan.

The most important question comes next.

What Does Your Athlete Need to Get Better at to Reach That Next Level?

This is the part I think gets skipped far too often in youth sports.

We see the goal and immediately start adding more.

More practices.

More tournaments.

More private lessons.

More camps.

More teams.

But before you decide what your athlete needs to do, you need to figure out what they need to improve.

I call this The Jump.

The Jump is the gap between the athlete your child is today and the athlete they need to become to reach their next level.

And that gap will be different for every athlete.

One athlete may have plenty of skill but needs to become faster and stronger.

Another may be an incredible athlete but doesn't understand the game well enough yet.

Another may look great in practice but struggle with confidence when the game starts.

Another may have all the talent in the world but inconsistent practice habits.

Another may simply need hundreds or thousands more quality reps.

That's why I look at athlete development across five key areas:

✅ Athleticism

✅ Skill

✅ Mental Toughness

✅ Game IQ

✅ Elite Habits

When you're setting goals with your athlete, don't just ask:

“What do you want to accomplish this season?”

Ask:

“What do you need to become better at to make that happen?”

That question changes everything.

Don't Try to Fix Everything at Once

Once parents start evaluating development, there's another trap that's easy to fall into.

You identify ten things your athlete could improve and suddenly all ten become priorities.

That's not a plan either.

Every athlete has weaknesses.

Even elite athletes have things they need to improve.

The goal isn't to create a giant list of everything your athlete isn't great at.

It's to identify the one or two areas that could make the biggest difference right now.

If your athlete wants more playing time in basketball and their biggest limitation is defense, improving their ball handling might not be the priority right now.

If a baseball player has great mechanics but isn't strong enough to drive the ball, adding another hitting lesson may not be the answer.

If an athlete dominates practice but falls apart under pressure, more physical training may not address what's actually holding them back.

Find the next jump.

Then build the work around it.

Turn the Goal Into the Work

This is where goals become actionable.

Let's say your athlete's goal is:

Make varsity basketball next season.

After evaluating where they are today, you identify their next jump:

They need to become quicker, improve their off-hand ball handling and become a more consistent defender.

Now we can create The Work.

Instead of:

“I need to work harder this offseason.”

We have:

“I'll complete my speed program three days per week.”

“I'll spend 15 minutes working my weak hand four days per week.”

“I'll focus on defensive footwork and positioning during every team practice.”

Now your athlete knows what “working toward the goal” actually looks like.

That's important because athletes don't control every outcome in sports.

But they can control a lot of the work that happens before those decisions are made.

That's where I want young athletes putting their attention.

Practice Builds It. Games Test It.

This is another important part of goal setting that often gets missed.

Athletes need opportunities to see whether the work they're doing is actually translating.

That's what competition is for.

Practice builds it. Games test it.

If your athlete has been working on ball handling, can they use those skills when a defender pressures them?

If they've been working on speed, are they getting to balls they couldn't reach before?

If they've been working on confidence, can they recover after making a mistake?

If they've been working on their game IQ, are they making better decisions when the game speeds up?

Games give us information.

They show us what's improving.

They also show us what still needs work.

A bad game doesn't mean the plan failed.

And a great game doesn't mean the work is finished.

It's feedback.

Evaluate the Progress—Then Adjust

Athlete development isn't a straight line.

Your athlete is going to improve.

They're going to struggle.

They may discover that the thing they thought was holding them back wasn't actually the biggest issue.

Their role may change.

Their body may change.

Their competition may get better.

They may reach one goal and immediately discover a new challenge at the next level.

That's why goal setting shouldn't be something an athlete does once in January or at the beginning of a season and never looks at again.

You need to evaluate the progress.

Ask:

• What's getting better?

• What's still difficult?

• Is the work we're doing helping?

• What are coaches telling us?

• What are games showing us?

• Does the plan need to change?

And once your athlete makes that jump?

You identify the next one.

That's how athletes develop over time.

Sports Parents: Your Job Isn't to Own the Goal

There's one more piece of this that's especially important for sports parents. You can help your athlete create the plan. You can ask questions. You can help them find resources. You can provide opportunities. You can help them stay consistent, and you can even help them recognize areas they may not see themselves yet.

But ultimately, it has to become their goal.

The older your athlete gets, the more ownership they need to take over their development.

Instead of telling them:

“You need to get faster.”

Try asking:

“What do you think you need to improve to compete at the next level?”

Instead of:

“You need to practice more.”

Ask:

“What are you going to do this week to work toward your goal?”

You're still guiding them. But you're also teaching them how to think like an athlete who takes responsibility for their own development.

And that skill will matter long after this particular season is over.

Dream Big. Then Figure Out the Next Jump.

I want young athletes to have big dreams. But I also want them to understand something:

You don't reach a big athletic dream all at once.

You reach it through a series of smaller jumps.

You figure out where you want to go.

You identify the next level.

You determine what needs to improve.

You do the work.

You test it in competition.

You evaluate the progress.

Then you do it again.

The Dream → The Next Level → The Jump → The Work → The Test → The Progress → The Next Jump

That's athlete development. And whether your athlete wants to make their first travel team, earn a varsity starting spot or someday play at the college level, the process is the same.

Don't just ask your athlete what they want.

Help them build a plan for becoming the athlete who can get there.

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Don’t Just Set the Goal. Build the Game Plan.

Help your athlete turn their goals into action with the FREE Next Level Athlete Goal Setting Game Plan. You and your athlete will identify what they want to accomplish, determine their next jump, decide what to work on, and track their progress throughout the season.