“Looking forward to trying new things with my team.”
I wrote something similar every January for years. The excitement of a fresh start. The possibility of genuine change. The belief that this year would be different.
By February, the goals were forgotten. The excitement faded. Nothing had actually changed.
Then I discovered why my approach kept failing.
The Resolutions That Never Survived
My coaching goals were always ambitious. “Be a better coach.” “Develop every player.” “Transform our playing style.” “Complete my next qualification.”
These goals sounded impressive. They meant nothing.
“Be a better coach” gave me no direction. Better at what? Measured how? By when? The goal was so vague that any session could count as progress and none could be confirmed as failure.
“Develop every player” was too broad to act on. Where would I start? What specific development mattered? The goal dissolved into general intention rather than specific action.
The ambition that felt inspiring in January became overwhelming by February. With no clear path forward, the easy choice was returning to what I had always done.
What Actually Works
A coach I respected told me his approach. “One goal. Specific enough to measure. Small enough to achieve. Connected to something I do every week.”
His goal that year was simple: implement game-based learning in at least three of his four weekly sessions by April.
That was it. One goal. Measurable. Achievable. Connected to his regular schedule.
By April, he had achieved it. The specificity made progress visible. The modest scope made completion realistic. The connection to weekly sessions meant he could not forget about it.
I learned that effective goals share common characteristics. They are specific enough that you know exactly what success looks like. They are few enough that focus remains sharp. They are process-focused rather than outcome-dependent. They are measurable so you can track progress honestly.
The Goal That Changed My Coaching
My January goal the year after that conversation was equally simple: run every session with a clear developmental purpose that I could articulate in one sentence.
Before each session, I had to complete this sentence: “Tonight we are working on…” If I could not complete it clearly, the session was not ready.
The goal was specific. I knew exactly what I needed to do. It was connected to something I did every week. It was measurable because I could track how many sessions I planned with clear purpose.
By March, the habit was automatic. Every session had a one-sentence purpose. Planning became faster because I started with that purpose rather than wandering toward it. Sessions became more focused because everything connected to the stated aim.
The change stuck because the goal was achievable. Small enough to complete, specific enough to measure, connected enough to remember.
The Support That Makes The Difference
That same coach told me something else. He had shared his goal with his assistant coach. They checked in monthly about progress. The accountability created pressure he could not generate alone.
I tried the same approach. I told another coach my goal and asked them to ask me about it monthly. The knowledge that someone would inquire made me take the goal seriously.
Writing goals down matters too. Not because writing has magical properties, but because written goals become concrete in a way that thoughts do not. I could look at my goal regularly. It existed outside my head.
Breaking goals into actions transformed vague intention into specific steps. “Implement game-based learning” became “read about game-based principles in week one, design two activities in week two, test them in week three, reflect and adjust in week four.”
The actions made progress tangible. Each completed step moved me closer to the goal. Each week had something specific to accomplish.
The Setbacks That Do Not Matter
I missed my goal some weeks that first successful year. Busy periods at work meant sessions received less planning attention. Motivation fluctuated. Life interfered.
Previously, any setback convinced me the goal had failed. A missed week meant abandonment. The all-or-nothing thinking guaranteed eventual failure.
What I learned was that setbacks do not matter if you return to the goal. Missing one week does not undo progress from previous weeks. The goal remained available for resumption.
Progress is not linear. Expecting perfect consistency sets up inevitable disappointment. Expecting imperfection with persistence allows goals to survive real life.
What You Might Try This January
Think about one thing you would like to change in your coaching. Not everything. One thing.
Make it specific. Not “be better at communication” but “start every session by stating the purpose to players.” Not “develop technique” but “include ball mastery in warm-ups three times weekly.”
Make it measurable. How will you know if you are achieving it? What would you count or track?
Make it connected to something you already do. Goals connected to regular activities survive. Goals requiring entirely new behaviours often do not.
Write it somewhere visible. Tell someone who will ask about it. Break it into monthly or weekly actions.
Then expect imperfection. Some weeks you will miss it. The goal is not perfection. The goal is persistence toward improvement.
What This Year Could Actually Become
“Looking forward to trying new things with my team.”
That excitement you feel in January is real. It contains genuine possibility. The question is whether you will channel it effectively or let it dissipate into vague intention.
One specific goal. Measured and tracked. Supported by accountability. Broken into actions. Persistent through setbacks.
This year can be genuinely different. Not because January has special properties. Because you approach goals in a way that actually works.
What is your one goal for this year?
Ready to make this year’s goals actually stick?
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