Yow (2000) states that planning in sports entails goal identification, analyzing one’s environment, and choosing actions that will assist the athletes in meeting their objectives. It must also involve giving feedback on results. These aspects are vital because the sports administrator, coach, or team leader will get successful results if he has clearly outlined ways of achieving excellence (Locke & Latham, 2002). For instance, a basketball coach would ensure that the team spends the right amount of time working on the areas of each member’s weaknesses. They would engage in activities that allow them to build endurance or speed, depending on their objectives; this would translate into successful outcomes. Coaches who have no time to make plans would waste much time on scrimmaging or other activities, yet these approaches do not make their athletes powerful.
Sports planning should also take place because sports management is a science (Baker et. al., 2009). Athletes’ performance can be measured and analyzed. There are several things that affect athleticism, and they include nutrition, medicine, and physiology. Biomechanics, as well as psychology, can also be used to understand sportsmen and women. In fact, many administrators rely on scientific methods, such as computer analysis of maximum speed and running techniques. This data assists trainers in developing their athletes by customizing their training need to meet their physical and psychological needs. All this information and responses can only be useful if a trainer plans ahead. He ought to think about the most appropriate time to collect information as well as the best way of doing it. A trainer should plan for the resources required and the application of the data collection occurs. This can lead to the success of the athlete.
Strategic planning is also imperative in sports because of the element of risk. Every sporting activity has a certain amount of risk. Therefore, administrators ought to take reasonable precautions to safeguard against those risks. Planning is one way of practicing risk management in the sporting area. An administrator ought to think about the athletic environment, and whether all possible risks are non existent. Therefore, the first aspect of sports planning as defined by Yow (2000), must be taken into consideration, that is, analyzing one’s environment. The sports administrator should then set safety standards for equipment, facilities and people within the practicing and competing environments after evaluating some of the possible sources of risk. These are the objectives that are imperative in any planning process. Thereafter, the administrator should decide on actions that will always ensure that the environment is safe. For instance, new equipment may be installed at certain times; faulty equipment should be replaced immediately, and medical examinations should be conducted in order to ensure that athletes do not become a danger to themselves when playing.
Failure to plan can lead to unwanted effects in sports. Sometimes athletes may report cases of burnout. In this case, their trainers did not match their training regimen with age or the demographic details of the athlete. Consequently, the athlete becomes burnt out. If planning has occurred, then such athletes would not feel dissatisfied, chronically fatigued or even injured during the sport (Singer et. al., 2003). Planning also ascertains that athletes can create successful careers for themselves by getting the results that they want from the sport. Too many individuals quit sports merely because their leaders do not plan well for the enhancement of their performance.
References
Baker, J., Cobley, S., & Fraser-Thomas, J. (2009). What do we really know about early sport specialization? Not much! High Ability Studies, 20(1), 77-89.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57, 705-717.
Singer, H., Hausenblaus, M. & Janelle, M. (2003). Handbook of sport psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Yow, D. (2000). Strategic Planning for Collegiate Athletics. Binghamton, NY: Haworth.