Importance of Routines and Goal Setting for Athletes During Summer Break
Have you ever spent the summer enjoying some downtime and casually working out, only to suddenly realize preseason is just three weeks away, and then start to feel overwhelmed, stressed about your fitness, skills, and overall preparation? It’s a common cycle for athletes: the initial relaxation, followed by a surge of anxiety as the season approaches. I have, along with many other athletes, and it impacted my performance going into preseason.
One of the biggest challenges athletes face during the summer is maintaining structure and creating a consistent routine. Once the school year ends, the built-in schedule from morning to afternoon disappears, making it difficult to establish a new rhythm. Without setting up a routine early in the summer, athletes may struggle with motivation, lose discipline and focus, and experience a decline in skill retention. It’s easy to slip into patterns like sleeping in until noon, delaying workouts, and feeling frustrated for not meeting your goals, but recognizing these habits is the first step toward meaningful change.
As you become more aware of your habits, the next step is to establish a summer routine. Before diving in, you might ask yourself: Why do I need a routine? or How will a routine benefit me this summer? Creating a routine during the summer is important for several reasons. It helps build discipline, prevents regression, maintains fitness, supports commitment, fosters skill development, reduces the risk of injury, and boosts motivation. A consistent routine also eases the transition back to school, preparing you for early wake-ups, long academic days, and after-school training. As you begin developing your routine, take time to reflect on your motivations and goals for the upcoming season. Setting clear goals will help you stay focused and maintain discipline throughout the summer.
Goal setting is more than simply writing down a few ambitions for the upcoming season and hoping they’ll keep us motivated. A helpful framework for effective goal setting includes three key components: process goals, performance goals, and outcome goals. Process goals are the daily actions within your control. These are the building blocks of long-term success. For example, a process goal for improving free throws might be to shoot 50 free throws each day and finish the session on a made shot. Or doing mindfulness work for five minutes every day.
Performance goals serve as mid-term check-ins that measure progress. These goals help you evaluate whether you're on track—are you improving your shooting percentage? Are your training benchmarks being met? Outcome goals are the long-term, big-picture aspirations. The goals that get you excited out of bed in the morning! These might include making the varsity team, earning a starting position, becoming an all-conference or all-state athlete, getting a college offer or leading your team in scoring. By setting goals at all three levels, athletes create a structured path that promotes consistency, tracks growth, and fuels motivation throughout summer break.
Creating routines and setting goals for your sport doesn’t mean you can’t have fun this summer. You can still enjoy the break from school, spend time with friends and family, and relax—but establishing routines and setting goals can help you find a healthy balance and make the most of your summer. If you are interested in learning more about developing a summer routine, setting goals, and creating a health balance between sports and life, please reach out to Grow Sport Psychology to set up an appointment with one of our Sport Performance Consultants.
To Learn More:
Call: 331-457-2020
Email: sports@growwellnessgroup.com
Website: growwellnessgroup.com
