Sports participation reportedly drops from 45% among children aged 5-14 to just 12% among 20-24 year-olds,1 despite well-documented benefits. This limits opportunities for children to develop confidence, resilience and social skills, while potentially increasing mental health risks.2 To counter this, extensive literature and national strategies emphasise the need to enhance the quality of sport experiences and reduce the likelihood of dropout. For example, the Australian Sport Commission`s (ASC) PlayWell strategy,3 codesigned by the sport sector, advocates for `high quality sports experiences for all` as a pathway to lifelong engagement (p. 34). Similarly, Norway`s Provisions on Children`s Sports, published by the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF), state that the guidelines `are designed to help children have a positive experience every time they participate in training, competition or other activities`4 (p. 4). A prominent strategy in youth sport that influences the experience of children is goal setting, which often includes performance goals that frame instructions on a specific task outcome.5 Internationally, goal setting is advocated in youth sport by researchers,6 7 prominent media outlets8 9 and sport organisations.10 11 For example, the Australian state New South Wales (NSW) Office of Sport recommends that `people of all ages and experience levels should set goals to remain motivated, focused, and to monitor progress`12 (p. 2). Goals can significantly improve performance outcomes in sport but may have mixed effects on key psychological outcomes and quality of experience13—including intrinsic motivation, confidence and enjoyment. Despite widespread use, traditional goal-setting practice is being questioned in fields such as physical activity promotion, where concerns have been raised that prevailing approaches to goal setting may be leading to inadvertent negative consequences, such as exacerbated mental health symptoms,14 contributing to dropout. As such, it is important to consider whether similar adverse issues could be occurring within youth sport. Specifically, this commentary raises the important question of whether the traditional approach to goal setting negatively impacts the quality of experience for youth sport participants and unintentionally contributes to dropout.
© Copyright 2025 British Journal of Sports Medicine. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd of the BMA. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.