SWOT Analysis is a strategic methodology used in a many large companies
and studied by many MBAs. SWOT Analysis is an analysis of the envrionmental
factors of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
The QuickMBA.com website provides a more detailed
definition of the methodology.
You can also search
Google.com and find a variety of resources on the topics.
If you add the word "sport" to your
Google Search you will
find that many sports programs around the world are using SWOT analysis to help train athletes.
I was first introduced to SWOT Analysis for the youth athlete by an article
in
Hockey Weekly Magazine written by
Joe Messina, the head instructor for
Bandits
Goalie School. I quickly realized that this could be
a valuable tool for any coach, parent and youth athlete.
The basic
principle of SWOT analysis for the youth athlete is to write down the Strengths
of a player (areas where they excel), the Weaknesses of the
player (areas that need to be focused on and corrected), the
Opportunites (areas where they can learn from and elevate their
game by focusing on certain details) and the Threats (the roadblocks that can hinder the athlete's success
on and off the playing surface). This will show the player what needs to be done
in order to move to the next level. There is no hiding from fears or weaknesses and
by maintaining their Strengths and using Opportunities to reduce their Weaknesses and
minimize the Threats, the youth athlete will be able to strive for success, both in their
chosen sport(s) and more importantly in their lives.
