The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of goal setting on mental toughness and performance among adolescent Indian athletes. Sixty (N=60) athletes of 17 to 22 years (19.85+ 1.16) of age group were randomly selected from their respective groups. The subjects were selected from three different sports i.e. jumping, sprinting and throwing event players. The athletes have undergone a 6 weeks goal setting program. During the total tenure the athletes were continuously under the observation of their respective coaches. To have a better understanding of the athletes’ rate of improvement in mental toughness, general performance and sports performance during the training, a profile was developed for each athlete group. The overall performance of athletes belongs to different disciplines, was also graphically analysed. Further the pre-test and post test data related to their mental toughness and performance components were analysed by applying the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The ANCOVA showed that there was a marked amount of improvement in mental toughness but whereas the mean score of all groups did not show any significant difference on reaction. This outcome has indicated that the improvement was uniform throughout the subjects irrespective of the sports they belong to. The post-test mean scores of three different groups had shown a significant difference in 50 meter dash, vertical jump, vertical arm pull and agility.
Mental toughness, Performance profile, Goal setting
