Very few people reach the top by accident, whether in rugby or anywhere else in life. The surest way to realise your dreams, and reach the top of your game or career, is through realistic planning and goal setting. This applies to both players and coaches in a rugby setting.

Your own personal goals can be phrased as answers to questions to yourself – “what do I want to do?”, “where do I want to go”, etc. The answers to these questions can be thought of in three ways – long term goals, intermediate term goals and short term goals.

• Long term goals are the big, overarching goals for your life – the ones you hope everything will lead up to. For example, a player might decide his goal is to play for England, or even to captain this team. When setting your long term goals, don't be afraid to think big. After all, these are your life goals and you're thinking ten years ahead! Of course, the bigger the goal, the more work is needed, but don't sell yourself short.
• Intermediate term goals are designed to test your progress along the way to achieving your short term goals – for example, an underage player might want to get a starting place on the junior team within the next few years. You should aim towards achieving these goals over the next five years, so make them realistic.
• Short term goals are more concerned with your day to day performance and as such, are much more immediate to assess. For example, skills improvement as well as physical development should be in a player's short term goals. These you work towards week to week and month to month and will hopefully guide you towards your more long term goals.

You should make sure you regularly assess your progress towards achieving these results at the appropriate times. This will keep you on target and give you the motivation and morale necessary to achieve them. Of course, nothing ever goes exactly according to plan, and you will inevitably run into some difficulties, whether in the form of injuries or selection issues etc. Never be too down about setbacks – everyone has to face them at some point, even the most successful player or coach. Just sit down with your goals again and re-evaluate them if needs be. Some things you can't change – in that case, you might have to adjust your goals downwards. If your setback is something you can work on and change, however, then perhaps you just need to change your short term goals to better reach your long term ones. Either way, never give up on your goals, even if you find they have to change as circumstances do.

As a coach, not only should you set goals for yourself and your team overall, but help your players to set their own and work towards them. This way you can help to achieve the personal development of every one of your players towards the best they can be.