MOTIVA

TING

ATH

LETE

S

Miss MullerSHMD 119: Sport Didactics and Coaching

Unit 7

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INDEX OF CHAPTER:

1. Extrinsic and Intrinsic Rewards

2. Need to Have Fun

3. Need to Feel Worthy

4. How Athletes Learn to Fear Failure

5. Enhancing Athletes’ Motivation

6. From Motivation to Anxiety

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1. EXTRINSIC & INTRINSIC

REWARDS

Extrinsic Rewards Trophies Medals Money Praise Trips

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Intrinsic Rewards Things that are internally satisfying when

players participate in sport Having fun Feeling competent Feeling successful

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Extrinsic rewards can be powerful motivators, but over time these rewards may become less valued as intrinsic rewards become more values

WHY?Intrinsic rewards are self-fuelling and

can’t be rewarded

When players fail to achieve intrinsic rewards, they will loose motivation and are likely to quit.

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2. NEED TO HAVE FUN

Optimal Arousal Arousal too low – Bored Arousal too high – Fearful

Also Known As The Flow Experience Occurs when totally immersed in activity –

neither bored of fearful Attention is intensely centred in activity Not self-critical Feel in control Intrinsically rewarding

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How can I as coach help my athlete to be in the “flow” and experience “optimal arousal”?

1. Fit the difficulty of the skill to the ability of the athlete2. Keep practice stimulating through a variety of activities3. Keep everyone active and have them not wait long for their turn4. Avoid constant instruction5. Do not constantly evaluate

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Most frequent reasons athletes quit sport:

I found other activities more enjoyableI lost interestI didn’t play enoughIt was all work and no funI didn’t like the coach

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3. NEED TO FEEL W

ORTHY

How Winners Think Sees winning as a

consequence of his/her ability which gives her confidence in her ability to succeed again

In failure she is likely to blame it on insufficient effort

Failure is not a threat to her self-worth

To succeed, she needs to try harder

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How Losers Think Sees failure as a lack of ability Blames himself for failure, take little or no

credit for his success Failure orientated Rather not participate to avoid failure and

protect self-worth

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4. HOW ATHLETES LEARN

TO FEAR FAILU

RE

Emphasis on Performance, not Learning The mistakes and errors that are a natural part of the

learning process are misinterpreted as failures

Unrealistic Goals As a result of competitive pressures, athletes set

unrealistically high goals that, when not attained, lead them to conclude that they are failures

Extrinsic Rewards and Internal Motivation Athletes begin to play for extrinsic rewards rather than to

attain personal goals

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5. ENHANCING ATHLETES’

MOTIVATION

Success is not Winning Athletes must see success in terms of

achieving their own goals rather than surpassing the performance of others

Setting Realistic Personal Goals Consequence of Setting Personal Goals Recognising Athletes’ Limitations

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6. FROM MOTIVATION TO

ANXIETY

Arousal Performance Relationship Just as there is an optimal level of arousal for having fun,

there is an optimal level of arousal for performance Optimal arousal level varies for different sport skills When athletes are TOO MOTIVATED or aroused they

become anxious and worry about it

Causes of Anxiety Athletes’ uncertainty whether they can meet the

demands of coaches, parents, peers or themselves Being reminded about the uncertainty of winning Being made feel insecure about social status or

importance to the team

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