The Science of Athlete Motivation

By Roddy Ward

Motivation can be defined as the hypothetical construct used to describe the internal and/or external forces that produce the initiation, direction and persistence of behaviour (Vallerand and Thill, 1993). Motivation is a hot topic in the world of coaching. The reason being, we have seen many talented athletes who don't seem to live up to their potential and many less talented athletes who exceed their potential.

There are three important components of motivation, direction, what activities an athlete is attracted too and what causes the athletes to engage or disengage in the sport, Intensity, the amount of effort one is willing to put forth in a sport and persistence, maintaining intensity of effort (Paskevich et al, 2007).

 There are three myths of motivation that Paskevich et al (2007) has outlined. These include, money is the ideal way to motivate an athlete, and a focus of winning provides the greatest motivation and either you have motivation or you don't. These are often considered to be highly motivational items, but although they could factor into the overall motivation of an athlete, there are many other stronger factors that make up one athletes motivation (Paskevich et al, 2007).

 There are two types of motivation that form a continuum between them. One end of the continuum is intrinsic motivation, the other end, extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation applies to behaviours that athletes engage in because of enjoyment and interest in the sport. These include a love for the game, personal enjoyment of the task. Extrinsic motivation applies to behaviours that we engage in to attract awards or outcomes that lie outside the activity itself. These reasons may include winning a trophy or prize, earning money or earning praise from the coach (Paskevich et al, 2007).

 Sport behaviour is influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. At times an athlete's motivation may fall on a different spot on the continuum, that more extrinsic factors may be playing a big role in their motivation. An example could be an athlete has just made a National Team and they are motivated to produce the best results possible at the World Championships. Although extrinsic factors do exist and work well to motivate, intrinsic is considered more powerful over the long term (Paskevich et al, 2007).

 Research has found there is a difference between motivating males verse females. Research says females need team chemistry, a good self perception and positive feedback much more than their male counterparts. Team chemistry has been shown to be an essential prerequisite for optimal performance in female sports; it is more a by-product of optimal performance among male teams. Many female athletes self perception tends to be lower as they have lower levels of confidence than men. Female athlete's confidence depends on the nature of the task, a need for clear and positive feedback, and social acceptance. Feedback is also very important while coaching female athletes, as they are much more likely than boys to be disturbed by negative comments (Pendleton, 2001).

 The opposite of a motivated athlete is a burnt out athlete. Burnout is essentially an athlete who has zero motivation. The impact on athletes from coach burnout is a major issue too. Coach burnout has been shown to influence the athlete's behaviours and attitudes at training. (Vealey et al. 1998). Studies have shown that an autocratic leadership style of coaching leads to greater perceived burnout of athletes, with a democratic style produces less burnout in athletes. However, the opposite affect has been shown for coaches, where a democratic style in coaching has produced more burnout in coaches. Autocratic style coaches seem to burn out less. Gender has also proven to be a factor in coach and athlete burnout. Female coaches typically employ a democratic style of leadership and therefore are more likely to experience burnout then their male counterparts. Female coaches have generally shown higher levels of exhaustion and lower levels of personal accomplishment (Harris & Ostrow, 2008). It has also been suggested that the level of burnout in coaches and athletic trainers varies at different times of the season (Hendrix et al 2000). This can have implications on the athletes at a critical time of year, like playoffs or championships.

Part 2: Find out about the theoretical models and how we can use this information to increase athlete motivation.