MOTIVATION

Motivation
Role of the motivation/importance of motivation in sports.
Motivation Enhances Sports Performance
Motivation is the fuel for an athlete’s performance.
Motivation is internal state which tends to direct a person’s behavior towards a goal.
Motivation can influence decisions, learning and performance in sport.
If a performer is not in a positive psychological state, mistakes will be made in the performance, and they will not perform at their level best.
Motivation has varying levels of intensity and efficiency.
Performance is directly related to the intensity of motivation.
Levels of motivation differ among athletes.
Motivation is important for the learning process.
It plays an important role in coaching.
Success of a sport program depends on coaches’ ability to motivate the athletes.
Motivation can be defined simply as the direction and intensity of ones effort (sage1977).
Direction of effort
The direction of effort refers to whether an individual seeks out, approaches, or is attracted to certain situations.
e.g.: a student may be motivated to go out for the tennis team.
Intensity of effort
Intensity of effort refers to how much effort a person puts forth in a particular situation.
The relationship between direction and intensity
Students or athletes always arrive early typically expend great effort during participation.
Types of motivation
Intrinsic motivation: Motivation to perform an activity for its own sake.
This type of motivation comes directly from the performer. They are factors such as personal satisfaction or enjoyment. Biddell (1984) suggested those performers who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to continue participating then those who aren’t. This is
because of personal ambition and the drive to have fun. An example of
this could be an individual wishing to play squash as a form of
recreation, to develop their fitness levels, but also to see if they
can master the game.
Intrinsic motivation is three types:
A) Knowledge:
Individual engages in an activity for the pleasure and satisfaction.
Sports person or athlete experiences pleasure and satisfaction while learning, exploring or trying to understand acquiring knowledge about something.
e.g:Learning new skills in sports.
b) Accomplishments
The person feels pleasure and satisfaction whenever he accomplishes something in sports.
e.g.: mastering a difficult dive.
c) Stimulation:

Person engages in an activity in order to experience pleasant sensations such as fun excitement and pleasure.
e.g.: feeling pleasure of climbing a mountain.

Extrinsic motivation:
Performing for a material reward is called extrinsic motivation.
e.g.: medals, trophies and money.
a) Integrated regulation
Activity is personally important, because of a valued outcome
b) Identified regulation:
Athlete participates in a sport for his/her growth and development.
c) Integrated regulation:-
The individual is motivated by internal prods and pleasures.

e.g.: an exerciser who stays in shape to impress the opposite sex.
d) External regulation:
The behavior is completed by external sources such as rewards and constraints.
e.g.: trainer who spends lots of time in the training room simply to get raise salary.
Amotivaion:-
In this case individuals are neither intrinsically nor extrinsically motivated.




maslow theory of motivation



The theory was proposed by Abraham Maslow .
It sates that human motives from a hierarchy with the primary or physiological needs on the bottom. Safety and security next, love and belongingness are the next highest category. Self esteem: success, achievement and power are immediate higher than love and belongingness .The self actualization: the need to develop ones talents and capabilities is in the top of hierarchy.
Most of humans strive first to satisfy primary needs like hunger, thirst, need for sleep and air etc. Then go on to safety needs to be safe and secured called security needs. Satisfaction of each need leads to next in the hierarchy as shown in the figure
According Maslow, once a need is satisfied and remains so, it no longer is a need and the person moves up the hierarchy to the next higher needs from numerous sources.


ACHIVEMENT MOTIVATION AND COMPETTITIVENESS

It is important to understand why some people seem so highly motivated to achieve their goals and why some others seem to go for the ride.
We will start discussing two related motives that influence performance and participation in sport achievement motivation and competitiveness.
Achievement motivation: this is person’s effort to master a task, achieve excellence, overcome obstacles, perform better than others, and pride in exercising talent. (Murray 1938)
It is person’s orientation to strive for the task success, persist in the face of failure, and experience pride in accomplishments. (gill200)

These are precise characteristics that allow athletes to achieve excellence to gain high levels of fitness, and students maximize learning.

Competitiveness: it is a disposition to strive for satisfaction when making comparisons with some standard of excellence, in the presense of evaluative others.(martens 1976).athlete with competitiveness comapare their performance with their previous performance.

What theories of achievement motivation tell us
Motivational orientation High achiever Low achiever
Motivational orientation High motivation to achieve success Low motivation to achieve success
Low motivation to avoid failure High motivation avoid failure
Attributions Ascribes success to stable and internal factors within ones control Ascribres success to uinstable external factors outside ones control
Goal adopted Usually adopts task goals Usually adopts outcome goals
Perceived competence Has high perceived competence and feels that achievement is within own control Has low perceived competence and feels that achievement is outside own control
Task choice Seeks out challenges and able competitors/tasks Avoid challenges: seeks out very difficult or very tasks
Performance conditions Performs well in evaluative conditions Performs poorly in evaluative conditions

Developing achievement motivation

Coaches and teachers can help young people develop their achievement motivation by making sure they are not confronted with repeated failure.

1. Parents should encourage independence and reinforce a child’s efforts at becoming independence.
2. Parents (especially mothers) should be warm and encouraging to their children.
3. parents should comfort and support and support their children when setbacks, fear, and discouragement occur.
4. Parents should expect their children to be able, competent, and response.
5. Parents can demonstrate confidence in their ability by resisting the urge to “take charge” when they experience difficulty in mastering a task.
6. Parents should allow and expect many trials for a child to master a task. Do not keep track of trials .appreciate small steps.
7. Keep track of a child’s success and applaud them. Do not dwell on failures.
8. Parents should pay attention to their Childs efforts. Listen to their problems and pay attention to their feelings.

MOTIVATIONAL TECHNIQUES
The following are the some of the motivational techniques that can be used by the coaches.
1. Provide for successful experiences
Perceived success strengthens feelings of personal competence give positive feedback about what participants are doing right.

1. Verbal comments
Verbal comments are perhaps the most familiar motivational technique.
Pep talks have been considered some of the most effective motivators in sports.
eg: praising , pat on the back
These are technical in nature that are aimed at improving performance
These are aimed at helping the athlete to develop favorable attitude towards performance
2. Gimmicks and charts
It is a nonverbal technique
Posting news paper clippings i.e. sports related write ups and pictures,
Painting slogans on the walls of the dressing room are commonly thought of as gimmicks and charts for performance
3. Rewards and punishments(reinforcement )
Both punishment and reward can be used to motivate
Coach should know the likes and dislikes of the athletes and choose reinforces accordingly.
In the early stages of learning, continuous and immediate reinforcement is desirable: in the later stages of learning, however, intermittent reinforcement is more effective.
Terminal reward
Wining contest is an example of a terminal reward.
Concurrent reward
Athlete can receive reward that he/ she performed well even though the team was defeated
Punishment either can be mental or physical
A participant who has made a mistake and is taken out of contest (competition) might experience mental punishment.
A method of physical punishment employed by coaches is exercise (making the athlete to run ten laps) so that athlete will not repeat the same mistake again
4. Spectators and motivation
The size of the audience seems to have an effect on performance.
Another variable is the mood of the audience
Home crowd always motivates athletes
Some times athletes can also be motivated by antagonistic crowd mood of the audience has an important effect on performance
5. Music and noise
Music can also be used to affect performance during athlete’s contests.
Music can make time pass more quickly
Coaches also use tape recorded game noise during preparation for the games or matches (the noise may include people talking, cheering, and yelling of the crowds)
6. changing Routine and motivation :One of the most effective ways of motivating is changing routine
Once the coach found the effective drills, they should use skills day after day
Inclusion of short drills within a practice session is another technique coaches use to sustain motivation.
Another motivational technique is to allow the players to plan a practice session. Practice at different times is another way to provide change in routine
1. Involve participants in decision making
Allow participants more responsibility for making decisions.
e.g.: suggesting how to organize a practice sessions, make up team or class rules, and game strategy.


7 expectations and motivation

Coach must understand that athletes differ in their ability
Coach should establish realistic expectations
Don’t say anything to athlete who can set realistic goals
Offer negative criticism but use it should be carefully used

8. Competition and recreation
Competing against other people, following norms of the competition and competing against ones own record naturally motivate the player.
Athletes often also want to have fun and enjoy the companionship of their fellow athletes. Coaches also pay attention to the motives of fun and fellowship, along with physical training.






Goal setting
Definition of goal:
Many people define a goal as an objective, or an aim of some action.
Benefits of setting goals/importance of goal setting
• Goals improve the quality of the practice.
• Goals clarify expectations.
• Goals help to relive boredom by making more challenging
• Goals increase intrinsic motivation
• Goals increase pride satisfaction and self confidence
• A well planed goal setting improve performance in sports.
• Goals decide your athletes attention
• Goals mobilize athletes energy and effort
• Goals increase the performance persistence when performance is painfully slow.
• Motivation depends on your goal setting.
Types of goals
Subjective goals
Subjective goals are general statements of intent.
e.g., I want to do well
Objective goals
The goals which focus on attaining a specific standard of proficiency on a task, usually within a specified time are called objective goals.
E.g. attempting to attain specific amount of weight loss with in 3 months. Objective goals include outcome, performance and process goals

1. Outcome goals
These goals typically focus on competitive results of an event, such as winning race, earning a medal or scoring more appoints than an opponent.
2. Performance goals
Performance goals focus on achieving standadards.
Usually making comparisons with ones own previous performance.
Performance goals tend to be more flexible and within our control.
E.g.: Running a mile in 6 minutes and 21 seconds.
3. Process goals: These goals focus on the actions of an individual must engage during performance to perform well.
E.g., a swimmer may set a goal of maintaining long stretched –out arm full in his free style stroke.
Using a combination of goal strategies (outcome, performance and process) produce better performance.
That means different types goals may be more effective at different times.
E.g. Competition versus practice.

Principles of goal setting:
A number of goal setting principles have been identified from research and practice.
The correct applications of these principles provide a strong foundation for designing a goal setting – setting program.
1. Set specific goals
Specific goals are more effective because they direct behavior more precisely and communicate clear expectations to the athletes.
E.g., to score a 100 in the championship round on some day
2. Set realistic goals
Moderately difficult goals lead to best performance. Goals that are too difficult to achieve can lead to frustration, reduced confidence, and poor performance. Professionals must know the capabilities and commitment of the individuals they are working with.
3. Short term vs. long term goals
Focusing only on long term goals does not improve performance.
Long term goals can not be very realistic challenging.
Setting short term goals rather than long term goals is challenging and realistic.
4.Performance vs. outcome goals
Performance goals are greatly superior to outcome goals, because athletes have greater control over their performance.
The best way to win a championship or beat a particular opponent is to focus on performance or process goals.
5. Team goals vs. individual goals
Team goals can help to motivate athletes to work more effectively together but they must be accompanied by individual goals that hold the individual responsibility and that are within his or control.
6. Provide evaluation and feedback about goals
Goal settings works only if there is timely feedback showing progress towards the goal. Feedback directs the behavior and motivates athletes.
E.g. goal: losing 20 pounds in 6 months
Evaluation/ feedback: A client informs to fitness instructor of his/her weight every weak.
7. Record goals
Out of site out of mind has relevance to goal setting procedures.
Once goals are set, they should be record and placed where they can be easily seen.
8. Foster an individual’s goal commitment
A person will not achieve a goal without commitment to achieving it.
Instructors should promote goal commitment by encouraging progress and providing consistent feedback.
9. Provide goal support.
Support from coaches, teachers, and friends makes goal setting effective.

Group goals refer to the attainment of specific standards of group (not individual) proficiency, usually within a specified time.
The following six principles will allow you to effectively set and achieve the group goals.
Establish long term goals first.
Establish clear paths of short-term goals enrote to long -term goals.
Involve all members of the team in establishing team goals.
Monitor progress towards team goals.
Reward progress made toward team goals.
Foster collective team confidence or efficacy concerning team goals.