Working+Draft

“Girls, bring it in!” a coaches yell can somehow be heard over the laughing and chattering of fourteen ten-year-old girls. “Today we are going to work on containing, now who can tell me what that means?” The answers vary but it does not really matter, five minutes later they are practicing containing, trying to get just the angle so that when the person dribbling messes up, a quick step in will result in a change of possession. Two days later, results of this drill are seen in the soccer game. But this does not always happen, there are plenty of Saturdays when any coach watches, frustrated as the girls make the same mistakes over and over, the same mistakes worked on during practice that week. These are the days when a coach feels like a failure, and wonders what exactly what could have been done better. But it stands that the problem could lie as much in the athletes themselves as the coach. There are times when the athlete does not care enough, or simply does not understand. What can a coach to make them understand, or make them care enough to try?; What makes some of the athletes try hard and get it almost right every time, compared to those who would barely attempt without some sort of reward in place. The distinction between these two, those who always tried (or are internally motivated) and those who need some sort of inspiration, be it verbal or a physical reward (or those who are externally motivated), is precisely what this paper discovers. Internally motivated athletes are psychologically at an advantage, but the physical results are just as promising in an athlete that has been properly motivated by an outside force. Motivation seems like a very basic subject to understand but in actuality it is an extremely complex topic. Motivation itself, according to Merriam-Webster is, “the act or process of motivating.” While this definition does not give any insight in motivation itself, the definition of motive does, “something (as a need or desire) that causes a person to act” (Motive.). So motivation is the “something” that causes a person to act. This does not explain however, why some people do things automatically and others but be manipulated into completing a task. In other words, what is the difference between those who are internally motivated and those who are extrinsically motivated? Internally motivated people’s inspiration comes from within the mind, and extrinsic motivation comes from an outside source; in athletics this is usually a coach, parent or teammate. Motivation that comes internally is a psychological advantage. It originates in personal pride, love of a topic or subject, work ethic and a personal value system. Most parents bring children to activities they believe the child will enjoy. This enjoyment is the base for the internal motivation that fuels their actions from that point forward, “Intrinsic motivation refers to the pleasure and inherent satisfaction derived from a specific activity,” (Venkatesh 3). Therefore, the more a child enjoys an activity the more likely that they will be motivated to perform well on their own rather than needing an outside force to motivate their behavior and/or actions. Internal motivation can also stem from achievement; the more a person achieves within a specific sphere of interest, the more motivated they are likely to be, “The individual is stimulated by his own successful performance to continue the activity in order to attain further goals” (Vernon 108). This type of motivation can also be seen as an extrinsic factor, depending on how the child views the achievement. If it is seen as a manifestation of their work and effort, it is an internal motivator that will likely help them grow and people and, in this case, as athletes. If children see the achievement as a way to gain public praise or recognition than it becomes an external factor, albeit a strong one, “The individual is stimulated by his own successful performance to continue the activity in order to attain further goals” (Vernon 108). The power of achievement motivation tends to grow as child gets older because young children tend to view failure with less remorse and bitterness than older children and adults. For young children success is not winning a game but playing play and becoming a better player, “The first question parents often ask is if their child won; but a child is much more interested in improving his or her game and participating as much as possible on a team or in a competition, than in winning or losing” (Paolo). In this sense achievement is a weak motivator in young children, but as they grow older, achievement becomes considerably more important. In older children, achievement tends to become an external motivator. They want to win or play well because they feel pressured by family member, teammates and coaches. This external, or extrinsic, motivation has major impacts on the young athlete. According to deCharms and Bem, “extrinsic rewards decrease high intrinsic interest in an activity because, upon receipt of these rewards, the perception that one is engaging in the activity because of self-propelled interest is supplanted by the perception that one is engaging in the activity be-cause of the reward” (McLloyd 1101). This can have extremely negative effects; once the reward is taken away the will to perform well is also eliminated. However, if a person is not extremely interested in the task at hand, external motivation can provide great results. Competition is an external motivator that provides great results. Children are more likely to perform well in a competitive setting than if just given a task, “It was found that even in children of about five years, persistence in difficult tasks was promoted by competition between the children, to a greater extent than by adult praise” (Vernon 33). If provided with a high enough reward, a child’s performance will greatly increase when they are participating in a activity of low interest (McLloyd). It is therefore a coach’s job to provide the reward that not only will get results from the player but also will raise their interest level. The job of a coach, specifically looking at motivation, is to provide fodder for a child’s own internal motivation; this will achieve the best results both psychologically and in the physical outcome of the game or season. Parents and coaches are among the most influential members of a young athlete’s life. Therefore, they have a good deal of control over how a child is motivated. While motivation stems from many different sources, “upbringing, socio-economic factors, education, etc all are factors” it is the parents and coaches who tend to have the most control (Thompson). It is therefore the job of both parents and coaches to ensure a child works not only toward success and achievement but also toward their own betterment; in short it is the job of the parents and coaches to see how a child is motivated. “Everyone involved should be working toward enhancing young athlete’s self-perception, self-esteem, enjoyment for the sport, as well as intrinsic reasons for participating and competing” (Thompson 158). The coaches of children must see their job as to motivate children to play well. However, motivation is a complex topic and therefore the results can be good and bad. Many coaches attempt to motivate children by providing rewards for good playing and while this works short-term the long-term affects on both the child and team will be negative. Therefore, results stem from more than just intense practice sessions, “Though research and practice have shown that success is not just a question of number of hours spent training, many coaches still privilege quantity instead of quality” (Paolo). It is also important for coaches also look at the differences between athletes. For instance, “using differing approaches to deal with different types of athletes…females were found to be more team oriented than males….Although the overall (i.e., improving team performance) is the same for both teams, the method used to attain that goal may be completely different” (Jones 503). Therefore female and male teams must be motivated differently. The same is true for athletes that are internally and externally motivated. The approaches toward dealing with these types of athletes are different. According to Scott Adams quoted in “The Science and Psychology of Motivation”, “you can't motivate people to do things, you can only demotivate them. The primary job of the manager is not to empower but to remove obstacles” (para 11). This is true for people who are internally motivated. Therefore, a coach must remove obstacles for these types of athletes. On the other hand, a coach must provide a reason to succeed for athletes that are externally motivated. This can be done in several ways. First, a coach must relieve pressure. Athletes do not perform as well under pressure; people who need external motivation perform especially weakly under pressure and a coach must relieve this pressure. Also, the coach must be available for the athletes to speak with; people perform better when they feel as though they have control over their situation. The more a person feels in control of their situation, or the ability to influence the outcome of the game or their own betterment, the more likely they are to respond well to a coach. A coach must make themselves available for discussion. It is also important for coaches to relate to their players. Using a “we” approach over a “you” approach can help a coach relate to athletes. By making themselves more relatable, externally motivated athletes are more likely to feel the same as coaches about the game, “share your own love of the game” (Torre). Although relatibility, it is also important for coaches to be respected, it is important to be a tough coach that still gives respect to the athlete. Coaches play an extremely important role in the life of a young athlete. It is important for coaches to deal with internally and externally motivated athletes. These athletes learn and grow in different ways and so both must be accommodated by the coach. While both can provide good results, it is much more likely for good, long-term results to come from internally motivated athletes. While externally motivated athletes may provide good results, the achievement is often short-term and does provide fulfillment for the athlete.