All coaches, whether working with athletes at recreational or elite levels, will struggle with how to best motivate their players. First, it is important to recognize how the athlete you are working with is best motivated. There are two main kinds of motivation: intrinsic and achievement-based. Intrinsically motivated athletes wish to become competent at their sport and are often motivated by their enjoyment of the game and desire to learn new skills. Achievement-based athletes are interested in competition and performing better than their peers. Knowing which type of athlete you are coaching allows you to better determine how you will motivate them.

There are two well-recognized ways to motivate athletes. Reinforcement is a commonly used technique and can be divided into two components. The first is positive reinforcement, where a coach follows a desired behavior with positive feedback or praise. The second is negative reinforcement, which occurs when a coach follows a desired behavior by taking away an unpleasant act, such as running sprints. Both of these strategies encourage athletes to continue optimal behaviors.

In contrast to reinforcement, which is designed to increase the frequency of a desired behavior, punishment is a technique whereby coaches try to decrease the frequency of an unwanted behavior, such as poor effort or careless mistakes. Similar to reinforcement, punishment is broken down into two categories.

Positive punishment occurs when a coach introduces an act, such as sprints, following an undesirable behavior. Negative punishment involves taking away something valued, such as playing time. Positive reinforcement techniques are often the most beneficial because they allow the athlete to focus on improving the skill at hand, rather than on a potential punishment for making mistakes. Remembering which type of athlete you are working with, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, will allow you to personalize your motivational strategy. For instance, if you are coaching an achievement-based athlete, you can praise the attainment or perfection of a skill and mention how useful it will be in upcoming games or against certain opponents. For intrinsically motivated athletes, the same scenario can be used to applaud their hard work and dedication. Both approaches acknowledge the effort these athletes have put into their sport and inspire them to continue practicing.

Although coaching is a difficult job and not all athletes are easily motivated, you have the rare opportunity to show children how hard work and dedication can pay off. Furthermore, helping athletes identify how they are motivated allows them to transfer those skills off the field and into the classroom — and eventually to their careers.

AMSSM Member Authors
Jennifer Gaitley, MD

References
Larsen, Amber. The Science and Psychology
of Motivation for Athletes. Article retrieved
from http://breakingmuscle.com/sportspsychology/the-science-and-psychology-ofmotivation-for-athletes.