Discovering an Athlete's Inner Motivation

One of the biggest challenges that many athletes face is improving motivation in their sport. Parents and coaches often search for ways to enhance their athlete’s motivation whether it’s in sports, academics, or other areas of life. They understand that if the athlete has more motivation, they will improve their likelihood of success, and they’re right. You’ll notice that some athletes are more self-motivated than others; however, motivation is a mental skill that can be significantly improved.

One of the first questions an athlete, coach, or parent must ask him or herself when struggling with motivation is:

"When was the time you were most motivated to play your sport?"

The most common response to this question with athletes who struggle with low motivation was when they first starting playing the sport. They may give a response such as:

·      “It was more about having fun.”
·      “I was not aware of my results.”
·      “There was less pressure from everyone.”

This is when it is critical for the athlete, coaches, or parents to focus in on those experiences and explore. The goal of these questions is to shape his or her practices and lifestyles around their sport in a way that will allow them to experience more of those feelings. If the athlete is able to experience those positive feelings more consistently throughout a period of time, their likelihood of developing self-motivation will increase significantly. Once the athlete has developed a new level of motivation, the concern won’t be if he or she feels like training, it will be when to take time off.

*This tip is just a small part of how to improve motivation. To get complete results on motivation and other parts of your game contact SPMI today.*