Motivation in Sports

Motivation in sports is why people do what they do. It is also the direction and intensity of one’s effort and determination to achieve. The more motivated one is, the more likely one is to succeed. Sports—which involve emotion, competition, cooperation, achievement, and play—provide a rich area for psychological study. People involved in sports attempt to master very difficult skills, often subjecting themselves to intense physical stress as well as social pressure. research has expanded into numerous areas such as imagery training, hypnosis, relaxation training, motivation, socialization, conflict and competition, counseling, and coaching. Specific sports and recreational specialties studied include baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, golf, fencing, dance, and many others. Motivation is an internal energy force that determines all aspects of our behavior. It also impacts on how we think, feel and interact with others. In sport, high motivation is widely accepted as an essential prerequisite in getting athletes to fulfill their potential. However, it is a force that is often difficult to exploit fully. Some coaches appear to have a ‘magic touch’, being able to get a great deal more out of a team than the sum of its individual parts. Others find motivation to be an elusive concept they are forever struggling to master. What is it that makes individuals like churn out outstanding performances year in, year out? Elite athletes have developed an ability to channel their energies extremely effectively. Indeed, motivation is essentially about the direction of effort over a prolonged period of time. There are numerous approaches to the study of motivation. Some are based on schedules of positive and negative reinforcement, while others focus on an individual’s sense of mastery over a set of circumstances. One of the most popular and widely tested approaches to motivation in sport and other achievement domains is

Cited: 5. Deci E, Ryan R (1985) Intrinsic Motivation and Self-determination in Human Behavior, New York: Plenum PSY 4337