Athlete Motivation
Athlete Motivation
Introduction
Motivation is one of the biggest ways in which great coaches have developed winning programs throughout the centuries. There are many ways to motivate athletes but what are the best? Has motivating athletes changed with each generation? In sports athletes are often asked to raise their level of play in order to be successfully and understanding how to motivate any athlete will enable a coach to not only ask for more out of his team or player but to also get what he asks for. In order to be successful coaches must be able to motivate because players do not simply go out and do their best or train harder on their own. As humans we love to be motivated which is why movies such as Rudy, Apollo 13, Gladiator, Remember the Titans, and Braveheart capture our hearts and minds; we long to be inspired to bigger and better things. As coaches seek to mentor their players, they must inspire the young men and women in their program, not just to become better athletes but to become better people as well.
This paper will seek to identify highly motivational coaches and the motivational techniques they use and why they use them. What makes one coach a better motivator than another, is it simply personality, or is it a trait that can be learned and developed? This paper will seek to answer those questions and more.
For the purpose of this article, the definition of motivation is provided by Merriam-Webster (2008) will be used, “something (as a need or desire) that causes a person to act.” This is the goal of every coach to set foot on a field, court or other athletic arena who wants to see his/her athlete do well. Similarly, the word inspire is defined by Merriam-Webster (2008) as, “to exert an animating, enlivening, or exalting influence on [someone or something].” It will be the opinion of this paper that motivation and inspire are ultimately the same thing and can be used interchangeably. There are too many
Introduction
Motivation is one of the biggest ways in which great coaches have developed winning programs throughout the centuries. There are many ways to motivate athletes but what are the best? Has motivating athletes changed with each generation? In sports athletes are often asked to raise their level of play in order to be successfully and understanding how to motivate any athlete will enable a coach to not only ask for more out of his team or player but to also get what he asks for. In order to be successful coaches must be able to motivate because players do not simply go out and do their best or train harder on their own. As humans we love to be motivated which is why movies such as Rudy, Apollo 13, Gladiator, Remember the Titans, and Braveheart capture our hearts and minds; we long to be inspired to bigger and better things. As coaches seek to mentor their players, they must inspire the young men and women in their program, not just to become better athletes but to become better people as well.
This paper will seek to identify highly motivational coaches and the motivational techniques they use and why they use them. What makes one coach a better motivator than another, is it simply personality, or is it a trait that can be learned and developed? This paper will seek to answer those questions and more.
For the purpose of this article, the definition of motivation is provided by Merriam-Webster (2008) will be used, “something (as a need or desire) that causes a person to act.” This is the goal of every coach to set foot on a field, court or other athletic arena who wants to see his/her athlete do well. Similarly, the word inspire is defined by Merriam-Webster (2008) as, “to exert an animating, enlivening, or exalting influence on [someone or something].” It will be the opinion of this paper that motivation and inspire are ultimately the same thing and can be used interchangeably. There are too many
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