Like yin and yang, motivation and apathy are polar opposites. Whereas, motivation represents the desire to achieve a particular objective apathy signifies the lack of interest, willingness and generally motivation to do anything. Succinctly, Motivation is the driving fuel for innovation and forward strides within the society. Apathy, however, is not only an impediment to success but a danger to humanity's survival. Unfortunately, most of the youth in today's society are highly apathetic. Whether it is due to lack of esteem, opportunities or motivation it cannot be denied that apathy is a serious issue that requires prompt solving. This text aims to show methods that can be used to motivate athletes while linking them to specific strategies.
Philosophy always attempts to answer seemingly hard questions with great reason and logic. So in this case, a question that confronts human race is as to why some people are motivated whereas others are more so apathetic? To some individuals, it may seem an easy pie. Some individuals are lazy whereas others know what they want and work hard for it. Nonetheless, it is not as simple as it seems. It is quite common to meet a person who always attends the gym but is entirely pessimistic about what they are bound to achieve. Or the student who does all the assignments, attends all the classes and even hands in extra credit but believe that they most certainly will fail.
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Personally, I believe motivation has both mental and emotional roots. Therefore motivation is an intrinsic factor that is under the control of the individual in question. Per se motivation cannot be acquired through parents but it is gained over a collective time through daily persistence (Reifsteck, Gill, & Labban, 2016). In simpler terms, one has to be conscious of the desire in achieving something if they can be labeled as motivated. Thereby, my philosophy articulates that the individual possesses the power and the option to either be motivated or apathetic.
With that in mind, setting expectations and goals is essential in spurring any athlete. Expectations should be realistic and achievable. For example, it would be sensible to set out to win by two-goal margin soccer than anticipating a complete walkover. If the players believe that a goal is achievable then it would be easier to motivate them. Moreover, Wilkerson, Hall and Gould (2014) articulate that goals should increase in hierarchy periodically to ensure that the set of players is always challenged. This goes a long way in preventing athletes from becoming apathetic. For instance, I would start with setting the team’s eyes on the local championship, thereafter the District championship and finally the State championship.
Furthermore, feedback and relationship building is more vital than it seems. Borrowing from the Individual versus Group approach, a proper coach should aim at communicating with each player both at the individual level and as a group. It is certain that every player will have different strengths and weaknesses. During the majority of the time, a universal drill or exercise will not be enough to ensure that every athlete realizes their maximum potential (Wilkerson, Hall, & Gould, 2014). Thus giving feedback and accepting feedback from both individuals and the team as a whole would be a top priority in my quest to ensuring that every player remains enthusiastic. And if feedback is excellent then proper relationships are bound to be formed that add further motivation.
Additionally, practice makes perfect. I would encourage training and activities that impart improvements in the players’ respective abilities. Most top athletes always go the extra mile that makes them rise above the bar. Many living examples such as Cristiano Ronaldo who on top of the normal training goes on further to indulge in his own private practice. Intense and beneficial training has the trait of raising athletes’ esteem and thus their motivation. Due to training athletes will believe that they are at par or even better skilled than their opponents which result in higher motivation to win.
Jones and Jones (2007), in their text, “Comprehensive Classroom Management – Creating Communities of Support and Solving Problem” articulate that Motivation = Expectation x Value x Climate. This implies that increase in any of the variables mentioned above would result to an increase in motivation for the subjects in question. Expectation refers to the goals that the athletes are expected to achieve at the end of a certain period. Value entails the overall importance, worth, and skill of players. Finally, climate deals with the general both physical and social environment that athletes work under.
From the methods I mentioned above, each athlete would have their own role to play in achieving motivation if the Jones and Jones approach is used. Firstly, setting realistic, achievable and progressive goals and targets would relate to expectations. In the event that goals are achieved and newer ones are formulated this would improve the quality of expectations and lead to better motivation. Likewise, training relays the variable value as appropriate and beneficial practice will result in the athletes being better skilled thus an increase in their overall value which makes more enthusiastic. Lastly, proper communication and resultantly good relationships create a suitable environment in which everyone can be heard and trust is built (Jones, & Jones, 2007). Thereby, this improves the overall climate within the team.
In conclusion, motivation can be imparted through numerous ways. However, in sports and their related fields only a few specifics work. The most common being practice, communication, and goal setting. It should be noted that no matter the skill, strength or speed that a team possesses if the players are not adequately motivated then even the seemingly best team may lose to the seemingly worst team that is more than motivated.
References
Wilkerson, C.; Hall, E. & Gould, J. (2014). Student Athlete Motivation and Success: Investigating Associations within Parenting and Coaching Styles. Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal . 2(1), 1-12.
Jones, V. & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive Classroom Management . San Francisco: Pearson Education, Inc.
Reifsteck, J.; Gill, L. & Labban, D. (2016). “Athletes” and “exercisers:” Understanding identity, motivation, and physical activity participation in former college athletes . Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology , 5 (1), 25-38.
