Sports Psychology
Sport Psychology is the study of thoughts
(attitudes), feelings (emotions), and reactions (actions) of athletes in a
competitive setting.
PERFORMANCE = Psychological Readiness +
Physical Preparation + Technical Skill + Tactical Awareness.
Concept of
Motivation
Motivation can be defined simply as the direction
and intensity of one’s effort (Sage, 1977). Direction is concerned with
choosing a goal. In sport, coaches are interested in knowing why a telanted
youngster will not play a particular sports or why another youngster leaves the
team. The answer lies in the goals of the person. In other words the direction
of effort refers whether an individual seeks out, approaches, or is attracted
to certain situations.
Intensity of effort is how much effort a person
puts forth in a particular situation. For instance, an aspiring athlete attends
a training session but does not put forth much effot during training. One the
other hands, a shooter may want to make a winning shot so badly that he becomes
overly motivated, tightens up and performs poorly. Finally, a swimmer may work
out six days a week like her friend yet differ from them in the tremendous
effort or intensity she puts into each workout.
- The Relationship
between Direction and Intensity
For most athletes direction and intensity of effort
are closely related. For instance, athletes who seldom miss practice and always
early typically expend great effort during participation. Conversely those who
are insistently tardy and miss practice often exhibit low effort when in
attendance.
Sources of
Motivation
Motivation has two sources, from inside the person
(intrinsic) and from outside the person (extrinsic).
Athlates who are intrinsically motivated have an
inner striving to be competent and elf determining, to master the task, to be
successful. These qualities of competence, self-determination, mastery of
skills and striving to achieve success are goal pursued by those who are
intrinsically motivated and when achieved are their own rewards. In sport,
athletes who play the games for love of the game, excitement and fun are
intrinsically motivated. They play for inner pride, which is what compel them
to do their best when no one is watching.
Extrinsic motivation comes from other people
through positive and negative reinforcement. These reinforcements may be in
tangible item such a trophies, medals or money, or in tangible items such as
praise and public recognition. When tese reinforcements are received they are
known as extrinsic rewards.
Types of
Motivation
Direct
methods of motivation
When you appeal to player,s pride in themselves and
hope that they will train harder, you are using a direct methods of motivation.
They are three categories of direct methods. Namely:
- Compliance – relies on the use of extrinsic
rewards and punishment. “If you win
today, we will have a party”
- Identification – in identification, the
basis of motivation is the coach relationship with his or her athletes.
- Internalization – this is a vary powerful
method of motivating players, which seeks to motivate by appealing to players
own belief and values not by administering rewards or punishment.
Indirect
methods of motivation
When you assign athletes from the first team to a
second squad because they are being influenced adversely, you are doing the
indirect methods. Altering the situation or the environment-either the physical
or psychological environment in order to enhance motivation is another example
of methods of motivation.
Methods of
Motivating Athlete
- Consider athletes need’s and motives.
- If there were such a thing as secret to motivation,
understanding what athlete’s need would be it. A need unmet becomes a good
indicator in helping athletes meet their goals and provides you with a pair of
key to their motivation.
- From numerous sources, the evidence indicates 3
prominent needs that athletes seek to fulfill by participating in sports: to play for fun (sensation), to be with
other people (affiliation), to demonstrate competence in other to feel worthy
(achievement)
- Use extrinsic rewards to instill intrinsic
motivation.
- Consider athlete locus of control:
(a) People differ in the responsibility they perceive
for the reward and punishment they receive, which is called locus of control.
People who are inclined to explain the events in their lives as resulting from
external forces, such as luck, chance and the presence powerful people are
called external controls.
(b) People who are internal controls are more likely to
perceive the events in their lives as being dependent upon their own behavior.
Whether players are internal or external controls, it may influence both their
performances and the methods use to motivate them.
(c) Coaches should not disregard the kinds of attributions
athletes use to explain their outcomes. Helping athletes to change their
perceptions can have a significant effect on their motivation to achieve
success. An internal locus of control athlete can be encouraged to become more
internal through the development of self-confidence and through encouragement
to contribute outcomes internally when appropriate.
