Explain the role of Motivation in enhancing a sports performance.

The first 200 words of this essay...

Explain the role of Motivation in enhancing a sports performance.

Motivation is crucial to success in every sports event whether it be football, hockey or tennis. When not motivated a player is liable to make more mistakes and not perform at their best. A motivated player will overcome a demotivated performer almost every time. Motivation can be sparked by a number of different things including receiving encouragement, or even being insulted or put down. If an elite performer receives bad press over a particularly bad game, he or she may feel motivated to try and prove to everybody and themselves that they are capable of performing well. Sometimes a desire to win can be enough motivation to increase an athlete's performance. "When I have entered the last round of the javelin knowing that I am lying out of the medal placing and in need of a big throw, the sense of impending doom has sometimes been enough to stimulate adrenaline to a level that has produced a performance better then my previous attempts." (Backley)

Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic factors are ones, which come from within the player such as enjoying playing the sport.