Motivation is very important to have in sport, if a performer desires to be of a high standard he must be motivated to train, as motivation increases so does performance. Motivation can influence our decisions, our learning and our performance. The task of motivating different individuals to perform well and succeed is a process that is very important.
It is very important to consider motivation and arousal levels together as they influence each other greatly. While motivation can have a very positive effect on performance, being under or over motivated or aroused can have negative effects. Over arousal usually occurs in pressure situations and it can greatly effect a players performance it affects our ability to think clearly, making the whole decision process more erratic with poor and rushed decisions being made at often intervals in the game e.g. Rugby players can get so pumped that they focus more on the physical side of flooring their opponents and forget about the skills of the game.
The other extreme is under-arousal when a player is not motivated enough. These means they won’t put 100% into the game and so will under-perform. Concentration is easily lost and less care is taken over work. As with being over-aroused performers decisions are incorrect not because they are rushed but because they don’t care about the outcome, this can happen when friendlies are played in sport the result doesn’t matter so the players don’t care so much.
As you become more motivated, there is an increase in arousal that at an optimum level will increase psychological and physiological awareness and you will become more alert, this will clearly aid a player’s performance.
From the graph on the side you can see what is known as the drive theory. It basically says that, as arousal increases so will your ability to perform as you wish, behaviour in the game that resembles normal behaviour. There is of course an optimum arousal level and after which performance decreases (seen from the 2nd graph-Inverted U theory) but you will definitely have to be aroused and ‘be up for it’ to play well.
It would incorrect for me to leave it on the point that increased arousal is only good because at different levels it can have an adverse effect. At an expert level it will lead to an increased performance, players get more pumped and they play better e.g. John McKnroe. However at a novice level the performance will deteriorate, at younger ages players cannot cope, they will be unsure what to do.
People with a high motive to succeed show the following characteristics:
■ Look for challenges
■ Are concerned about standards of excellence and show high levels of performance.
■ Persist for longer
■ Value feedback
■ Are not afraid of failing.
■ Attribute their performance to internal factors e.g. success is due to effort; failure is due to poor concentration.
As you can see a person that is motivated is bound to have huge advantages over an opponent that is not, a motivated player will improve very quickly if their training is focused, they accept feedback and they want to work hard they will end up playing at a high standard. However a very talented young junior will not make the step to adult world class without being motivated to improve.
Goal setting is another very important part of improving, people set themselves targets that are both challenging and realistic. This helps to keep players motivated as they are always striving for something whether it is a medal, sponsorship deal, or a great victory. Goal setting has other plus points apart from motivating someone for instance it provides focus in training, it guides future improvement and can reduce stress by focussing a player on a particular goal during the performance e.g. if a goal is not met, what went wrong.
When a goal is set it must meet a certain number of points for it to be effective in motivating the performer: Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time-Scale
With effective goals in place, players will be motivated to train and perform at higher levels and so they will be more successful. Any player at any standard can make goals e.g. to train during a season to avenge the loss of a club championship final.
Feedback is another very important factor that must be considered when in training, and if you are motivated and keen to improve then you must be able to listen to advice and adapt in training. More motivated performers are more likely to accept feedback and so are more likely to improve.
Being more motivated to improve increases your care in sport not only in the actual game but also in training and in game preparation. Preparation for sport is very important, it can be the difference between winning and losing it can give that edge needed over your opponent. Psychological aspects of short-term preparation include the ability to cope with anxiety/stress, being at the optimum level of arousal and having the set goals in mind to motivate them properly.
Training without focus is completely pointless and the performer will gain no benefit from it. If a player is motivated he will strive to improve and so will put everything into training, preparation, and the match. A motivated player will put a lot of effort into everything that he or she does; with goal-setting, focused hard training, great preparation and a great ability to listen, the ability to take criticism constructively and work hard at faults a performer will reach his potential in his sport.
Bibliography: Psychology of sport -
Advanced PE for Edxcel
Word Count: 1192
