MOTIVATION

Motivation in Sports



Motivation in Sports

Introduction

Motivation is considered to an internal force of energy that helps determine all the aspects of the behavior of human beings. In addition to that, it impacts how human beings think, feel and interact with other human beings. When considering sports, high level of motivation is known to be accepted widely as a significant pre-requisite in allowing the athletes to achieve their maximum potential. However, due to its essentially abstract nature, it is known to be a force that could be extremely difficult to exploit completely. Mostly every sport includes a coach. The basic job description of the coach is to motivate the team players so they could achieve what is expected of them. Motivating the members of the team is a continuous process which could consist of possible hurdles. However, it could be said that motivation shapes the personality as well as other characteristics of an individual (Hagger, M. S., & Chatzisarantis, N. L. D. 2007).

The individuals who are able to divert their energy in the right angle are able to perform much better than the others. An example could of an Olympian sprinter named Merlene Ottey. She was 45 years old when she competed in her 7th Olympics in 2004 in Athens. Still being at that age, she managed to portray outstanding performances throughout the years. Athletes like Ottey manage to develop the skills to focus their energies effectively and efficiently. It is considered that in order to perform well, effort has to be directed in the right direction and energy has to be utilized in the right way. This has to be done for a prolonged period of time. In addition to that, there are various traits and theories associated with the study of motivation in sports. These would be studied later in the paper (Hagger, M. S., & Chatzisarantis, N. L. D. 2007).

The study of motivation has numerous approaches. Some lay its basis on the agenda of negative as well as positive reinforcements, where some theorists concentrate on the individual set of mastery over a set of situations. The paper will also look to focus on the chief findings in various researches conducted on the topic.

Types of Motivation

There are two types of motivation in sports.

Extrinsic Motivation

The extrinsic motivation could be referred to as the performance of any activity in attaining a result. This presents a contradiction to intrinsic motivation. This motivation is considered to perform 2 basic functions. The first is known by the component of energetic activation of the construct of the motivation construct. The 2nd is focused on a particular conduct and a reference is made to the component of the direction of the orientation. Extrinsic motivation is generated from the outsides of an individual. The most common extrinsic motivators could be rewards which include growth and money as well as the threat of being punished. In addition to that, the competition is generally considered to be extrinsic mainly as it motivates the performers to aim for ...