|
The successful coach is one who can motivate athletes to exhibit their best performance. Alderman (1980) suggested several incentives that motivate athletes to perform well, including meeting the needs of independence, power, success, aggression, stress (excitement), affiliation, and excellence. Alderman found affiliation and excellence to be the most important motivators for athletes. Landers (1982) investigated the role that arousal plays in athletic performance and concluded that a medium arousal level is often more effective than being too "psyched up" for an activity. A related technique for coaches is to help athletes learn how to monitor their arousal levels through biofeedback and control the excess arousal or anxiety (Paterson, 1984).
What is the optimum coaching strategy for motivating athletes? Duquin (1980) suggested that the successful athlete should be intrinsically motivated and not dependent upon the coach for reinforcement. For instance, my son's cross-country running coach encourages the runners to compete against themselves, trying to beat their best time rather than competing against other people. The runners gain self-confidence and self-reward when they can set new personal records. The coach needs to motivate players, encourage team spirit, and promote social cohesiveness (LeUnes & Nation, 1989). Emphasis should be on the success of the individual as a person and not only on the victory. These strategies are often successful in producing a winning team. It is important to remember that sports psychology involves the coach, the team members, the particular sport, and the ability of the athletes, as well as personality and motivational factors. |
| Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Any use is subject to the McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Please visit our Technical support website at http://mhhe.com/support. |
 |