Motivation is necessary for developing and performing athletic skills. It is what drives the athlete to successfully acquire a skill through long and arduous practices. The definition of a motive, associated with motivation, is stated in Webster's New World Dictionary as "some inner drive, impulse, intention, etc. that causes a person to do something or act in a certain way;..." (p. 886). High school coaches often find that motivating adolescent males and females can be particularly challenging (Robert et al, 1992). Although motivation can be sometimes difficult to achieve, attention to social influences and using techniques of reinforcement, feedback, and goal setting are ways that can instil motivation in the adolescent athlete.