Motivating the Adolescent Athlete

Motivating the adolescent athlete stands as one of the most pressing challenges for high school coaches. This inner drive is crucial—not just for developing athletic skills but also for achieving peak performance. Picture the countless hours spent perfecting techniques through intense practices; it’s motivation that fuels this journey. Think of it as that 'inner drive, impulse, or intention' that causes a person to act in a certain way, as Webster's New World Dictionary broadly defines a motive (p. 886). As Robert et al. (1992) also highlight, this intrinsic push empowers athletes to acquire their skills. So, what ignites that spark in young athletes? Let’s explore how coaches can effectively cultivate this essential element of success in their teams.

Adolescents are significantly influenced by their peers, parents, and their social surroundings. These factors play a crucial role in shaping their behaviour and motivation towards athletics.

A study by Rychman and Hamel (1992) found that many female adolescents participate in sports primarily to make new friends, maintain existing friendships, or both. Interestingly, athletes with more experience in sports tend to focus more on their performance and require less support from coaches and teammates compared to those with less experience. This observation suggests that newer players need more encouragement and assistance, highlighting the importance of the social aspects of being part of a team.

Additionally, athletes need to see their coaches as honest and caring figures, as noted by Petronio, Martin, and Littlefield (1984) and Westre and Weiss (1991). When athletes believe their coaches genuinely care for them, they are more likely to perform well in practices and competitions. Fostering this trusting relationship is paramount.

Students may choose to join high school sports teams for various reasons. They may feel pressured by their parents or peers, or they may be seeking a sense of belonging. For coaches, dealing with athletes who are primarily motivated by external pressures can be challenging.

Encouraging genuine enjoyment and a true desire to participate can take time and patience. However, using specific motivational techniques can be effective, and as athletes learn the necessary skills, their motivation is likely to increase (Magill, 1989).

To help in motivatating the adolescent athlete effectively, coaches should focus on these social strategies:

• Emphasize Social Interaction: Encourage camaraderie and connection among teammates.
• Provide Support and Encouragement: Offer extra assistance and positive reinforcement for newcomers and less experienced players.
• Foster a Trusting Relationship: Act as an honest and caring figure who genuinely supports their athletes.
• Practice Patience: Understand that intrinsic motivation can take time to develop, especially when external pressures are involved.

Using positive reinforcement can be an effective way to motivate the adolescent athlete. Black and Weiss (1992) researched this technique in a study involving swimmers in three age groups: 10- to 11-year-olds, 12- to 14-year-olds, and 15- to 18-year-olds. In the last two age groups (twelve to eighteen-year-olds inclusive), verbal positive reinforcement and encouragement significantly motivated the athletes.

Reinforcement provides some indication of the knowledge of results in practice, but it depends on whether the skill is being performed correctly. This knowledge is then applied to learning, enabling athletes to refine their required actions and enhance skill development (Skinner, 1969).

If the athlete is not improving, reinforcement can still motivate the athlete as the positive reinforcement becomes a reward. This type of reward can be classified as an extrinsic motivator.

Similar types of reinforcement do not work in the same way for all athletes (Llewellyn and Blucker, 1982). Visual reinforcement (video analysis and comparison) may motivate one athlete but discourage another. This is also true for verbal reinforcement. Negative criticism, on the other hand, has a detrimental effect on youth motivation levels. The study by Black and Weiss (1992), previously discussed, found that when adolescent swimmers were exposed to such criticism, their motivation decreased. This may happen because the athlete becomes angry, confused, hurt, or a combination of all three (Jones et al. 1982).

Positive reinforcement and encouragement help youth athletes become motivated to practice and perform at their best. Every athlete responds differently to different types of reinforcement and encouragement. What may motivate one athlete may discourage another. Negative criticism should be avoided, as it tends to discourage athletes.

Feedback, or knowledge of results, is similar to reinforcement but provides much more relevant information to the athlete. Research has shown that knowledge of results is crucial for proper skill acquisition (Bilodeau, Bilodeau, and Schumsky, 1959). Black and Weiss also studied the correlation between the use of feedback and motivation. Their results showed that when information was given with encouragement, the athletes' motivation and self-perception of ability rose.

Interestingly, the females who participated in this study relied less on comparisons with their peers and more on adult feedback. Regarding the format of feedback, visual feedback was found to be much more instructional and helpful than verbal feedback (Llewellyn and Blucker, 1982). This was especially true for beginners who had not yet mastered the technical aspects of the skills they were trying to perform. In practice, when verbal feedback is used, it should be precise and effectively communicated, preferably after visual feedback.

Feedback is essential for improving the performance of a skill. Knowledge of what can be done to perform better through visual and verbal aids helps to improve motivation in adolescent athletes.

Goal setting can be the best motivator of all the previously mentioned techniques. Setting goals provides a step-by-step approach for adolescents to achieve their desired level of performance. Also, setting goals can help to intrinsically motivate these athletes to exercise, as documented by Tappe, Duda, and Menges-Ehrnwald in 1990. This study found that adolescents were intrinsically motivated to reach their fitness goals and consequently exerted more effort to become fit.

Concerning gender, male athletes were more oriented towards winning and competition than females, who tended to focus on personal best efforts and developing social and physical aspects (Rychman and Hamel). However, it is essential to remember that this is a general statement and that every athlete is an individual.

Another study of male secondary school basketball players, conducted by Seifriz, Duda, and Chi in 1992, reported that goal orientation contributed to intrinsic motivation. This research supports the idea that setting goals helps motivate individuals, but it is also necessary to include athletes and interact with them in the goal creation process.

McKenzie and Rushall (1977) investigated this phenomenon in an experiment involving swimmers, recording their performance. The results showed that their motivation increased when the adolescent swimmers were included in recording and establishing their specific goals. Consequently, as their motivation increased, their athletic performance also increased.

Goals can be either extrinsically motivated (such as winning a trophy) or intrinsically motivated (such as a desire to improve technique). Adolescents are constantly reinforced with extrinsic rather than intrinsic motivation (Llewellyn and Blucker, 1982). This external motivation is somewhat unfortunate because coaches must continually offer material rewards to motivate their athletes, rather than promoting the idea of personal satisfaction from physical activity.

Goal setting is very valuable in motivating teenage athletes. Establishing goals helps athletes to work harder, and having them interact with their goals results in higher motivation levels. More emphasis on young athletes' intrinsic motivation may help counteract the strong tendency to prioritize extrinsic motivation, such as material gain, over personal improvement.