The US track&field Michael Johnson, who won five gold medals at the Olympics and eight-time world champion, summed up the importance of motivation:
“My best motivation has always come from the pure joy of running and racing, it’s the same thrill that I had as a child of 10 years. Have you ever met a 10 year old child sickened by what he does? You have to find your own initial motivation. This is the secret of perseverance. ”
Sport activities should allow the emergence of an attitude that can be summed up in the following sentence:
“It’s thanks to my commitment and the pleasure I feel that I become more and more skilled at what I do.”
The activities motivated by an inner strength are based on the subjective perception of satisfaction coming from performing a specific task.
On the contrary, any external intervention in the athlete tending to reduce this inner awareness will negatively affect the motivation. It happens when an athlete performs only to receive material rewards (winning a trophy, money) or recognition from others (“I do it for my parents or for the coach who will be so happy or because I will be more admired by my fellow”). Sport performance becomes only a means to achieve another purpose that becomes, instead, the true purpose of the action: the young is not acting for the pleasure it provides sport but to receive a certain recognition. Therefore, the external reinforcements encouraging the athlete to perform for external reasons will reduce the internal motivation.
The coaches should not make use of reinforcements perceived by the athletes as most important than their performances, but they should provide useful suggestions to increase the feeling of satisfaction to perform at their best.
Sport results that are perceived to be the result of internal personal factors, such as the ability, dedication, commitment rather than external factors (luck, reduced ability of opponents, referees’ decisions) are associated with satisfaction feelings and pride.
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