Practicing a sport at a performance level means more than having fun, play games or taking care of your health. When children are involved in practicing a sport higher level, other important variables will contribute to the achievement of performance, such as: perseverance in training, concentration, discipline, self-confidence, and competitiveness. For the young athletes, sport is the tool for obtaining both a good physical and emotional condition, through which they grow strong leadership skills and good communication or organization abilities. But when it comes to proving who is the best and winning against the opponents, the athlete must master an excellent cooperation, concentration, coordination, and creativity – all being significant aspects for the capacity of self-knowledge.
In the last two months, the entire world sports community had suffered a dramatic impact due to the COVID-19 Virus. Sport events and competitions of all levels have been cancelled, sport facilities and gyms have been closed, and even the Olympic Games from Tokyo have been postponed for the next year. Thus, athletes, coaches, parents, or other interested parties tried to come up with an emergency plan, to adapt to the new conditions. Creative alternatives have emerged amongst athletes including the classic running, different home exercises with various objects (e.g., ladders or water boxes to replace weights) and even swimming in the bathtub (swimmers know what I’m saying :D). They searched online for inspiration that could provide them with more training options and information tailored to their needs. But what is the motivation behind their desire to maintain the fitness and strength level necessary for upcoming performance?
1) MotivationIn psychology, self-determination is an important concept that refers to peoples’ ability to take decisions, thus allowing them to feel in control of their choices and lives. Self-determination has also an impact on motivation - because people will be more motivated to act when they feel that the things they do will have an impact on their outcome. Here appears one of the most important aspects of sport performance: MOTIVATION. Motivation is highly valued because of its consequences: Motivation PRODUCE. The theory of self-determination knows two types of motivations:
- Extrinsic or autonomous motivation, where people are often motivated to act for external rewards, such as money, prizes and standing ovations.
- And the intrinsic motivation triggered by internal sources, such as the need to acquire knowledge, independence, or the passion for what they do.
In their book "Self-Determination and Intrinsic Motivation in Human Behavior" (1985), the psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan firstly presented their theory, suggesting that humans tend to be driven by the need to grow and gain fulfillment. In short, the authors suggest that people need to feel 3 aspects in order to gain psychological growth: (1) Competence, where people feel in control of certain tasks and are eager to learn different skills; (2) Connection, where people experience a feeling of belonging and attachment to others; and (3) Autonomy, which allows people to feel in control of their own behaviors and goals.
And now let us move back to sport performance. Let's think about what the athletes went through during the COVID-19 quarantine. For example, an athlete who had a high level of self-determination has trained at an intense level (although outside of the gyms) or at least tried to maintain his physical condition to a potential as close as possible to the competition.
On the other hand, an athlete with a low level of self-determination blamed the lack of resources for a ‘perfect’ training and the lack of competitions or tournaments for his low motivation to train. These athletes found excuses, blamed external factors, and refused to take the initiative. The most important thing, perhaps, is that they felt powerless to control the situation and fell into the idea that "Anything they do will have no real effect" trap. If an athlete's main motivation is extrinsic, he risks feeling a greater amount of competitive pressure, anxiety and will compare himself unfavorably with other athletes. Thus, affecting his self-esteem, it will be more difficult for the athlete to cope with failure, which will finally lead to seeing the sport more as a "work" than as a "game".
Therefore, we need to promote the concept of intrinsic motivation. If we feed the level of intrinsic motivation, the athlete will be much better anchored and focused on the present, thus during training. In other words, the athlete will be able to maintain a constant level of motivation throughout the season, will face less stress when making mistakes, will be more self-confident and will find indefinite pleasure in his sport.
2) The loss competitiveness spiritIt goes without saying that everyone felt demotivated or unwilling at least once in their life. Certain reasons can contribute to the loss of motivation to pursue your goals, the loss of the competitiveness or even the unwillingness to prove your best. For example, when the goal is too high and seems difficult to achieve, there appears the loss of self-confidence, anxiety, doubt or certain forms of "self-sabotage" - "I can’t", "I don’t have the necessary conditions", "I am injured and unable to continue ", and paradoxically they will lead to both moral and physical decay. In this case, it is recommended (Ryan & Deci, 1985) to re-establish the goals as close as possible to the real potential of the athlete, and the process to be redistributed into smaller and easier steps in order to achieve.
It is good to know that tournaments or sports competitions promote a sense of self-determination and can inspire people to excel. The athlete who feels capable to achieve his goals and overcome the challenges, will also be motivated to perform better. In addition, researchers have found that people who have a sense of internal motivation are more prone to a regular exercise regimen - daily training. Recent research has shown that the presence of a competitor can increase physical effort both in the short term (Le Bouc & Pessiglione, 2013) and in the long term (Kilduff, 2014). Competitiveness has also been demostrated to increase physical motivation and adrenaline levels in the body (Frederick-Recascin & Schuster-Smith, 2003).
In other words, competition increases motivation, improves productivity and performance, and can provide accountability and validation (Hagger & Chatzisarantis, 2008). When we compete in a competition, and especially when we win, the brain's reward system releases dopamine, which gives us a sense of pleasure. In conclusion, if the athlete has a scheduled series of competitions at a well-calculated and established time interval (which will not cause excessive fatigue), both intrinsic motivation and performance in training will win. But what can we do when we are dealing with a lack of competitions?
3) How do we maintain or increase competitiveness in training?Often the lack of competitions leads to decreased motivation in training which can also bring poor and deteriorate performance. To maintain and stimulate the intrinsic motivation of athletes, we must recreate the competitive environment during training.
I propose the following exercise: using 2 adhesive tapes, stick one of it on some equipment (tennis racket, dumbbells, rafts, balls, etc.) or in a place that is easily accessible to see permanently. On the first you can write the words 100% Focus and Intensity, which will be the motto for the next two weeks in terms of concentration in training from a level 8 to a level 10. On the second tape, write the letter V - and not for victory; but for visualization. Visualizing your success, concentration and intensity on certain technical and tactical elements or your mental ability can have a great impact during training.
Always remember why your started: Even without any competition on the horizon, reflecting and remember "why" you are in training, what you are aiming to achieve in competition and what are your ultimate goals. These thoughts can help you stay positive and motivated throughout the period and adapt to the current constraints of society.
In addition, the athlete should be encouraged to focus on the performance process and not on the result, medals, or cups. Most importantly, participation in sports should be encouraged for intrinsic reasons - whether that they are passionate about it, or it brings them pleasure or whether they simply like to compete! Be in control of your athletic life!
