How To Motivate Young Athletes? 14 Things To Avoid
One of the greatest current concerns in the field of sports is related to the motivation of young athletes to allow them to express their potential.
There are many professionals (coaches, assistants, managers, doctors, educational psychologists, psychologists, etc.) who, from different perspectives, try to find the basic guidelines that guarantee sufficient motivation, with which to achieve the maximum possible gratification in sport. The problem is that there is no consensus between them.
However, you can always think the other way around, that is, keep in mind what you shouldn’t do if you want to stay motivated of an athlete.
Below are 14 aspects that should be avoided in the world of sports, especially with young athletes. The recommendations are mainly for coaches
1. Not tolerating ups and downs in performance
In the world of sports, as in other areas of life, athletes can have better days and worse days. The important is that they feel support from their coaches and that they respect and understand the changes. To do this, it is always important to pay attention to the athlete’s habitual behavior and select the appropriate tools to deal with them.
2. Consider “result = being”
Many athletes feel that the environment values them as a person based on their sports results. In these cases, they think that if a good result has been obtained, it is “better” and if a bad result has been obtained, it is “worse.” The point is to show that oneself is independent of the results one obtains since these can be influenced by multiple variables that are not only related to oneself. To do this, comments like “You have lost, you are useless” should be avoided.
The athlete should have the opportunity to decide about, for example, his or her goals or training conditions. The fact of feel that personal opinion is taken into account It provides a positive feeling that can increase motivation and responsibility during the sport. We must try to consult, when appropriate, the athlete’s point of view and try to reach a consensus with him.
4. Set unrealistic outcome goals
It is important that the objectives are realistic. In fact, it is one of the bases for achieving a good goal. To maintain or increase motivation, it is essential that the objectives are seen as achievable and that the athlete himself believes that he can achieve them. If at first it is considered too ambitious a goal and with which the athlete feels that he is not going to prosper, it is difficult for motivation not to decline.
5. Boost negative feedback
It is worth keeping in mind that the athlete highly values positive and encouraging comments. For this reason, focusing on the negative aspects can only lead to a decrease in mood. It is logical to think that we must correct what has been done incorrectly, but it is important to recognize achievements and encourage in any situation.
6. Foster a pattern of chronic dissatisfaction
All people who are part of the athlete’s environment must take into account their situation to avoid continuing with a pattern of dissatisfaction, if it exists. That is why it is important help the athlete see the positive parts of their condition and, in no case, support the negative view.
The Fair Play principle is the so-called “fair play”, that is, competition based on respect for others and being aware that not everything goes in sport to achieve the goal.
In this sense, if an athlete feels that his coaches and other references encourage him to avoid “fair play” to obtain a better result, motivation tends to decrease, because he considers that he is being encouraged to behave in against one of the fundamental principles of sport.
8. Perform routine training
Monotony causes wear and tear on athletes The lack of new goals and the feeling of no progress causes the motivation to do the sport to decline. It is important to promote improvements and reorient the athlete’s career from time to time.
9. Recognize only the results, “success = winning”
In the evolution of the athlete, positive reinforcement must be carried out throughout the process. It is a mistake to identify success only with victory in a competition since an athlete can achieve success based on the achievement of other objectives and goals That is why it is important to keep in mind that success is also obtained in small progress and to be aware that it does not always depend on oneself and one’s abilities.
10. Put competition before personal competence
In sport, the most important thing is the athlete and their progression. Therefore, attention must be focused on him and his personal development. You cannot fight only to achieve a specific result in the short term, but you must seek change in the athlete in the long term.
The athlete must be helped to be aware at all times of the causes of their sporting results. In this sense, we cannot make the athlete believe that his successes and/or failures always and exclusively depend on himself or, in the opposite case, on his environment.
The important thing is to find a balance and make them see that, in achieving a goal, their abilities are as important as the external factors that can influence them. But always be realistic and objective at all times.
12. Promote that any challenge is surmountable
You cannot make the athlete believe that all challenges can be overcome. We must help him to be aware, at all times, of his abilities but also of his limitations. Above all, it is the limitations that will determine the possible achievement of a goal. Therefore, it is important to be clear when we believe that, no matter how much effort is made, the objective will not be achieved.
13. Encourage differences within the team
Sports teams are groups of people who come together in a sport to achieve a common goal. This creates group cohesion and identification. To maintain these characteristics that, without a doubt, generate positive feelings, it is important to try to enhance the similarities of the team members and not focus attention on the differences.
If we continually highlight what separates the team it is easier for group identification to decline and, consequently, individual and group motivation decreases.
14. Demand the exclusivity of sports practice
l Athletes are still people with a personal and academic life parallel to their sports life For this reason, and especially in young athletes who have not yet chosen to dedicate themselves professionally to sport, it is important not to demand complete involvement since it can exert excessive pressure and, consequently, generate wear and tear. All of this ends up translating into a decrease in motivation due to not finding satisfaction in practicing sports.
