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INTRODUCTION
In soccer, nothing can affect performance as
dramatically as a sudden loss of motivation. Without the motivation to
succeed a player cannot survive the challenges soccer can throw up. If the
team or player is going through a bad patch then motivating your players
becomes especially important. However, an overly motivated player may be
nervous and take risks. This article attempts to look at motivation and
suggest ways to help improve the motivational capacities of players.
THE MOTIVATIONAL PROCESS
In general we distinguish between, personal self-motivation (intrinsic)
and motivation from the outside (extrinsic) by the coach, teammates,
friends etc. By looking at the process of motivation, we can see how this
influences performance. Human beings are motivated to do sport for several
reasons;
A need to move & to
play: To be active, expend excess energy & aggression, for
self-fulfilment, to take risks, to satisfy curiosity, make use of the
hunting and adventurous spirit...
Ambition & Recognition:
Various motives are ambition (win competitions), outside recognition (from
fans, family, teammates...), playing in front of an audience, sociability
and social standing...
Overall, the motives
and needs of players are guided by two basic factors, the hope of success
and fear of failure with experience generally showing that the former
plays the major role in motivating players.
Every player has a
dream in soccer and some players pursue their dreams and expect to achieve
them through renewed hard work and dedication. Obstacles are seen as a
challenge and each setback as a call for more effort to improve and
overcome these problems. This type of player is intrinsically
self-motivated as their desire to succeed comes from within themselves.
However, many players,
often technically and physically good enough to succeed, fall by the
wayside due to a lack of self-belief to fulfill their dreams or the
willingness to spend the necessary time on the pitch or in the gym.
Generally, it is easier
to work with highly motivated players, as they only need decent
objectives, the environment and ability to concentrate as well as good
technical, tactical and physical coaching. However, these players still
need to be looked after as they may become frustrated and bored if they do
not meet their goals or keep their performances up to expected standards.
For children who are
under motivated, the football coach needs firstly to convince and motivate these
athletes to believe they can succeed and secondly that only hard work will
lead to success.
MOTIVATING THE TEAM/PLAYER
There is no perfect method for motivating players as this changes from
individual to individual and can depend on the current situation, such as
the team's position in the league. The following points suggest various
ways to help motivate and sustain motivation in your players:
Balanced & interesting
training: A disorganized and unbalanced training session can de-motivate
players from giving their best. Plan well ahead and cater for the
individual group's and team's needs. Remember variety is the spice of
life! Training should be both mentally and physically stimulating. For
players who are often substitutes, keeping them motivated is difficult.
Try for example to have a weekly game in which the head coach works solely
with the substitutes and an assistant coach works with the first-team but
don't at any time put distance between the players.
Setting objectives
(Goal setting): Is useful as it allows players to have something to aim at
through a pre-defined plan to compare their progress at different steps
over a period of time. However, the effect of motivation depends on how
attractive the goal is. Also, objectives that are too easy will lead to
players being either overconfident or careless or if too difficult,
players will approach them with low confidence and hesitancy. Try
developing a goal setting plan with daily, medium and long-term goals.
Be enthusiastic,
positive, honest and supportive: Your enthusiasm and positivity will rub
off on players. Mention the positive actions rather than the negative
actions as often as possible. Be honest about performance and be firm when
making a point about areas that need improvement. Offer suggestions on how
to improve. Do not embarrass your players but do tell them what you think!
Encouragement:
Encourage fun and hard work in the training or competition. Always
encourage players when they are successful and unsuccessful and avoid
complacency.
Be supportive,
confident and respective: Remind them that they win as a team and lose as
a team. Always be ready to listen to your player's worries and questions.
Accept them for who they are and for what they give to the team. Respect
your players and they will respect you. Give credit where it is due
focusing mainly on the team as a whole and accept some responsibility for
a loss. Remind them that we all make mistakes and will learn from them.
Get to know your
players and speak to them individually on a regular basis. Compliment them
on aspects of their game and mentioning areas they need to work in can
help to further motivate them.
Change of face: Players
can get bored of the same old faces! Try bringing in new coaches with
fresh and different ideas, perhaps even on a short-term basis.
Imagery & Motivation:
Players can use imagery to mentally rehearse a variety of aspects, like
focusing on overcoming a technical weakness or mentally preparing for a
match. Relaxation helps, as players are more motivated when they realize
that they can control stress and anxiety.
THE CURRENT SITUATION
During match preparation, the aim of the coach is to find the right
motivational levels. This can be attained by watching the attitude of the
players and providing a good pep talk. The coach can play up or play down
the importance of a game in order to reduce or increase motivation. He can
also take pressure off too keyed-up players by accepting responsibility
for the result. The experience of the coach does often tell in these
situations and will play a role in the resulting performance.
The position of the
club in the league plays an important role in player motivation, as does
the pre-match or half time team talk.
If your team is in the
leading pack: The biggest problem can be over-confidence and complacency.
The coach may use a short sharp shock to bring them back down to earth.
Players can also show mental and physical staleness from the pressure of
being at the top. Rest and recovery training work can help re-motivate the
troops.
If your team is
mid-table: A team facing neither the threat of relegation nor promotion
has little incentive. Motivation may be low as is the sense of urgency and
desire to win. Bringing in new players, changing playing systems or
position roles may help.
If your team is low or in the
relegation zone: Teams in the lower half can lose confidence and develop a
negative attitude or a fear of losing. The coach must remove this fear by
persuading players that if they keep doing what they are good at, things
will come right. Concentrating on the simple things and not the results
whilst giving precise instructions to individuals about their job will
help along with much praise and encouragement.
As mentioned earlier, the pre-match
and half time talk will play a role in determining motivational levels.
The opposition like the league position of a team plays an important part
in deciding the talk content. Playing a team lower than yourself can lead
to overconfidence as the players automatically think they will win.
Coaches must explain the importance of being serious and make sure that
players are not complacent in their training and preparation, especially
in Cup competitions against smaller clubs.
A highly motivated team
can often prove the difference when playing against rivals of a similar
calibre. Also, when meeting a more successful team coaches often play on
the underdog, nothing to lose position. Although this may lead to a team
feeling they have no chance. Several club managers in English football
claim that teams when playing Manchester Utd just lie down and accept
defeat. The coach must play on the weaknesses of the opposition (every
team has them!) and motivate his players to believe they can take
advantage of them.
The half time team talk
will of course depend on the score and impressions of the coach. A team
leading 2-0 will be instructed not to become complacent and concede an
early goal whereas a tight goalless first-half may lead the coach to jolt
his players and encourage them to try to break the deadlock through their
ability.
CONCLUSION
Motivation is a key means to achieving success. It
greatly depends on the coaches' personality, attitude and means of getting
players interested in bettering themselves and accepting the means by
which they can develop. Generally, the coach should try to understand what
motivation is and the ways to turn under or extrinsically motivated
players into intrinsically highly motivated
successful players.
In the end, Bill Besick (sports psychologist for Manchester Utd) states
that the strongest motivation must be because the player wants to win and
in a team sport the motivation must be because the players want to win
together.
For more articles like
this, check out Chris's site at
www.soccerperformance.org which has been created with the aim of
providing detailed innovative information and advice about playing and
coaching football. Launched in December 2000, it is aimed at coaches,
players, referees, sports science students and anybody who would simply
like to know more about the game. The site contains animated regularly
updated coaching drills, specialized coaching articles and analysis of
professional soccer performance.
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