By Jim Strode
(December 14, 2021)

Like many young coaches, when I was given the whistle to lead a team, I thought that my best motivator was the most dreaded phrase uttered by a coach to their team— “on the line.” I always noted a spike in effort after making this threat, particularly early in the season. However, as the season continued, the phrase’s efficacy wore off and lacked the intended consequence of improving my team’s production. Most importantly, however, using the threat of a consequence was not supporting my desire to be a positive coach.

My goal as a coach was to get my players to want to do something, not have to do something. I did not aspire to make punishment the chief motivator, as I realized that the more I used scary drills, the less interested my team became in the game I wanted them to love.

I first learned about Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory (1985) in one of my graduate courses and had an “aha” moment. Shifting the focus on internal, intrinsic motivation was far more sustaining in getting positive results from my athletes rather than having the motivation driven by my extrinsic methods of “succeed or else face the consequence”. The key for me as a coach was to ascertain how I was going to put theory into practice. According to Deci and Ryan, our motivation is based on three needs: a need to feel competent, a need to have autonomy, and a need for relatedness (1985). If a coach can effectively create an environment that fosters these three needs, the result is the athlete feels intrinsic rewards, or in plain speak, the athlete is motivated internally by their desire to learn, grow, be a part of a valued team, and to do it mostly on their own terms.

Making an athlete feel competent

When an athlete succeeds at something, especially when the task was not simple, their confidence builds. As confidence builds, an athlete feels more competent at their craft.  Competence is simply the feeling that one gets when one succeeds or learns something based on their own efforts (Deci & Ryan, 1985). A coach needs to find ways in practice settings to help an athlete build their skills so that the athlete builds competence. It is important to note that winning by itself does not build competence, as an athlete may experience success and still feel incompetent in their skills or knowledge base. Devising progression plans where athletes can experience small wins while building up towards a more difficult skill is key. Coaches must be intentional in how they scaffold skill development and can use the old “hook and challenge” method of placing athletes in situations where they experience success early (the hook), and progressively challenge them so they maintain their interest.

Creating autonomy in your program

Autonomy, or the need for one to feel that they have control over a situation, is a critical component in building self-determined athletes (Deci & Ryan, 1985).  As a coach, you have the master plan on where your team is and where you would like it to go but allowing not only input but ownership from the athletes will instill a strong sense of autonomy. Knowing the goals of your athletes, and allowing for flexibility in achieving them, provides them a sense of autonomy. If your basketball center wants to develop their outside shot or wants to improve their ball handling, instead of discouraging this, find ways to allow the athlete to work on these skills in addition to the proficiencies that are important for their personal contribution to the team.

Fostering relatedness on your team

Humans are social beings, and relatedness refers to the desire to be a part of something with others, particularly through the development of meaningful relationships (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Teddy Roosevelt once said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” As a coach, it is important to find ways to connect with your players outside of the playing surface. When athletes feel they are connected to and trust their leader, they are in an environment for optimal personal growth.  Additionally, the value of a cohesive team cannot be understated.  Coaches should not lose focus on the need to provide meaningful opportunities for players to connect both in and outside of the game.  Canceling a practice for a team-building activity geared at instilling cohesion is never a waste of time.

Building a program inspired by self-determination

When athletes are self-determined, their motivation comes from the right place: themselves.  Coaches must be intentional in fostering an environment that encourages athletes to build their competence in the game, have the autonomy to choose their own direction, and be in an atmosphere that encourages relatedness with their leader and team. While using the external motivation of the whistle may yield your team short-term results, if you truly want your players to grow both in the game and professionally, building a program that encourages self-determined athletes is one built for long-term success.

For additional reading on how to use goal-setting within a self-determined approach, check out Motivation through Goal Setting: A Self-Determined Perspective by Gregory S. Sullivan and James P. Strode.

Reference

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York, NY: Plenum.