Motivation for the New Millenium
By Aimee Schmitt
How does one address the issue of motivation? Often it is felt that motivation is an intrinsic trait the athlete either has or does not have. Most coaches wish they could find a sure-fire way to motivate their athletes to continually push themselves to higher levels of achievement… but motivating effectively can prove to be a difficult and thankless pursuit. Often it is easier to coach the "tangible" things—stroke, effort, splits, turns, head position, etc., than it is to coach an "intangible" characteristic like motivation.
No one will argue the importance that motivation has in an athlete’s ability to improve and be successful, but where does it come from ? The coach’s role is of primary importance in motivating athletes to excel not only by their coaching styles--some are firm, or some exercise strict discipline—but also by being great counselors, and cheerleaders.
As head coach of the 1996 Olympic team in Atlanta, Richard Quick, had a lot of practice motivating great athletes—he mentions especially on the 400 freestyle relay where, in his words, "there were four distinct types of people who were motivated in different ways."
Quick, also the head coach of Stanford Women’s swimming team, and co-head coach of the 2000 Olympic Team states, "What motivates one person may not necessarily motivate another, and so it needs to be individualized as much as possible."
Quick explains, "The keys to motivation are, number one, to really be listening to the people you are motivating, and try to figure out where they come
from with regard to the goals they have set. Then, figure out how they individually process information and become motivated."
David Marsh, Head Coach of the two-time Men’s NCAA Championship swim team at Auburn University, focuses on "key
times for motivation" during the training season. "It is important to begin developing an intrinsic fire in the athlete—(so) they feel they are there to accomplish something not because they have to—but because they want to." Early in the season, Marsh also goes over some of the "perks" of performing well—"no one is unmotivated by things like an SEC watch, or an NCAA ring," comments Marsh.
The following are some other ideas and suggestions for ways to motivate:
Ask your athletes what motivates them.
Something has to get a swimmer out of bed before 5 a.m to go swimming. What is it?
Schedule a team meeting to talk about different swimmer’s motivations. You may be surprised at what you hear. Most young athletes may have never thought about it before, and they may be motivated by what they hear their peers say.
However, be prepared to hear things like, "I don’t know why I get up." Or, "My parents make me." It is difficult when swimmers swim for, as David Marsh described, "negative motivations" like swimming for approval, or to make their parents happy. These are situations however, where you can capitalize on your coaching skills to encourage athletes to really think about what they want to accomplish, and what it takes to get there.
Share what motivates you.
As a caoch, some athletes may not even realize where your motivation comes from. In fact, hearing your goals as a coach may serve as a motivating tool!
Encourage your athletes to keep a "motivational" journal.
Really highlighting personal successes from meets or workouts in a journal, as well as the work they did to get there, can be a great tool for future motivation. A motivational journal can even have a greater influence if it is also peppered with special "coaches notes" and encouragements throughout the season. By simply writing down and recording personal accomplishments, an athlete is assured of their own personal prescription for motivation.
Encourage your athletes to dream, and to write down their dreams in their journal.
After we moved, I discovered an old box of swimming scrapbook memorabilia…and found a yellowed piece of paper I used to have taped above my loft, on the ceiling of my dorm room in college. It was my goal time for the 100 yard freestyle--every morning when I got up for that early morning swim, and every evening when I would fall into bed exhausted from an afternoon of training---it was there reminding me why I was so weary. I wanted that time. All the training was eventually worth it—I blew by the time that year.
Consider taking half a workout for an exercise like writing down a goal time in bold numbers, and making it resemble a scoreboard. This could actually by be more effective in motivating a successful race than the training the athlete missed by doing the exercise.
Encourage your athletes to clip inspirational stories.
Other people’s stories can be extremely inspiring and are worth saving. Encourage your athletes to clip articles from newspapers, or magazines; or put quotes from the Bible, or inspirational authors on index cards. By encouraging athletes to look for inspiration, and post such stories, photos, posters, etc., in the locker room or bedroom, they will be focusing on and identifying with positive motivating events.
Coaches might also show video footage from past meets, or other events. Anything that features successful athletes or inspirational stories will surely fuel an athlete’s memory banks, and provide confidence and an inner-desire to keep striving.
I still have an article I clipped from a sports magazine almost 20 years ago—it was an interview with Carl Lewis—and I was amazed at his confidence in his performances. In this article he spoke of his visualization techniques, and thanked God for the talent he has been given. It inspired me every time I read it. I kept this article taped to the inside of my locker throughout my college career.
Finally, encourage "fun" in your workouts.
Every single workout does not have to be "entertaining"--but every now and then, remember to have fun and encourage your athletes to enjoy the sport in which they work so hard to train. Fun things I remember were the get out swims; hypoxic games; swimming backwards in the lane; doing wacky relays; having to do a set with every possible piece of equipment on; playing ultimate frisbee; filling up a swim cap in the water; the kick board toss; goggles on the flags toss; etc.
Coaches, what an honor and responsibility you have. You are a part of some of the best days of these athlete’s lives. They won’t remember all the grueling sets, but they will remember "the good times" they had training hard under you; and most of all, they will remember being "inspired" and "motivated" by you to not only be the best they could be in the pool, but also in life.