Motivation can be defined as the direction and intensity of one’s efforts. Direction refers to why a person is involved in certain situations and why a person avoids other situations. Intensity is concerned with how much effort a person gives toward reaching a certain goal. Questions around motivation include: why people participate; why do people discontinue participation; what intrinsic and extrinsic factors influence participation; and what goals influence participation.  

Many times when someone decides to participate in tennis, they may appear to be motivated. Initially they hire as a coach and they sign up for the club but then the coach finds out that they aren’t motivated to practice or follow the training program designed for them. Why don’t they practices? These things generally happen because your player is not mentally prepared to play the game. Having some knowledge in motivation will help you be able to understand certain behaviors and help motivate players who seem to be struggling.

Your challenge as a coach is not to help players acquire motivation but to avoid destroying their intrinsic motivation for tennis. Today I am going to provide some background information on motivation and how to help build intrinsic motivation in your players.

Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation

It’s important to have an understanding of how intrinsic and extrinsic motivation impact players motivation. Some players participate in tennis for the sheer fun, pleasure and enjoyment of it. They are motivated by skill improvement, the inherent challenge of the sport and the achievement of personal performance goals. These athletes are motivated intrinsically (internally). They are involved because they love it. Alternatively, athletes who are extrinsically (externally) motivated may participate for social approval, material rewards and social status. In intrinsic motivation, a person would participate in tennis for the sheer joy of participating. People are intrinsically motivated if they are doing something they like and even more intrinsically motivated to participate in experiences that provide fun. For example, if someone really likes playing doubles they will be more intrinsically motivated to play doubles.

In extrinsic motivation the theory is, rewarding a behavior increases the probability that the behavior will be repeated and punishing a behavior decreases the possibility that it will be repeated.  However, once a need is satisfied, it is no longer a goal and loses its power to reward.  The more extrinsic rewards a person gets, the less need there is for the same type of reward.

It’s always best for people to participate in activities they enjoy to ensure that they are intrinsically motivated. If your players don’t have an intrinsic orientation then it can be helpful to use extrinsic rewards to develop it, but the rewards can not be excessive, controlling or manipulative and should not be contingent on accomplishment. This will likely undermine any chance a player has in developing intrinsic motivation.

Building motivation

When attempting to enhance motivation it’s important to consider personal and environmental factors because both of these play a large role in determining a player’s motivation or lack of it. It’s easier to change the situation than the needs and personalities of the participants.

The following is a list of some things to consider when dealing with motivational challenges:

– Build respectful, open and honest relationships with your players.
– Understand why people are participating.
– Help your players set realistic goals. Goals provide opportunities for success.
– Realize that as a coach you do influence motivation.
– Learn to use positive reinforcement appropriately.
– When applicable allow your players to be a part of the process of decision making.
– Incorporate a variety of drills and workouts that your players will enjoy.
– Place emphasize on the process rather than the outcome.
– Monitor and alter the way feedback is provided.
– Assess and correct athlete’s inappropriate perception of themselves.
– Enhance feelings of competence and control.

Conclusion

One of the major goals of coaching tennis players is to determine what factors maximize participation and performance. This is important to help promote the probability that a person will sustain their participation in tennis and lead an active lifestyle throughout their life.

A person’s performance hinges on the motivational views discussed but also includes other factors such as, biomechanical, physiological, sociological, medical and technical. It’s important to be able to clarify what are motivational issues versus other issues particularly since many other factors appear to look like motivational factors.

Some motivational factors are more easily influenced than others. For example, as a coach it’s easier to change the way you give positive reinforcement than it is to change the attractiveness of the facility where you are practicing. As a professional it’s important to take into consideration what motivational factors can realistically be influenced and which ones can not and to keep that in mind when working with a player.