A common question is how do coaches keep athletes motivated? This is a constant challenge in life – period. How do you keep students motivated in a class? How do you keep athletes motivated on a field?
I think the first question is what motivates the athlete? The legendary football coach Bill Parcells is famous for really understanding what made each of his players tick. All of his former players talk about his ability to truly understand what motivated each player and he leaned on that in his coaching. There are video clips online that show him interacting with his players and using that to motivate each one.
The lesson here is that everyone pulls motivation from different sources. It is categorically easier to determine motivation from professional athletes than it is for younger players. Many of the professional athletes are intrinsically motivated. They have reached that level of success by using an inner fuel to motivate them.
Younger athletes have not reached that level of maturity yet. A coach has a difficult task in figuring out what motivates each athlete.
LOVING THE SPORT
There is always a percentage of athletes who simply love the sport. For these particular athletes, a coach has to nurture the love for the game. This is where practice planning, designing and implementation come factor in. Typically, this is the easiest form of motivation to work with as a coach because that inherent love for the game lends itself to a motivated athlete.
Coaches who have identified these types of athletes have to really zone in on fueling that passion for the sport. Design drills to help these athletes succeed. Foster a winning culture and environment for them to grow. Make sure that they are progressing to the point where they see improvement.
ACCOMPLISHMENT
The next factor regarding motivation is accomplishment. This is a tad bit harder because the athlete must be the one to accomplish something. A coach can help them get there. Celebrate successes that are tailored to that athlete. Not every athlete can hit a home run. What sense of accomplishment can a coach create to help motivate the athlete.
It is much easier to start with accomplishments in practice because that is a controlled environment. Create drills or games where athletes can be successful and gain a sense of accomplishment. Set them up for success to help them in this area. After a few weeks a coach knows the strengths and weaknesses of their athletes (or at least they should). Develop activities that allow these athletes to be successful.
FUN
The dreaded word – Fun. This is harder to manufacture but not impossible. Kids like having fun. A coach can create an atmosphere that allows the athletes to be themselves, but still have structure to improve. In designing dynamic practice plans, incorporate fun activities.
The worst thing I see is old school batting practice at a Little League field. This usually involves a coach throwing 500 pitches to each athlete on the team. Everyone is standing around in the field watching one kid hit. I can tell you, unequivocally, no one is having fund doing this.
Design batting practice in stations. Rotate through the stations every two minutes. Add in hitting games where players hit off a tee and create some action in the field. The more engaged players are during a practice, the more fun they have.
COMPETITION
Create competition in each practice. Each sport allows for drills to be completed in a competitive way. This provides motivation for the players who thrive in this area, but it also prepares the entire team for game day.
You know your sport. How can you take a normal drill and make it competitive? A soccer coach can keep track of how many goals each player or team scores in a drill. A basketball coach can award points for defensive stops. A baseball coach can hit ground balls to infielders but the ball has to hit the first basemen’s glove in 4.5 seconds (the average time of someone running from home to first). Have players use the stopwatch to time this. Make it a competitive game.
There are so many ways to create competition in practice.
No matter what motivates your athletes, your job as a coach is to find out why and then use that to propel them to success.
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