Chris Mance II - Mental Skills Coach

Motivation and coaching go hand and hand. Coaches are constantly motivating their athletes to do what it takes to get better. When an athlete is struggling with this motivation, unquestionably, a coach’s first instinct is to step in and offer an external motivator to kick-start the athlete. 

However, pushing an athlete using external motivators has limits. History shows that pushing an athlete too much with external motivators is more likely than not to backfire. Therefore, the ultimate goal of a coach must be to develop a self-motivated athlete.

For some athletes this self-motivation comes naturally. For others, developing self-motivation requires coaches to be very intentional in their approach. With that said, there are three fundamentals all coaches must understand to serve as the foundation for helping any athlete develop self-motivation.

1) Self-Motivation Looks Different in Different Types of Athletes

There is no one size fits all solution for self-motivation. It’s much easier to be an effective coach when you can tailor your approach to fit an athlete’s unique personality and strengths.

Some athletes find their self-motivation when they have autonomy over what they do. Others find their self-motivation when they can easily see themselves continually getting better or making progress. In addition, another type of athlete may need the context of a realistic step-by-step plan that connects with a purpose bigger than them to find their self-motivation.

In short, the more you understand what innately makes an athlete tick the better you can help them develop their self-motivation.

2) Goals Will Motivate, But Goal Setting Must Be a Hands-on Process

Setting goals to jump start progress can be a game changer. That is why when an athlete is struggling with motivation goals are the best place to start.

However, coaches shouldn’t just encourage a struggling athlete to set goals on their own. This is a hands-on process that the coach must stick with from start to finish. This includes spending one-on-one time helping the athlete with the process of:

1. Picking the right goals.
2. Breaking the goals down into a progression.
3. Developing a daily/weekly plan to pursue the goals.
4. Measuring progress.
5. Adjusting course.

3) Self-Motivation Starts with Skill Development Instead of Just Winning

Skill development is a process, winning is an outcome. Coaches can only influence outcomes but can’t control outcomes. On the other hand, coaches can both influence and control processes. When it comes to a lack of motivation, focusing on anything other than what one can control is risky at best. Therefore, skill development should always get far more focus than winning.

In addition, building skills is an innately motivating process. Not only does building skills instill a growth mindset in the athlete, but it also builds their confidence. Mindset and confidence are major factors of motivation, and often the root cause for a lack of motivation.

To keep things simple, focus on developing two types of skills:

• Skills that are building blocks for more advanced skills.
• Skills that fix the athlete’s common mistakes or prevent common mistakes.