Coaches must know how to motivate athletes, this is non-negotiable. A coach could be a great technician, game planner, and teacher, but if they can’t motivate their athletes to want success more than the coach wants it for them, that coach will fail. I explain why in my article on The Three Fundamentals of Great Coaching. Furthermore, I explain in my article This is What Elite Athletes Need Most from their Coaches why motivation is the final frontier for coaches.

With that said, there is no one size fits all approach to motivating athletes. It’s much easier to be an effective coach when you tailor your approach to motivation 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 making progress. Another type of athlete may need the context of a realistic step-by-step plan to find their self-motivation. And yet another type of athlete may need a well thought out purpose statement to find their self-motivation.

The more coaches understand what innately makes an athlete tick the better they can help them develop their self-motivation. This requires a process. A process that I am more than willing to help any coach execute as a consultant working behind the scenes.

My Approach to Help Coaches Motivate Athletes

When I first start working with a coach, I teach them to appraise their athletes to explore what makes each athlete tick using the Strengths Based Parenting approach.

1. Yearning: What activities or environments is the athlete repeatedly drawn to or eager to try?
2. Rapid learning: What new skills or activities does the athlete pick up quickly and easily?
3. Satisfaction: When is the athlete most enthusiastic and fulfilled?  Which activities is he or she excited about doing again and again?
4. Timelessness: When does the athlete become so engrossed that he or she seems to lose track of time?

The next step is to understand which one of the 5 big personality traits they best fit.

1. Openness: Known for their curiosity, imagination, and ingenuity.
2. Conscientiousness: Go getters with strong organization and execution skills. May have a tendency for perfectionism and being controlling.
3. Extroversion: Distinctly positive and have the potential for leadership due to their outgoing, energetic, and talkative traits.
4. Agreeableness: The quintessential team player due to their preference for cooperation. Typically behaves in a manner that’s considerate, generous, forgiving and trusting.
5. Neuroticism: Performs at the extremes with high highs and low lows due to being driven by emotions. Influenced by negativity and anxiety more than others.

Then coaches will combine what they learn from these two approaches to categorize an athlete’s primary form of self-motivation into 1 of 9 types:

1. Autonomy – Doesn’t like being told what to do and has a need to be self-reliant.
2. Competence – Wants to show mastery and craves moments to demonstrate their expertise in front of others.
3. Social Bonding – Needs to build relationships with others and pursue goals with friends.
4. Social Status – Must establish social significance and wants to be the “alpha” in their social circle.
5. Accomplishment – Loves planning and constantly wants to feel like they are making progress.
6. Knowledge – Wants to always keep learning new things and expanding their expertise.
7. Excitement – Needs to stimulate their emotions by taking on new and thrilling experiences.
8. Challenge – Must have purpose and seeks opportunities to push themselves and others beyond perceived limitations.
9. Creativity – Doesn’t like monotonous activities and needs to have a way to express their uniqueness.

Finally, using these 9 categories of self-motivation, I work with coaches to develop a custom plan and process to pursue team and individual goals that takes advantage of each athlete’s unique strengths and motivations to optimize the team’s potential for success.

To find out more about my program to help coaches, teams, and and individual athletes with motivation, please contact me here.