ABSTRACT
This paper discussed the influence of
motivational strategies in enhancing sports performance among athletes of
University of Lagos. A series of researches were carried out and discoveries
were made. The research hypotheses were tested using the chi-square statistical
tool at 0.05 level of significance. After the data were analysed and hypotheses
were tested, the following recommendations were made: Coaches should ensure
athletes are properly motivated in ensuring high class performance in sports; Motivation
given to individuals should be something that would spur them to better
performance and not a little price or very high ransom; Athletes should be
regularly motivated by sports administrators and managers for any exceptionally
good performance; Female athletes should also be motivated as their male
counterparts in other to reduce gender discrimination which demotivates; Both
intrinsic and extrinsic forms of motivation should be used for athletes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
of the study
Statement of problem
Research
questions
Research
hypotheses
Delimitation
Limitation
Significance
of the study
Definition
of terms
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Concept
Of Motivation
Types of Motivational
Theories and Models
Types of Motivation Motives
of Sport Participation
What
Motivates Athletes
How
to Tackle Low Motivation
Positive
and Negative Motivation
Motivational
Techniques
Motivation Tips for Unmotivated
Athletes
Motivational Quotes in Sport
Empirical findings on Motivational
strategies and Sports Performance
CHAPTER THREE:
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Method
Population
Sample And Sampling
Technique
Research Instrument
Validity And
Reliability Of Research Instrument
Procedure For Data Collection
Procedure For Data
Analysis
Pilot Study
CHAPTER
FOUR:
DATA ANALYSIS AND
PRESENTATION OF DATA
Presentation of Demographic Data
Analysis of Research Questions
Analysis of Data and Testing of
Hypotheses
Discussion of Findings
CHAPTER
FIVE
SUMMARY,
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary
Conclusion
Recommendations
References
Appendix
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
of the study
Motivation is necessary for developing
and performing athletic skills, it is the bedrock of successful sports
participation regardless of race and background. It is what drives the athlete
to successfully acquire a skill through long and arduous practices. The
definition of a motive, associated with motivation, is stated in Webster's New
World Dictionary as "some inner drive, impulse, intention, etc. that
causes a person to do something or act in a certain way. High school coaches
often find that motivating adolescent males and females can be particularly
challenging (Robert, 1992). Although motivation can be sometimes difficult to
achieve, attention to social influences and using techniques of reinforcement,
feedback, and goal setting are ways that can instil motivation in the adolescent
athlete.
Adolescents are influenced by
their peers, parents, and the social factors that surround them. These aspects
shape the behavior of these youths and affect their motivation towards
athletics. In a study by Rychman & Hamel (1992) some of the main reasons
why female adolescents engaged in sports activities were to make friends, keep
existing friends, or a combination of both. However, it is important to note
that the athletes who had a greater history of sports participation were more
strongly oriented towards their performance. These athletes also required less
support and reinforcement from coaches and team mates than did athletes from a
less sports oriented background. This study indicates that less experienced
players require extra encouragement and support than do more experienced
players. Therefore, some emphasis on the social aspects of being on a team
should be encouraged.
Coaches must also be perceived
by the athletes as honest and caring (Petronio, Martin, & Littlefield,
1984; Westre & Weiss,1991). These characteristics help and support athletes
in practice and competition, also, athletes will work successfully with someone
they like.
Students may volunteer for high
school sports teams because of several factors. Parental or peer pressure may
have encouraged them, or perhaps they want something to be identified with.
Unfortunately for the coach, the former reason can be difficult to deal with.
It can be quite challenging to make someone enjoy himself or herself or to want
to participate. However, certain yet-to-be-discussed motivational techniques
can be helpful. Also, with patience, learning about the required skill can
result in motivation (Magill, 1989).
In regard to the social
factors and peer or parental pressure that affect adolescent motivation,
emphasizing social interaction with other athletes, providing support and
encouragement to new-comers, having the athletes believe in their coach as
honest and caring, and patience will help in motivating these youths.
Using positive reinforcement
can be a part of motivating the adolescent athlete. Black & Weiss (1992)
researched this technique in a study involving swimmers in three age groups;
ten to eleven year olds, twelve to fourteen year olds, and fifteen to eighteen
year olds. In the last two age groups, (twelve to eighteen year olds inclusive)
verbal positive reinforcement and encouragement played a significant role in
motivating the athletes. Reinforcement gives some indication of the knowledge
of results in practice, but it does depend on whether or not the skill is being
performed correctly. This knowledge is then applied to learning so that the
athlete can improve on the required actions (Skinner, 1969). If the athlete is
not improving, reinforcement can still motivate because it becomes a type of
reward. This type of reward can be classified as an extrinsic motivator.
Similar types of reinforcement
do not work in the same way for all athletes (Llewelyn & Blucker, 1982).
Visual reinforcement (video analysis and comparison) may motivate one athlete,
but discourage another. This is also true for verbal reinforcement. Negative
criticism, on the other hand, detrimentally affects youth motivation levels.
The study by Black & Weiss (1992), which was previously discussed, found
that when adolescent swimmers were exposed to such criticism, their motivation
dropped. This may happen because the athlete becomes angry, confused, hurt, or
a combination of all three (Jones et al. 1982).
Positive reinforcement and
encouragement both help youth athletes become motivated to practice and perform
well. Every athlete responds differently to different types of reinforcement
and encouragement. What may motivate one athlete may discourage another.
Negative criticism should be avoided as this tends to discourage the athletes.
Feedback, or knowledge of
results, is similar to reinforcement but it provides much more relevant
information to the athlete. Research has indicated that knowledge of results is
essential to proper skill acquisition (Bilodeau, Bilodeau, & Schumsky,
1959). Black and Weiss also studied the correlation between the use of feedback
and motivation. Their results showed that when information was given with
encouragement, the athlete's motivation and self-perception of ability rose. It
is interesting to note that the females who participated in this study depended
less on the comparison with their peers and more on the feedback provided from
the adults.
In regard to the format of
feedback, visual feedback was much more instructional and useful than verbal
feedback (Llewellyn & Blucker, 1982). This was especially true for
beginners who had not yet mastered the technical aspects of the skills they
were performing. In application, when verbal feedback is used, preferably after
visual feedback, it must be precise and effectively communicated.
Feedback is essential to improve
the performance of a skill. Knowledge of what can be done to perform better
through visual and verbal aids help to improve motivation in adolescent
athletes.
Goal setting can be the best
motivator of all the previously mentioned techniques. Setting goals provides a
step-by-step approach for adolescents to achieve their desired level of
performance. Also, setting goals can help to intrinsically motivate these
athletes to exercise, as documented by Tappe, Duda, & Menges-Ehrnwald in
1990. This study found that adolescents were intrinsically motivated to reach
their fitness goals and consequently exerted more effort towards that goal.
With respect to gender, male athletes were more oriented towards winning and
competition than females who tended towards personal best efforts and
developing social and physical aspects (Rychman & Hamel). However, it is
important to remember that this is a general statement and that every athlete
is an individual. Another study of male, secondary school basketball players
executed by Seifriz, Duda & Chi in 1992 reported that goal orientation
helped in intrinsic motivation. This research supports the idea that setting
goals helps in motivation, but it is also important to include the athletes and
interact with them in the goal creation process. McKenzie & Rushall in 1977
studied this in an experiment involving swimmers and recording performance. The
results showed that when the adolescent swimmers were included in the recording
and establishment of goals, their motivation increased. Consequently, as their
motivation increased, their athletic performance also increased.
Goals can be either extrinsicly
motivated, (such as winning a trophy), or intrinsicly motivated (such as a
desire to improve technique). Adolescents are constantly being reinforced with
extrinsic motivation rather than intrinsic motivation (Llewellyn & Blucker,
1982). This is somewhat unfortunate because coaches must constantly offer
material objects to motivate their athletes rather than promote the idea of
personal satisfaction from physical activity.
Goal setting is very valuable in
motivating teen-aged athletes. Establishing goals helps athletes to work
harder, and having them interact with their goals results in higher motivation
levels. More emphasis on the intrinsic motivation of young athletes may help to
curb the strong tendency to respond to the extrinsic motivation of material
gain rather than personal improvement. Although motivation is important to the
athletic performance of adolescent athletes, one motivational technique is not
better than any other (Llewellyn and Blucker, 1982). Providing such incentive
can sometimes be a challenge to the coach, but it can be made easier if the
coach pays attention to certain aspects that help in motivation. Parental and
peer pressure and social factors can be dealt with by the coach by emphasizing
social interaction, encouraging the less experienced players, and being honest,
caring and patient. The amount of positive reinforcement and feedback is
essential to motivating the athlete and to improving his or her athletic
performance. Setting goals and involving the athlete in this process is also an
effective motivator for these youths.
Statement of problem
Motivation
is the foundation of all athletic effort and accomplishment. Without your
desire and determination to improve your sports
performances, all of the other mental factors, confidence, intensity, focus,
and emotions, are meaningless. To become the best athlete you can be, you must
be motivated to do what it takes to maximize your ability and achieve your
goals. It is of note that there has been a dwindling performance among
University of Lagos athletes due to lack of rewards, incentives and other
motivational strategies. Thus the need for this study.
Purpose of study
The
purpose of this study is to investigate the perceived influence of
motivation strategies in enhancing sport performance among university of Lagos
athletes
Research
questions
1.
Will motivation strategies encourage the
participation of sports by the University of Lagos students?
2.
Will motivation strategies encourage more
participation of sport by female students of the University of Lagos?
3.
Will motivational strategies enhance the
overall success of the school sport teams?
4.
Will motivational strategies enhance
progressive improvement in the performance of the school athletes?
Research
hypotheses
1.
Motivational strategies will not
significantly encourage the participation of sports by the University of Lagos
students.
2.
Motivation strategies will not
significantly encourage more participation of sport by female students of the
University of Lagos.
3.
Motivational strategies will not
significantly enhance the overall success of the school sport teams.
4.
Motivational strategies will not
significantly enhance progressive improvement in the performance of the school
athletes.
Delimitation
This study is delimited to University of
Lagos student athletes and students of the Department of Human Kinetics and
Health Education. A self designed and developed questionnaire was used for this
study.
Limitation
The
limitation that was encountered during the conduct of this research work will
be the problems of administering the questionnaires, how to get the respondents
and the recovery of the questionnaires back from the respondents. Therefore the
questionnaire was shared and retrieved on the spot to avoid loss or damage.
Significance
of the study
The
reason motivation is so important is that it is the only contributor to sports
performance over which you have control. There are three things that affect how
well you perform. First, your ability, which includes your physical, technical,
tactical, and mental capabilities. Because ability is something you are born
with, you can't change your ability so it is outside of your control. Also, the
difficulty of the competition influences performance but motivation will always
affect performance, therefore this study is important in knowing various
strategies involved in motivation.
Definition
of terms
Confidence:
Trust
or belief in someone’s ability
Desire:
A
wish or longing
Extrinsic:
The
act of developing an urge or desire to do something because of a reward
Intrinsic:
An
inward or inborn urge that spurs an individual into action
Motivator:
A
person or something responsible for spurring a person into action
Peak:
To reach highest,
greatest, best, busiest etc.
Performance:
The
doing of something
Sport:
Games or competition
involving physical activities
Skill:
Cleverness at doing
something, resulting either from practice or from natural ability
Tactical:
The
act of strategic planning
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