Psychological factors, which are involved in the performance
of an athlete
One of the
traditional concerns of physical and sport educators has been how to instill in
their students a love of training and competition. We find from an early age some boys and girls who don` t waste a chance to be present in the PE class and yet others for whom it is a real suffering to attend . Besides this, although physical education in many parts of Europe is part of the educational system, for the most part this is not done by true professionals in this field.
Although
motivation is essential for success in all fields, many don` t understand very
well what it is. The successful
coach requires a deep understanding of motivation, including the factors that
influence it, and methods for improvement ,both in individuals and in groups. In
fact, on many occasions what separates the good coaches from the mediocre is not
their technical knowledge of the sport but his ability to motivate his
athletes. There are many psychological factors involved in the performance of Athletes, researched over many interviews with various coaches and
athletes themselves, however here, I would like to list what , in my opinion, are the six psychological factors that could be considered the basis of a good psychological functioning in the
athlete.
- Motivation.
- Emotional
control.
- Responsiveness (external feedback)
- Analytical
(internal feedback)
- Concentration.
- Confidence.
But right now,
I want to focus only on motivation;
According to the Theory of Achievement Motivation by
Atkinson
(1964) and McClelland (1961),( parents of the theory of achievement), achievement, as in sport, is motivated by both personality and situational factors.
Major personality factors are: the motive to
achieve success and the motive to avoid failure.
Situational
factors that influence our achievement behaviors are: the likelihood of
achieving success or failure, and the incentive value associated with the
success/failure.
These two
reasons are the result of early socialization experiences that teach subjects
to avoid failure or seek success.
They are
universal and independent, because a person may have a high need to avoid
failure, but not achieving success.
According to
the authors, these personal factors remain unchanged throughout life. People oriented to the avoidance of failure continue to show avoidance
responses but never achieve success.
It is my belief,however, with respect to the above theory, that we can change young people's motivation at an early age with good quality coaching in Physical Education,which can help produce the most positive psychological motivation factors leading to success, and eliminate those negative factors which my block success in the future as an athlete.
It is my belief,however, with respect to the above theory, that we can change young people's motivation at an early age with good quality coaching in Physical Education,which can help produce the most positive psychological motivation factors leading to success, and eliminate those negative factors which my block success in the future as an athlete.
