[CLOH-News] The second part of the lesson from Hobie on Confidence Building Through Motivation from https://Read.SwimISCA.org.

[Mark Rauterkus]

Part 2, it continues!


One of the big goals for the athlete is in winning.

Being number one is the big thing, and yet, what is really gained by
winning?

Normally, the athlete who wins has satisfied that particular goal for the
moment and tends to relax and/or become complacent over his or her
accomplishment. Self-confidence is maintained but the only motivation
derived from winning is the thought of trying to win again the next time
around.

Often, a person becomes more motivated in defeat -- for the challenge to
win becomes more pressing and important to the individual. In defeat, the
athlete may question his or her abilities, talent, training habits,
attitude, etc. But, if the athlete contains his or her self-confidence, the
desire to compete may be as strong, if not stronger than before.
The feeling of power and dominance over others motivates some athletes.

Beating others gives them a sense of being better than the opponent, which
offers personal satisfaction.

To induce better performance, the athlete may be motivated through a
positive or negative reinforcement, and it is not possible to know which
approach will offer the best performance at a given time. What may motivate
an athlete to give a high quality performance at one moment, may not
motivate the athlete under similar conditions another time. To be more
specific, a coach may holler and scream (negative reinforcement) at an
athlete during a contest and that person may respond with an outstanding
performance. Whereas, the coach may again use the same negative approach on
the same athlete under similar conditions at another time, and the athlete
may perform very poorly.

Another example of negative reinforcement is that of Indiana's basketball
coach, Bobby Knight, who is well known to constantly badger and harass his
athletes who have responded, more often than not, with a positive
performance. These athletes know that if they can accept such negative
abuse from their coach, their response could result in pro-basketball
contracts, outstanding press and television coverage, peer identity, and
other positive rewards.

I would venture to guess that if similar coaching tactics were used in a
less popular program such as diving, the coach would have no team.

On the other hand, positive reinforcement does not always produce positive
motivation in the athlete for such an approach may be artificial or be
applied too often to have meaning. When a coach tries to psych up an
athlete when it is obvious the coach doesn't really mean what he is saying
or when he offers the same praises regardless of the performance of the
athlete, then positive motivation has no value.
The intensity of motivation often influences the quality of performance.

When a competition is highly important, or a contest becomes extremely
tense, the sources used to motivate the individual become more extreme.
When the quality of competition is weak and top performance is not needed
to win, the sources of motivation are normally mild. Therefore, it appears
that the greater the demand for top performance, the greater the need for
motivation. However, there has been some evidence that too much motivation
can result in an athlete or team reaching a state of panic which can
greatly impair performance or stop performance altogether. So instead of
motivating the athlete, fear becomes so intense that performance becomes
very complex.
Such a situation happened to the University of Wisconsin's football team a
couple of years ago.

After a terrible lashing from an opponent, a psychologist was brought in to
examine the entire team. This doctor publicly stated that the entire team
had been motivated by the coaches and other media to a point beyond their
ability to respond. This condition is sometimes termed as *psyched out*.
It is also found that in training, constant motivating practices do not
always breed the best performance from an athlete.

Through trial experiences, offering a mixture of high pressure and low
pressure workouts encourages greater performances than constant high
intensive workouts. The reasoning for the change in the intensity of
workouts appears that athletes must have time to relax while performing or
away from practice because they can't be keyed up constantly for
competition.
EnvironmentThe environment that surrounds an athlete often has much to do
with motivating the athlete toward a favorable or unfavorable performance.

A crowd cheering or booing can do much to influence the performance of the
athlete. If other similar types of environmental factors don't motivate the
athlete, they can provide a positive or negative atmosphere. There is no
doubt that a contest is a lot more exciting if the stands are full, a band
plays, there is a stimulating announcer, and friends are cheering for you.

Motivating gimmicks also might fire up an individual or team on one
occasion. but may have little or no affect at another time. Whatever the
gimmicks, posters, signs, slogans, decorating the locker room, playing
music, etc., they all offer a positive atmosphere, but there is no
guarantee that they will motivate anyone.

Having good equipment and good teaching aids, such as video, all contribute
to a positive atmosphere and most certainly make it much easier for the
competitors.
The CoachThe coach should first realize that whether the coach likes it or
not, the coach is going to create an image with the athletes.

The type of image will differ somewhat with each team member and will
depend upon the association and communication between the two. So it is
important that the coach projects the best of him or herself to the team.

The type of image will depend much upon the coach's personal make-up such
as personality, sense of humor, manner of dress, moral standards,
leadership ability, etc. Personal habits also are important, for it is
difficult to expect the athletes to not drink, smoke or use foul language
if the coach is standing there with a cigarette in hand, booze on the
breath, and cussing up a storm.

There are so many ways that a coach influences and motivates an athlete.
Some specific traits:

   1. If a coach hopes to motivate an athlete, then the coach must also be
   motivated. A positive attitude from the coach can affect and inspire the
   athlete. This may be particularly true when the athlete has lost a contest
   or has appeared to have lost.
   2. Get to know the athlete well enough to know what it takes to motivate
   that person. Some athletes respond better when yelled at, where others
   withdraw with the same negative input. A coach who is flexible in the
   approach to motivating the athletes gains more success from them than the
   coach who treats all of the team the same way.
   3. There is no sure way of knowing when, how, or where a particular
   motivating technique is going to work. The coach usually learns this from
   experience.
   4. Perhaps one of the most difficult traits for a coach to learn is
   self-control. If the coach has difficulty in self-control, then don't
   expect controlled performances from the squad. If the coach cusses, tears
   down the opposition constantly, or uses physical violence (like throwing
   chairs), that coach can expect similar behavior patterns from the team's
   kids. Pressure situations normally do not bring out the best in people and
   coaches are no exception. However,  the coach who does make an abusive
   mistake with his or her athletes, and then apologizes, the coach can gain
   respect from everyone.
   5. Most coaches take for granted that the athlete is as much up for a
   contest as the coach is. This is not so, for some athletes. Some just don't
   get with it unless someone pushes them. The coach has to be aware of this.
   6. Being organized is a form of motivation, for this induces guidance,
   leadership, and concern for the program by the coach.
   7. Playing favorites or being inconsistent in relationships with the
   athletes has prevented many coaches from being good motivators. If the
   coach cannot be consistent in administering rules or be up front with the
   team, then the coach cannot expect an atmosphere of mutual trust and
   respect.
   8. The coach should avoid forming hasty or permanent negative opinions
   of the athletes. Some people have difficulty relating to others and don't
   express themselves well. If the coach doesn't offer the athlete time to
   really express oneself, the coach could lead the youngster in a direction
   that the coach may live to regret later. The coach also should not express
   any negative opinions of the team members to others, for such back-stabbing
   has a habit of getting back to people involved, which usually causes a very
   poor atmosphere.
   9. If the coach wishes to motivate with results, then start early in the
   season and be consistent throughout the year.
   10. The smart coach seeks out those athletes that are easy to motivate
   and try to draw the rest of the team into that fold.

Often when a coach becomes so intense on winning, and when the coach tries
too hard to motivate the athletes, the fun is taken out of the sport.

   - Remember, all of this is nothing but a game. But then, that is what
   life is all about.