When I was younger, I did swimming, wrestling, cross country and track. On some teams, there were usually a few kids that clearly didn't want to be there or were just there to get some conditioning for a different sport. Most likely, their parents made them do it and they put in the least amount of effort possible just to get by. There will always be a few disinterested kids or adults on a team, but I think the biggest mistake of a coach, is to MAKE an athlete do more of an activity as a punishment. I believe this conditions people to see the activity as more of a job rather than a genuine personal endeavor and reduces motivation. Here are my experiences in getting people to be more motivated athletes.
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUN....YOU GET TO RUN!" - Change the mindset from the start
A coach I had in middle school wrestling was probably one of the most influential people I had in sports. At the beginning of practice, we'd have to go out in the cold and run 2 or 3 miles. A bunch of middle school kids certainly didn't enjoy running, but we had it drilled into our heads on day 1, "You don't have to run... You GET TO RUN!" That's probably the only sports team I have ever been on in which it was rare to hear a complaint. Everyone worked hard and learned to love it. Farmington, Missouri is well known for their successful wrestling teams, and I think this mindset is a strong contributor to that.
"GET SERIOUS OR GET OUT!" - Don't be here if you don't want to be.
My sister and I did swim team for several years, and I'll never forget one coach in particular who shaped my mindset as an athlete. At the time, the team consisted of over 100 kids. Most were serious and a few not as serious and just liked to chat. Our coach was a thick guy with a deep, echoing voice that you could hear from across the pool. A nice guy, but could definitely be intimidating if he was yelling at us. He ran a successful team and we won pretty much every meet.
There were several occasions in which we were supposed to be swimming, but a few were talking or just being fairly disrespectful and not listening to what the coach had to say. He always had one line that would shut everyone up and get us all back to work: "Get serious or get out of my pool. Come back later and pay a dollar (when the pool is open for rec swimming)." Of course his commanding voice was helpful in getting us going again, but the fact that we wouldn't be able to swim with the "serious kids" made us want to do it more. Essentially it was reverse psychology. If you don't want to be here with our group, get out! Nobody ever left that I can recall.
INJURIES INCREASE MOTIVATION - People want what they can't have.
There are two seasons out of the year when people often dislike to run. Winter and Summer. It's either too hot or too cold in the Midwest those two times out of the year for people to feel motivated to get outside. As a coach, it is sometimes near impossible to get some people out to run most days of the week within those seasons. It is frustrating but I do understand because I don't feel like running either.
I have noticed that regardless of weather, if an athlete gets an injury they cannot wait to finally slap on their shoes for a hard workout. People always want what they can't have. If they can't run, they want it more. A temporary running injury is in my opinion the biggest motivator of all. Sounds terrible, but injuries are sometimes beneficial for your mindset.
A couple years ago, I had strained a hip flexor in February when the weather wasn't super nice. I remember trying to get outside almost every day in hope that the hip would magically feel better. It took about 3 weeks for it to heal up. Finally when I could run again, I was probably doing too much too soon but not being able to run definitely gave my mind a boost to get through the winter and I really looked forward to getting out, even on the crappy days.
COACHING MOTIVATION
I think FORCING people to train hard only accomplishes two things:1) Causes the athlete to be reliant on the coach or others to get out the door and unable to create their own goals.
2) Makes the athlete view the sport as a stressor as opposed to something they enjoy doing and being able to create their own meaningful goals.
Making this observation, I realize that there are a lot of people out there that need someone to yell at them to accomplish a task, but then I wonder if that person is doing the sport for the right reasons. The rules I like to follow when I'm coaching someone are these:
- Help direct an athlete's personal goal, but don't make the goal for them.
- Training schedules are Guidelines... Not Rules.
- Never make an athlete do a workout. If they want the results, they'll do the work. However, I usually recommend that the athlete attempt the workout before making their decision.
- Allow for variability. Give a range of distances, reps, paces as opposed to being precise. For example: "Get in 35 to 40 miles this week." As opposed to, "I want you to get in exactly 40 miles this week."
- Never punish an athlete by having them do MORE. If workouts are not going well, have them do LESS.
- Injuries have the benefit of increasing motivation and give time to reassess goals.
- Motivation tends to be cyclical and seasonal. Don't feel bad for having "down" seasons.
