Without a doubt, it is important first of all to know the player, to know which players we have at our disposal, to know what qualities this player has on a mental level. Once we have known him, we have to try to get the most out of him so that our players can perform at their best level both individually and collectively.
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Types of motivation
Extrinsic
It relates to the reasons that come from outside the person, that is, external rewards, such as playing more minutes, being included in the squad, being valued by others. To understand this we could say that the player makes an effort to play more minutes, but it may be the case that this player does not need to make an effort to play more minutes, since there is no one who can occupy his position. In that case, you would have to look for external elements that help you stay motivated. Be the best player on the team, reach a goal record...
Intrinsic
It relates to the motives that come from within the person. The person does it because they enjoy doing it and get pleasure from the task itself. He enjoys the effort and enjoys walking the path the best way he knows how.
Without a doubt, extrinsic motivation is more at hand as coaches, but it must be a complement to intrinsic motivation, since it will fall under its own weight if there is no internal motivation.
Within both we can classify them as positive or negative.
- Positive refer to actions so that a player obtains something good for him. For example, enter the call.
- Negatives refer to actions so that a player does not get something bad for him. For example, being left out of the call.
Intrinsic aids to motivate your players
Once we know the meaning of the word motivation, the types of motivation and the principles that drive it, we are going to get down to business and look for a way to motivate our players.
To do this, we are going to encompass them in the following intrinsic aspects, which directly affect their mentality.
Set objectives and goals
Without knowing where I am going I cannot find the way and without a way I am lost without direction. Establish collective objectives first: what do we want to achieve as a group? How long will it take us to get it? What difficulties are we going to encounter? Set long-term objectives and develop them in your medium and short-term planning. As a player, what do I want to achieve individually?
Optimize your resources
Help them understand what they should spend their energy on, focusing on the aspects in which they are decisive. A player with passing ability should not focus on actions that limit this ability, but rather should develop in this sense and grow in the rest of the skills that enhance his ability.
Direct your thoughts
Sport is full of continuous confrontations on the field, intercepted passes, failed 1v1s, errors in definition... knowing how to direct your thoughts and ask the right questions will help the player maintain a positive attitude and continuous learning...
Prepare them to lose.
It is very curious that all of us coaches prepare our teams to win games and when the result we expected does not happen, it is all about bowed heads and disappointment. Preparing to lose is as important as preparing to win. Knowing how to face defeat as another aspect of learning is being mature as a team, it is knowing how to take the positive aspects of defeat and get a reading of what we need to improve. In this way the growth will be linear, without peaks, progressive and continuous.
Extrinsic aids to motivate your players
Music
Music has always played a very important role in teams, music is joy and leads to a state of emotion that drives us to give our best version. In teams we always tend to seek unity in all aspects and in music we coaches fight so that it is also in the locker room, with music.
Videos
Videos are, on the contrary, the best elements of extrinsic motivation. We all like to see how players who have reached the maximum have followed a path similar to ours, full of difficulties that they have been overcoming, and seeing them in match actions tells us that it is possible to do what we imagine.
Other elements that can help you as a coach
Individual talks
Making a player see what you expect from him, teaching him how to achieve it and encouraging him to be his best version will help you to have an advantage on the field that week.
Positional talks
Sometimes we encounter group aspects that do not go correctly and we do not find a way to deal with them. Surely this will be a challenge for your players and will boost their motivation, a reason to approach the game with a clear objective to improve.