Athlete Achievement & Enjoyment Dr James Matthews, C. Psychol., - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Creating an Optimal Climate for Athlete Achievement & Enjoyment Dr James Matthews, C. Psychol., Ps.S.I UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science

IOC consensus statement on youth athletic development “Develop ¡healthy, ¡capable ¡and ¡resilient ¡young ¡ athletes, while attaining widespread, inclusive, sustainable and enjoyable participation and success for all levels of individual athletic achievement . “ ¡ ¡

Two ¡questions ¡to ¡answer… 1. What does success mean? 2. How can you create the right climate for achievement and enjoyment?

An ¡athlete’s ¡behaviour ¡in ¡achievement ¡ situations is a consequence of their perception ¡of ¡“success” ¡in ¡different ¡ contexts. Achievement Goal Theory (Nic (Nicholls, 1989; D holls, 1989; Duda & Hall, 2001; Duda, 2013 uda & Hall, 2001; Duda, 2013)

Achievement Goal Theory Situational Factors Dispositional Factors Task involving climate Task-oriented Ego involving climate Ego-oriented Achievement Behaviour

Task Oriented Behaviour 5. Choice of moderately 1. Persistence challenging activities 2. Optimal Effort 6. Selection of 3. Focus on developing competitive settings current skills and that allow feedback learning new ones on performance 4. Self referencing 7. Do not fear failure

“For ¡myself, ¡losing ¡is ¡not ¡coming ¡second. ¡ It's getting out of the water knowing you could have done better. For myself, I have ¡won ¡every ¡race ¡I've ¡been ¡in.” ¡ Ian Thorpe, 5 Time Olympic Champion

Ego Oriented Behaviour • Perception of high • Drop out ability • Don’t ¡persist • Selection of activities where person feels • Blame others (Attribution he/she will failure to external factors demonstrate superior outside of their control) performance to others • Super sensitive to • When this cannot be criticism in front of peers achieved – person will select goals that are either very easy or will • Challenge coach authority avoid the task 

“It’s ¡not ¡enough ¡to ¡ succeed; others must fail !” Quote attributed to Gore Vidal

Desired Goal Orientation? In pairs, consider which grouping is best and why • Hi task/low ego? • Low task/High ego? • Hi task/Hi ego? • Low task/Low ego?

EGO - HIGH High Ego – Low Task High Ego – High Task Focus on winning or what it takes to win Anxiety Uses feedback constructively Focus on winning TASK - LOW TASK - HIGH Low Ego – Low Task Low Ego – High Task Disinterested Low anxiety Low perceived ability High enjoyment EGO - LOW

“What ¡may ¡make ¡high ¡task ¡& ¡high ¡ego ¡ individuals motivated and confident ‘over ¡the ¡long ¡haul’ ¡… ¡is ¡the ¡fact ¡that ¡ they have their strong task orientation to fall back on when their sense of normative ¡competence ¡is ¡in ¡jeopardy” ¡ (Duda, 1997; Van Van Yperen et al., 2015)

What is a Motivational Climate? The way in which an individual in a position of authority shapes and structures an achievement setting establishes a motivational climate that conveys certain goals

“People ¡say ¡you ¡need ¡to ¡be ¡hard ¡ on ¡people, ¡but ¡by ¡the ¡time ¡you’re ¡ at that elite level you are prepared to die and the last thing you need is someone whipping you into shape. No one could have questioned my commitment to the sport, so it would seem rather ridiculous that you would need to push and bully to get the best ¡out ¡of ¡me.” ¡ (Victoria Pendleton, Olympic Champion)

“It’s ¡interesting ¡to ¡hear ¡so ¡many ¡ways ¡to ¡ explain it: laid-back, free willy, doing whatever,” “We ¡run ¡this ¡program ¡with ¡extraordinary ¡ standards in how we prepare every day, with ¡expectations ¡that ¡they’re ¡going ¡to ¡be ¡ working their tails off every single step of every ¡single ¡practice.” ¡And ¡they ¡do ¡that, ¡ they’re ¡in ¡an ¡environment ¡where ¡they ¡can ¡ feel ¡good ¡about ¡what ¡they’re ¡doing.” “This ¡is ¡the ¡result ¡of ¡a ¡journey ¡to ¡figure ¡out ¡ how you can create an environment where people can find their best, stay at their best, foster their best for the people around them so that everybody can join in.” (Pete Carroll, Super Bowl winning Coach with the Seattle Sea Hawks)

How ¡can ¡we ¡create ¡the ¡“right” ¡climate?

Think TARGET … Ask ¡yourself… • T ask - Are activities task or outcome focused? • A uthority - Do you insist or involve? • R ecognition - What do you reward? • G rouping - How do you group players? • E valuation – What do you assess? • T iming – Do you provide time for individuals? Applicable in practice and competition

If ¡you ¡build ¡it, ¡they ¡will… • Keep participating • Feel capable • Have positive affect • Be at decreased risk of burn-out • Perform… Duda et al, 2013; Harwood, 2015; Hodge el., 2014; Isoard-Gautheur et al., 2013

Two ¡Questions ¡to ¡Answer… 1. The meaning of success is crucial . Winning is important, but the journey of striving to win through learning, effort and persistence is more important. 2. The climate established by the coach plays a major role in terms of producing an adaptive and resilient athlete that can functional effectively in their sport, so think TARGET.

Selected References • Bergeron MF, Mountjoy M, Armstrong N, et al. (2015). International Olympic Committee consensus statement on youth athletic development. British Journal of Sports Medicine , 49, 843-851. • Duda , ¡J. ¡L. ¡(2013). ¡The ¡conceptual ¡and ¡empirical ¡foundations ¡of ¡Empowering ¡Coaching™: ¡ Setting the stage for the PAPA project. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 11 (4), 311-318. • Duda, J.L. (2001). Achievement goal research in sport: pushing the boundaries and clarifying some misunderstandings. G.C. Roberts (Ed.), Advances in motivation in sport and exercise, Human Kinetics, Champaign: IL. • Harwood, C. G., Keegan, R. J., Smith, J. M. J., & Raine, A. S. (2015). A systematic review of the intrapersonal correlates of motivational climate perceptions in sport and physical activity. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 18 , 9-25. • Hodge, K., Henry, G., & Smith, W. (2014). A case study of excellence in elite sport: Motivational climate in a world champion team. The Sport Psychologist, 28 (1), 60 – 74 • Isoard-Gautheur, E. Guillet-Descas, & J.L. Duda (2013). How to achieve in elite training centers without burning out. An achievement goals theory perspective. Psychology of Sport and Exercise , 14, 72 – 83. • Van Yperen, N. W., Blaga, M., & Postmes, T. (2014). A meta-analysis of self-reported achievement goals and non-self-report performance across three achievement domains (work, sports, and education). PLoS ONE , 9(4): e93594