A growing body of research is showing that it is not so much the quantity of motivation that matters, but rather the quality of motivation. In other words, not all motivation is equal, and some types are better for our children’s wellbeing than others.
The highest quality form of motivation is known as the enjoyment/interest flavour. Children who are predominantly motivated by this flavour play their sport because they love it so much or find it really stimulating. They don’t need anyone to motivate them to play; try stopping them!
What is motivating your children to play sport?
Thank you to our friend Lara Mossman for producing this excellent graphic for our audience.
Lara is currently studying a PhD in Positive Psychology and Sport at La Trobe University. She has developed an online training program for youth sports coaches called Growth-Focused Sports Coaching (G-FSC). The program teaches coaches about behaviours they can dial up to support player wellbeing and motivation as well as behaviours they can dial down to avoid player burnout, dropout and poor sportsmanship.
