ABSTRACT
Why do some athletes constantly strive for success while others opt to avoid competition and evaluation? Why do some athletes rise to challenging tasks while others prefer less engaging activities? Why do some athletes choose to drop out of sport while others decide to continue their participation? In order to best answer questions such as these and to also ensure that athletes enjoy optimal sporting experiences, we, among others (e.g. Duda and Treasure 2001; Weiss and FerrerCaja 2002), believe that coaches need an in-depth appreciation of the concept of motivation. In highlighting the need for coaches to possess a detailed understanding of athlete motivation, Weinberg and Gould (2003) point out that it is the ability to motivate athletes, rather than technical and tactical knowledge of a particular sport, that more often than not separates the excellent practitioners from the others. In further commenting on the importance of such knowledge to coaching practice, Smith and Smoll (1996) have contended that an athlete’s success in sport, whether it is competitive triumph or an improvement in individual performance, is largely, though not solely, influenced by motivation. In particular, they have suggested that ‘athletes who are not motivated to develop their skills will not achieve their potential’ (Smith and Smoll 1996: 51).
