Hi Coach,
Before you dive in, two quick notes:
This is now the Better Coaching Newsletter — the name is more aligned with the mission, to simply help coaches get better so that they can better serve their athletes and teams.
We just launched a totally free community for coaches called the Better Coaching Community. It’s a place for coaches to connect, share ideas, and learn from one another. We’ve also consolidated all our free coaching resources there. Click HERE to join 87 other coaches!
I hope this newsletter serves you!
Best,
Luke
QUOTE
“SDT suggests that autonomy-supportive interpersonal and social contexts will promote more self-determined motivation, well-being, and healthy development by satisfying three fundamental human needs: competence, autonomy and relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2000).”
NEWSLETTER
The 87 coaches that have joined the Better Coaching Community answer this question when they join…
“What is your biggest struggle or pain point as a coach?”
Reading through the responses over the past week made something glaringly obvious.
Coaches are really struggling to motivate their teams and athletes.
So the question is how do we do it?
How do we get each athlete, and the team as a whole, to become intrinsically motivated to bring their best and strive to improve and grow?
How do we as coaches motivate in a way that maintains and strengthens positive relationships with our athletes?
Too often as coaches, we can default to methods of extrinsic motivation (rewards and punishments), but if we want healthy teams and players to thrive, we need to create an environment that fosters intrinsic motivation in our athletes.
An athlete that is extrinsically motivated might be fueled by avoiding punishments, consequences, or getting external validation (“I practice hard so I don’t get yelled at or have to run,” or “I play to get a trophy).
On the other hand, an athlete that is intrinsically motivated is fueled by a desire to grow, a commitment to their teammates, and a love of the game (“I practice because I love getting better” or “I play because I love the game”).
If we want intrinsically motivated athletes, the research on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) gives us a clear path to helping develop this in athletes and teams.
There are three aspects of SDT:
Autonomy (Choice)
Competence (Mastery)
Relatedness (Connection)
Let’s dive into each of these.
Autonomy (Choice)
An athlete’s motivation increases when they are given meaningful ownership of and choices in their experience.
When we as humans feel like we have choice, control, and ownership, our level of motivation increases in any area of life.
Here are a few ways we can do this with athletes and teams:
Co-create a team identity and standards with your team (see this previous newsletter for a step-by-step guide on doing this)
Have athletes create their own Player Development Plan (PDP) listing their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement (OTIs)
Allow players to have input on planning portions of practices, choosing between two different activities, or determining the focus areas for a practice or match
Competence (Mastery)
Players are motivated when they feel they have the skills needed to succeed and that they are improving.
Players need to believe they have what it takes.
There is obviously the physical aspect of this with the execution of skills in competition, as well as the mental side of this where they believe in their ability and can stay emotionally regulated when things don’t go their way.
Here are a few ways we can help athletes and teams develop this:
Ensure desirable difficulty, or the optimal level of challenge in your practices
Too difficult = anxious athletes
Too easy = bored athletes
Ensure your practices are representative of competition. In other words, what you do in practice has the same variables as the game does.
Track progress and measure what matters to individual and team success
Relatedness (Connection)
Every human being has a deep need and desire to feel a sense of belonging and connection to a group of people.
The climate the coach creates is a huge factor in how connected athletes feel to their teammates.
It starts with the coach being willing to invest in an individual relationship with every player.
Every player wants to know that their coach 1) cares about them as a person, and 2) is committed to helping them get better.
Once that is established, coaches must be intentional about creating a climate where positive connections between athletes are a priority.
Here are a few ideas for connecting with athletes and creating a connected team:
Set the expectation for communication — i.e. eye contact, turn-taking, tone, etc.
Hold 1:1 meetings with players
Connect with each athlete individually during pre-practice/warmups
Spend time building connections amongst players through team building activities
Do daily shoutouts from coach to player and player to player
Give out awards that reinforce your culture/values
Additional Resources
To dive deeper into these topics, I’d encourage you to give one of the below episodes of The Cutting Edge Coaching Podcasts a listen!
This episode on athlete-centered coaching provides a perfect framework for supporting Autonomy by involving players in the coaching process.
A deep dive into Relatedness, this conversation explores how building trust and understanding what your athletes truly value is the key to unlocking motivation.
This episode is all about Competence, giving you the mental tools to help your athletes feel effective, capable, and confident in high-pressure moments.
JP's practical advice on asking your team, "What do you need from me to be successful?" is a powerful strategy for building both Autonomy and Relatedness from day one.
COACHING APPLICATION
A few thoughts on how this could apply in your coaching or leadership context…
Apply one idea from each section: Autonomy (choice), competence (mastery), and relatedness (connection)
CLOSING
Thanks for reading, I hope this serves you on your journey.
To your growth,
Luke Gromer, RYG Athletics | NIKE Sports Camps Provider
P.S. Click HERE to join 87 other coaches in the Better Coaching Community.
P.P.S. If you’re interested in becoming one of our NIKE Sports Camp directors, reply “NIKE” to this email, and we’ll get on a call! You can see testimonials from over 100 athletes that attended our camps last summer.
FEEDBACK
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COACHING RESOURCES
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#1: COMMUNITY
Join the Better Coaching Community to connect with and learn from other like-minded coaches!
#2: PODCAST
Listen to any of the 100+ episodes of The Cutting Edge Coaching Podcast:
#3: PODCAST NOTES & FREE RESOURCES
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