On the Direction of Personal Motivation in Student Sport

In this article, the authors disclose the impact of motivation on the personality of student athletes. The aim of the study is to diagnose the direction of a person's motivation to achieve success and avoid failures in sports practice. 48 young men and 34 girls from sports sections of football, volleyball and basketball took part in in the experiment at North-Caucasus Federal University. For the study, the methods of personality diagnosis for motivation to success and to avoid failures of Theodor Ehlers were used, as well as the questionnaire "Measurement of Achievement Motivation" by Artur Rean. Observation of the psychological state of students, analysis of the training process and the results of the competition were conducted in conjunction with the coaches of student teams in team sports. The results of the study show that 43% of boys and 40% of girls are motivated to success. In the course of the study, the levels of motivation to success and avoiding failure in the respondents were determined. The vast majority of the respondents showed medium and high levels of motivation for success. The results were applied in the preparation and participation of student athletes in competitions, in the planning of the training process. As a result of the review of literary sources, the study of motivational orientation of the person, the analysis of the training process and the results of the competition, the authors came to the following conclusions. (1) The results shown by the athletes in the competition depend on the presence of a sufficient level of motivation of the individual, which is manifested in the desire to participate in certain activities and perseverance in achieving the goals. (2) Athletes focused mainly on success are distinguished by the ability to mobilize their forces in difficult situations and by confidence in their capabilities in the conditions of competition. (3) Optimal psychological readiness of student athletes to training and competition provides an average and moderately high level of motivation for success. This gives them the opportunity to strive to achieve the best sports results while realizing they have the right to make mistakes. (4) The dominance of motivation to avoid failures complicates the implementation of motor abilities and personal potential. (5) Significant gender differences in the studied motivational trends were not found.

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