An investigation of motivation in co-dependent team sport

Motivation is a significant part of both a manager's and individual athlete's preparation for sport. This research study examined this important area by completing three studies. Study One examined the combined effect of the Perceived Motivational Climate (PMC) and the Achievement Goal Orientation (AGO) of players to determine their effect on the players' anxiety and self-confidence levels. Participants consisted of individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 years who played co-dependent team sports. Study One found that the combined effect of PMC and AGO had a significant effect on athletes' anxiety and self-confidence. However, further research is required to better understand this combined effect of PMC and AGO. A longitudinal study could uncover whether the motivational climate a manager develops can impact on his/ her players' goal orientation. As the popularity of social media increases, research is required to determine its potential effects on athletes and sports teams' performances. Study Two examined the use of Twitter in seventeen clubs who play co-dependent team sports, to determine whether the types of tweets posted could potentially impact upon their team's motivational climate. Study Two found 11.11% of clubs' Twitter posts commented on either their players', or one of their teams', performances. These findings suggest there is a possibility that club's tweets could have an impact on a team's motivational climate. Therefore, further search is required to further examine the potential effect of social media on sports teams' and athletes' performances. During Study Three interviews were conducted with three managers of codependent sports teams to determine their opinions on the potential effects of the motivational climate, goal setting and social media on a team's performances. Managers stated that goal setting and the motivational climate were important factors in successful teams, while social media was likely to have a negative effect on players. These findings, along with the findings from Study One and Study Two suggest that further research is required to determine the effects of factors such as motivation and social media athletes' performance in a sports setting.