USING INSPIRATIONAL VIDEO TO IMPROVE MOTIVATION IN TEENAGE ATHLETES.
When working with teenage athletes, I realize that sometimes an athlete may struggle to find motivation or direction to pursue their sport passionately. Other times, youth athlete can be a bit stubborn when it comes to taking in advice from adults including parents and other professional helps.
Recently, I was asked to work with a teenage swimmer. It did not take long for me to find out that this athlete did not want to be in the session with me. He only agreed to meet me to get his parents off his back. Although I managed to get him off his defensive wall and started talking about his swimming and challenge, he lacks the awareness that his mental side was the main factor that hinder his performance. In particular, he does not have a strong believe that he can go to the national team or the Olympics. His goals and believe limited in how much he can achieve at the next meet: If I reach the next goal, then I will think of the next one, if not then I am a failure so I do not need to think too far. On top of that, he knows that he has nervousness and anxious feeling before race, but refuses to seek way to address the issue. He heard of visualization but he applied it half halfheartedly and gave up as soon as he did not see an immediate effect. All in all, it shows that he was not aware of his blind spot and was not ready to accept external advice.
At such time, I would use sport inspirational movies as a tool to convey the message subtly. Unmotivated athletes may find watching movies not confronting so they can absorb the information easier. In sport psychology terms, it is called learning through vicarious experience. While doing research on movies to watch, I found this link which names 75 great sport movies. They separate movies by sports which is very helpful. I thought it is worth sharing so that you can use for your teenage athletes or any team that wants some inspiration.
Enjoy.
