I've always been interested in sports, but particularly athletes and what drives them to become athletes in the first place and then stay interested in sport thoughout their lives. I once read a quote that someone had written that I think is true for a lot of competitive athletes :"People don't play sports because it's fun. Ask any athlete, most of them hate it, but they couldn't imagine their life without it. It's part of them, the hate/love relationship. It's what they live for, the competition, friends, memories, pain. It's who WE are." I know this quote relates to a lot of athletes and alsothe psychological needs that are different between athletes and non-athletes. The article that I found that discusses some of the motivational differences between your average athlete and olympic/pro athletes.
The article, provided by Montana State University-Bozeman, discussed these differences. Most athletes participate in sport for an array of reasons:
These are personal factors that most athletes share. The difference is the value of social affiliation and having fun vs. achievement and success. A lot of olympic/pro athletes tend to value things such as personal achievement, winning, and competition more than others who aren't necessarily at their level. Other athletes tend to value the social affiliation that they achieve with sport and just the enjoyment they feel when they are involved with sport. This isn't saying that those who are not pro athletes do not love the competition or strive to be the best that they can be, but the amounts that they feel this are different.
Things such as the feeling after completing a competition or game,feeling good about one's self, being fit, personal identity, social affiliation, and body/self image are all values that a lot of athletes possess that lead them to become athletes in the first place, which most likely is different from what those who chose not to be athletes value. Also, it was found that for male runners, they tended to value competition and fitness more than female runners, and women tended to value weight control and the elevated mood after the run more than men. Both sexes valued the challenge one faces to be important, though.
Overall, i think that different social and psychological needs play a huge role in who decides to become an athlete and who doesn't and also who takes it to the extreme and makes it their life, like pro and olympic athletes.
http://btc.montana.edu/olympics/physiology/pp02.html
Anyone have any opinions on the difference between different athletes or between athletes and non athletes?
First, I love the quote...there is a longer version to it, but anyway I used it in my high school graduation speech haha.
Not too much to say, I just really liked the article. One thing I would add is that personally for me when I played sports in high school, specifically football, it was more about the social affiliation and the enjoyment and thrill of playing the game. While I was ultra competitive, sports in college didn't seem near as enticing for me (and a number of my friends) because in college there isn't near the comradery between teammates that there is in high school. Also, I think it fulfilled this sensation seeking element many of us had within our personalities. This combined with our shared performance goal (winning state) really helped develop a social bond and a sense of relatedness which drove our behaviors inside as well as outside the game.