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How to Write a Non-Cliche College Essay About Sports + Examples

What’s covered:, what makes a sports essay cliche.

• How To Make Your Sports Essay Unique

Great Examples of College Essays About Sports

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You’ve been brainstorming essay topics for your college applications, and you think you’ve finally found the right one: an extended metaphor likening your experience on the field with overcoming personal struggles. The problem: many other students have this same thought. 

The purpose of a college essay is to make yourself stand out as a unique individual, but when students write about sports, they often blend in. Because of that, students are usually advised to pick a different topic.

That being said, it is possible to write a non-cliche college essay about sports if you put in a little extra effort. Read along to learn how to make your sports essay different from all the other sports essays.

Sports essays are cliche when they follow a standard trajectory. Some of these trajectories include writing a story about:

• An agonizing defeat
• Forging bonds with teammates
• Overcoming adversity
• Overcoming an injury
• Refusing to quit
• Victory during a big game

Because sports essays have very similar themes and “lessons learned,” it can be difficult to make your story stand out. These trajectories also often focus too much on the sport or storyline, and not enough on the writer’s reflections and personality.

As you write your essay, try to think about what your experience says about you rather than what you learned from your experience. You are more than just one lesson you learned!

(Keep in mind that the sports essay is not the only college essay cliche. Learn about other essay cliches and how to fix them in our complete guide).

How to Make Your Sports Essay Unique

1. focus on a specific moment or reflection..

The college essay is a way for students to humanize themselves to admissions officers. You do not feel human if you are describing yourself as just another player on the field!

One important way to make your essay about you (not just about sports) is by focusing on a specific moment in time and inviting the reader to join you in that moment. Explain to the reader what it would be like to be sitting in that locker room as you questioned the values of the other players on your team. Ask your reader to sit with you on the cot in the trainer’s room as your identity was stripped away from you when they said “your body can’t take this anymore.” Bring your reader to the dinner table and involve them in your family’s conversation about how sports were affecting your mental health and your treatment of those around you.

Intense descriptions of a specific experience will evoke emotions in your reader and allow them to connect with you and feel for you.

When in doubt, avoid anything that can be covered by ESPN. On ESPN, we see the games, we see the benches, we even see the locker rooms and training rooms. Take your reader somewhere different and show them something unique.

2. Use sports to point out broader themes in your life.

The main risk when writing about sports is neglecting to write about yourself. Before you get started, think about the main values that you want to express in your sports essay. Sports are simply your avenue for telling the reader what makes you unique. 

As a test, imagine if you were a pianist. Would you be able to talk about these same values? What if you were a writer? Or a chemist? Articulating your values is the end, and sports should simply be your means.

Some values that you might want to focus on:

• Autonomy (you want to be able to set your mind to anything and achieve it on your own)
• Growth (you seek improvement constantly)
• Curiosity (you are willing to try anything once)
• Vulnerability (you aren’t afraid to fail, as long as you give it your all)
• Community (you value the feedback of others and need camaraderie to succeed)
• Craft (you think that with deliberate care, anything can be perfected)
• Responsibility (you believe that you owe something to those around you and perhaps they also owe something to you)

You can use the ESPN check again to make sure that you are using sports as an avenue to show your depth.

Things ESPN covers: how a player reacts to defeat, how injuries affect a player’s gameplay/attitude, how players who don’t normally work well together are working together on their new team.

Things ESPN doesn’t cover: the conversation that a player had with their mother about fear of death before going into a big surgery (value: family and connection), the ways that the intense pressure to succeed consumed a player to the point they couldn’t be there for the people in their life (value: supporting others and community), the body image issues that weigh on a player’s mind when playing their sport and how they overcame those (value: health and growth).

3. Turn a cliche storyline on its head.

There’s no getting around the fact that sports essays are often cliche. But there is a way to confront the cliche head-on. For example, lots of people write essays about the lessons they learned from an injury, victory, and so on, but fewer students explain how they are embracing those lessons. 

Perhaps you learned that competition is overwhelming for you and you prefer teamwork, so you switched from playing basketball to playing Dungeons & Dragons. Maybe, when your softball career ended abruptly, you had to find a new identity and that’s when you became obsessed with your flower garden and decided to pursue botany. Or maybe, you have stuck with football through it all, but your junior-year mental health struggle showed you that football should be fun and you have since started a nonprofit for local children to healthily engage with sports.

If your story itself is more cliche, try bringing readers to the present moment with you and show why the cliche matters and what it did for you. This requires a fair amount of creativity. Ensure you’re not parroting a frequently used topic by really thinking deeply to find your own unique spin.

Night had robbed the academy of its daytime colors, yet there was comfort in the dim lights that cast shadows of our advances against the bare studio walls. Silhouettes of roundhouse kicks, spin crescent kicks, uppercuts and the occasional butterfly kick danced while we sparred. She approached me, eyes narrowed with the trace of a smirk challenging me. “Ready spar!” Her arm began an upward trajectory targeting my shoulder, a common first move. I sidestepped — only to almost collide with another flying fist. Pivoting my right foot, I snapped my left leg, aiming my heel at her midsection. The center judge raised one finger. 

There was no time to celebrate, not in the traditional sense at least. Master Pollard gave a brief command greeted with a unanimous “Yes, sir” and the thud of 20 hands dropping-down-and-giving-him-30, while the “winners” celebrated their victory with laps as usual. 

Three years ago, seven-thirty in the evening meant I was a warrior. It meant standing up straighter, pushing a little harder, “Yes, sir” and “Yes, ma’am”, celebrating birthdays by breaking boards, never pointing your toes, and familiarity. Three years later, seven-thirty in the morning meant I was nervous. 

The room is uncomfortably large. The sprung floor soaks up the checkerboard of sunlight piercing through the colonial windows. The mirrored walls further illuminate the studio and I feel the light scrutinizing my sorry attempts at a pas de bourrée, while capturing the organic fluidity of the dancers around me. “Chassé en croix, grand battement, pique, pirouette.” I follow the graceful limbs of the woman in front of me, her legs floating ribbons, as she executes what seems to be a perfect ronds de jambes. Each movement remains a negotiation. With admirable patience, Ms. Tan casts me a sympathetic glance.   

There is no time to wallow in the misery that is my right foot. Taekwondo calls for dorsiflexion; pointed toes are synonymous with broken toes. My thoughts drag me into a flashback of the usual response to this painful mistake: “You might as well grab a tutu and head to the ballet studio next door.” Well, here I am Master Pollard, unfortunately still following your orders to never point my toes, but no longer feeling the satisfaction that comes with being a third degree black belt with 5 years of experience quite literally under her belt. It’s like being a white belt again — just in a leotard and ballet slippers. 

But the appetite for new beginnings that brought me here doesn’t falter. It is only reinforced by the classical rendition of “Dancing Queen” that floods the room and the ghost of familiarity that reassures me that this new beginning does not and will not erase the past. After years spent at the top, it’s hard to start over. But surrendering what you are only leads you to what you may become. In Taekwondo, we started each class reciting the tenets: honor, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, courage, humility, and knowledge, and I have never felt that I embodied those traits more so than when I started ballet. 

The thing about change is that it eventually stops making things so different. After nine different schools, four different countries, three different continents, fluency in Tamil, Norwegian, and English, there are more blurred lines than there are clear fragments. My life has not been a tactfully executed, gold medal-worthy Taekwondo form with each movement defined, nor has it been a series of frappés performed by a prima ballerina with each extension identical and precise, but thankfully it has been like the dynamics of a spinning back kick, fluid, and like my chances of landing a pirouette, unpredictable. 

Why it works:

What’s especially powerful about this essay is that the author uses detailed imagery to convey a picture of what they’re experiencing, so much so that the reader is along for the ride. This works as a sports essay not only because of the language and sensory details, but also because the writer focuses on a specific moment in time, while at the same time exploring why Taekwondo is such an important part of their life.

After the emotional image is created, the student finishes their essay with valuable reflection. With the reflection, they show admissions officers that they are mature and self-aware. Self-awareness comes through with statements like “surrendering what you are only leads you to what you may become” and maturity can be seen through the student’s discussion of values “honor, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, courage, humility, and knowledge, and I have never felt that I embodied those traits more so than when I started ballet.” These are the kinds of comments that should find their way into a sports essay!

“Advanced females ages 13 to 14 please proceed to staging with your coaches at this time.” Skittering around the room, eyes wide and pleading, I frantically explained my situation to nearby coaches. The seconds ticked away in my head; every polite refusal increased my desperation.

Despair weighed me down. I sank to my knees as a stream of competitors, coaches, and officials flowed around me. My dojang had no coach, and the tournament rules prohibited me from competing without one.

Although I wanted to remain strong, doubts began to cloud my mind. I could not help wondering: what was the point of perfecting my skills if I would never even compete? The other members of my team, who had found coaches minutes earlier, attempted to comfort me, but I barely heard their words. They couldn’t understand my despair at being left on the outside, and I never wanted them to understand.

Since my first lesson 12 years ago, the members of my dojang have become family. I have watched them grow up, finding my own happiness in theirs. Together, we have honed our kicks, blocks, and strikes. We have pushed one another to aim higher and become better martial artists. Although my dojang had searched for a reliable coach for years, we had not found one. When we attended competitions in the past, my teammates and I had always gotten lucky and found a sympathetic coach. Now, I knew this practice was unsustainable. It would devastate me to see the other members of my dojang in my situation, unable to compete and losing hope as a result. My dojang needed a coach, and I decided it was up to me to find one. 

I first approached the adults in the dojang – both instructors and members’ parents. However, these attempts only reacquainted me with polite refusals. Everyone I asked told me they couldn’t devote multiple weekends per year to competitions. I soon realized that I would have become the coach myself.

At first, the inner workings of tournaments were a mystery to me. To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side. I learned everything from motivational strategies to technical, behind-the-scenes components of Taekwondo competitions. Though I emerged with new knowledge and confidence in my capabilities, others did not share this faith.

Parents threw me disbelieving looks when they learned that their children’s coach was only a child herself. My self-confidence was my armor, deflecting their surly glances. Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

Despite the attack, I refused to give up. When I saw the shining eyes of the youngest students preparing for their first competition, I knew I couldn’t let them down. To quit would be to set them up to be barred from competing like I was. The knowledge that I could solve my dojang’s longtime problem motivated me to overcome my apprehension.

Now that my dojang flourishes at competitions, the attacks on me have weakened, but not ended. I may never win the approval of every parent; at times, I am still tormented by doubts, but I find solace in the fact that members of my dojang now only worry about competing to the best of their abilities.

Now, as I arrive at a tournament with my students, I close my eyes and remember the past. I visualize the frantic search for a coach and the chaos amongst my teammates as we compete with one another to find coaches before the staging calls for our respective divisions. I open my eyes to the exact opposite scene. Lacking a coach hurt my ability to compete, but I am proud to know that no member of my dojang will have to face that problem again.

In the beginning, you might think this is another cliche sports essay about overcoming adversity. But instead, it becomes a unique statement and coming-of-age tale that reads as a suspenseful narrative. 

The author connects their experience with martial arts to larger themes in their life but manages to do so without riffing off of tried-and-true themes. Through statements like “I knew I couldn’t let them down. To quit would be to set them up to be barred from competing like I was” we learn about the students values and their desire to be there for those who depend on them. 

The student also brings it full circle, demonstrating their true transformation. By using the “Same, but Different” ending technique , the student places themself in the same environment that we saw in the intro, but experiences it differently due to their actions throughout the narrative. This is very compelling!

“1…2…3…4 pirouettes! New record!” My friends cheered as I landed my turns. Pleased with my progress, I gazed down at my worn-out pointe shoes. The sweltering blisters, numbing ice-baths, and draining late-night practices did not seem so bad after all. Next goal: five turns.

For as long as I can remember, ballet, in all its finesse and glamor, had kept me driven day to day. As a child, the lithe ballerinas, donning ethereal costumes as they floated across the stage, were my motivation. While others admired Messi and Adele, I idolized Carlos Acosta, principal dancer of the Royal Ballet. 

As I devoted more time and energy towards my craft, I became obsessed with improving my technique. I would stretch for hours after class, forcing my leg one inch higher in an effort to mirror the Dance Magazine cover girls. I injured my feet and ruined pair after pair of pointe shoes, turning on wood, cement, and even grass to improve my balance as I spun. At competitions, the dancers with the 180-degree leg extensions, endless turns, and soaring leaps—the ones who received “Bravos!” from the roaring audience—further pushed me to refine my skills and perfect my form. I believed that, with enough determination, I would one day attain their level of perfection. Reaching the quadruple-pirouette milestone only intensified my desire to accomplish even more. 

My efforts seemed to have come to fruition two summers ago when I was accepted to dance with Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet at their renowned New York City summer intensive. I walked into my first session eager to learn from distinguished ballet masters and worldly dancers, already anticipating my improvement. Yet, as I danced alongside the accomplished ballerinas, I felt out of place. Despite their clean technique and professional training, they did not aim for glorious leg extensions or prodigious leaps. When they performed their turn combinations, most of them only executed two turns as I attempted four. 

“Dancers, double-pirouettes only.” 

Taken aback and confused, I wondered why our teacher expected so little from us. The other ballerinas seemed content, gracing the studio with their simple movements. 

As I grew closer with my Moscow roommates, I gradually learned that their training emphasized the history of the art form instead of stylistic tricks. Rather than show off their physical ability, their performances aimed to convey a story, one that embodied the rich culture of ballet and captured both the legacy of the dancers before them and their own artistry. As I observed my friends more intently in repertoire class, I felt the pain of the grief-stricken white swan from Swan Lake, the sass of the flirtatious Kitri from Don Quijote, and I gradually saw what I had overlooked before. My definition of talent had been molded by crowd-pleasing elements—whirring pirouettes, gravity-defying leaps, and mind-blowing leg extensions. This mindset slowly stripped me from the roots of my passion and my personal connection with ballet. 

With the Bolshoi, I learned to step back and explore the meaning behind each step and the people behind the scenes. Ballet carries history in its movements, from the societal values of the era to each choreographer’s unique flair. As I uncovered the messages behind each pirouette, kick, and jump, my appreciation for ballet grew beyond my obsession with raw athleticism and developed into a love for the art form’s emotive abilities in bridging the dancers with the audience. My journey as an artist has allowed me to see how technical execution is only the means to a greater understanding between dancer and spectator, between storyteller and listener. The elegance and complexity of ballet does not revolve around astonishing stunts but rather the evocative strength and artistry manifested in the dancer, in me. It is the combination of sentiments, history, tradition, and passion that has allowed ballet and its lessons of human connection to become my lifestyle both on and off stage.

This essay is about lessons. While the author is a dancer, this narrative isn’t really about ballet, per se — it’s about the author’s personal growth. It is purposefully reflective as the student shows a nice character arc that begins with an eager young ballerina and ends with a reflection on their past. The primary strength of this essay is the honesty and authenticity that the student approaches it with.

In the end, the student turns a cliche on its head as they embrace the idea of overcoming adversity and demonstrate how the adversity, in this case, was their own stereotypes about their art. It’s beautiful!

“Getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Coach Rob Stark’s motto never fails to remind me of his encouragement on early-morning bus rides to track meets around the state. I’ve always appreciated the phrase, but an experience last June helped me understand its more profound, universal meaning.

Stark, as we affectionately call him, has coached track at my high school for 25 years. His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running. When I learned a neighboring high school had dedicated their track to a longtime coach, I felt that Stark deserved similar honors.

Our school district’s board of education indicated they would only dedicate our track to Stark if I could demonstrate that he was extraordinary. I took charge and mobilized my teammates to distribute petitions, reach out to alumni, and compile statistics on the many team and individual champions Stark had coached over the years. We received astounding support, collecting almost 3,000 signatures and pages of endorsements from across the community. With help from my teammates, I presented this evidence to the board.

They didn’t bite. 

Most members argued that dedicating the track was a low priority. Knowing that we had to act quickly to convince them of its importance, I called a team meeting where we drafted a rebuttal for the next board meeting. To my surprise, they chose me to deliver it. I was far from the best public speaker in the group, and I felt nervous about going before the unsympathetic board again. However, at that second meeting, I discovered that I enjoy articulating and arguing for something that I’m passionate about.

Public speaking resembles a cross country race. Walking to the starting line, you have to trust your training and quell your last minute doubts. When the gun fires, you can’t think too hard about anything; your performance has to be instinctual, natural, even relaxed. At the next board meeting, the podium was my starting line. As I walked up to it, familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Instead of the track stretching out in front of me, I faced the vast audience of teachers, board members, and my teammates. I felt my adrenaline build, and reassured myself: I’ve put in the work, my argument is powerful and sound. As the board president told me to introduce myself, I heard, “runners set” in the back of my mind. She finished speaking, and Bang! The brief silence was the gunshot for me to begin. 

The next few minutes blurred together, but when the dust settled, I knew from the board members’ expressions and the audience’s thunderous approval that I had run quite a race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough; the board voted down our proposal. I was disappointed, but proud of myself, my team, and our collaboration off the track. We stood up for a cause we believed in, and I overcame my worries about being a leader. Although I discovered that changing the status quo through an elected body can be a painstakingly difficult process and requires perseverance, I learned that I enjoy the challenges this effort offers. Last month, one of the school board members joked that I had become a “regular” – I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Just as Stark taught me, I worked passionately to achieve my goal. I may have been beaten when I appealed to the board, but I certainly didn’t lose, and that would have made Stark proud.

This essay uses the idea of sports to explore a more profound topic—growing through relationships. They really embrace using sports as an avenue to tell the reader about a specific experience that changed the way they approach the world. 

The emphasis on relationships is why this essay works well and doesn’t fall into a cliche. The narrator grows not because of their experience with track but because of their relationship with their coach, who inspired them to evolve and become a leader.

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Essay About Sport Example

10 December, 2020

11 minutes read

Author:  Donna Moores

Physical development plays a critical role in sustaining a healthy living and contributing to wellbeing in the long-term. Various topics on sports are relevant for both the young generation and older individuals at all times. For one, sport is a means of maintaining an excellent physical shape and great mobility; others perceive sports as a way to unwind and get one’s mind together. Alternatively, sport might let oneself learn about self-organization and discipline and experience its positive influence on life.

Regardless of the direction and type of activity, sports always brings out only the best: a team spirit, improved physical health, emotional fulfillment, and psychological relief. Since many youngsters might underestimate the benefits of sports, it is fundamental to emphasize its crucial role in determining one’s personality, health, and wellbeing. 

How to write an essay on sports?

If you so far have a vague idea of an essay about sport but still have enough time for writing, you are on the safe side. Here is what you should do to end up with a marvelous essay about sports.

First of all, try to pick a topic that is both relevant and not boring. By ensuring that the latter is the case, you will prevent yourself from writing meaningless stuff that isn’t even interesting to read. 

There are some tips that will help you stick to an appropriate essay format and save a great deal of time. Here is what you can take into account to take better control of your essay about sport writing:

• Research for a while and make sure you find some sound pieces of literature to back on in your writing
• Draft the main goals of your essay and come up with the question you are about to find answers to 
• Draft an outline and attach comments to each section of your outline. A short comment is a helper in elaborating an idea in each part of your outline
• Pick suitable arguments for each of the body paragraphs. Try to make sure that all the statements are actually reliable and relevant.

Make sure you prepare a piece of paper (or you may use any electronic device as an alternative) to write down your notes. It is always better to keep your drafts in a single place so that you don’t get lost in multiple notes. 

Sports Essay Topics 

If you want your next essay on sports to be an ultimate success, try picking a topic that will sound intriguing and be easy to comprehend at the same time. Below, we’ve listed a few indeed attention-grabbing topics that will be easy for you to elaborate on: 

• How regular sports correlates with a better quality of life 
• Essential skills that any type of sport requires
• Adverse effects of doping in sports 
• An example of a woman/man who went down into the history of sports
• New kinds of sports on the rise in 2021
• Sport has no gender: the women who rocked ‘male’ sports 
• The history of sports in your country
• Reasons for young generations to do sports 
• Arguments for deeming chess a sport 
• The influence of sports on mental health
• Sport and society
• The procedure of college admission for future sports students 

Structure of Essay on Sport 

Whether you are about to compose just a short essay about sport or your teacher expects you to develop a complex paper, the structure always remains similar. If you want to craft a useful outline that will prove its efficiency during the writing process, you first need to learn what the structure of an essay about sport looks like. Below we’ve listed the critical components of such an essay.

Introduction 

At this point, you are free to provide any piece of information that will sound convincing to the reader. This might be some statistical data, a historical fact, or a quote. Remember, your task is to encourage your reader to go through your essay and read it till the end. At the end of your paper, you will need to mention a thesis statement: a sentence that reveals what you will be talking about further.

Body paragraphs

Body paragraphs may contain any information that relates to your topic and a thesis statement. Any fact, statistical data, or a quote will be really welcome. A typical body paragraph follows such a structure:

• The topic sentence with a key idea. 
• Substantiated topic sentence and the main argument
• An example or any fact to make the opinion sound reasonable

In the last paragraph, just summarize the main points of your essay. You may briefly restate your introductory statements and explain how each of the body parts supports your thesis. Usually, there is only one thing you need to avoid in conclusion: repetitions. 

Problems with writing Your Essay About Sport? Try our Professional Essay Writer Service!

Essay Example 

The role of sports in promoting good mental health 

Sports is something that most people cannot imagine their everyday living without. The notion of sport had evolved in ancient times before the Olympic games in Greece started to take place. After the second industrial revolution, sport has become an extensively popular and admired subject in almost any school. As a means of entertainment and, at the same time, a way to relieve tension and move one’s energy in a good direction, the sport has always been associated with individual growth and physical health maintenance. These days, schoolers, students, adults, and older people engage themselves in a variety of sports activities for different reasons. But regardless of the purpose, all of them definitely achieve one target – better mental health. Indeed, performing sports activities regularly contributes to improved mental health by reducing stress, promoting a team spirit and social inclusion, and preventing depression. 

Engaging oneself in a sports activity is positively correlated with better social inclusion. In essence, sport is a team activity, which means that doing a particular kind of sports implies interaction with other individuals. Building social contacts while engaging in sports is exciting and easy: finding common ground with teammates or a sports partner is not complicated since you already share at least one significant interest. A recent study by British scientists suggests that individuals who did sports during their school years show higher social inclusion levels and can easily make new acquaintances in adult age. This means that sport plays a critical role in defining an individual’s future behavior in socializing with other people. And since sports promotes an ability to better engage in social groups and  make new acquaintances, it also contributes to an individual’s mental health. As long as humans live in a community and need communication for a healthy and happy living, sports is the key. 

Regular physical activity does not let stress accumulate and negatively influence one’s mental health. The reason why people experience less stress if they give preference to working out on a regular basis is endorphins production. Endorphins are particular neurotransmitters that a human brain produces as a result of physical activity. Neurotransmitters promote good feelings and make it harder for various stress factors to irritate oneself. Additionally, endorphins produced by a body while performing a sports activity promote a better quality of sleep. The latter, in its turn, leads to significant stress reduction as well. Apart from a guaranteed stress reduction, sports activities reduce the adverse effects of stress. Hence, one can come to the conclusion that since stress is an inevitable and highly annoying phenomenon, it is critical to seek preventative measures, and sports seems to cope with the issue of stress and constant tension brilliantly. Therefore, a moderate workout contributes to one’s mental health in the long term.  

Finally, sport has been proven to be one of the most potent remedies for depression. According to what clinicians claim, depression impacts both mental and physical health way worse than diabetes. Therefore, depression is a condition that needs treatment. However, it is highly possible to prevent depression just by exercising and adding some sport to one’s daily routine. Sports influence the human brain almost in the same way that medical drugs do: it promotes the brain’s better capacity to absorb serotonin. Not less important, sport activities contribute to nerve cell growth and prevent cells in the hippocampus from dying. Besides, physical activity has been found to improve self-esteem, which in turn improves body image and self-perception. Overall, a regular sport activity can not only guarantee depression alleviation but also prevent further disorders that have to do with psyche. 

All in all, sports can reasonably be deemed a natural remedy not only against physical but also multiple mental conditions. Just by performing moderate exercises a few times a week, one can make their life go in a different, healthier direction. Performing sports activities can reasonably promote stress-free life since exercising influences endorphins production in the brain. Additionally, a regular sport promotes better social inclusion and facilitates communication with peers. Finally, regular exercises serve as a solution to depression. It is critical to preserve one’s mental health, so working out is something to begin with straightaway.

Write an Essay with HandmadeWriting

While writing an essay about sport, it is essential to find the balance between the topic’s complexity and reader engagement. In other words, a winning essay about sport neither has a primitive subject, nor it covers a very specific and potentially boring sports topic. If this sounds quite complicated for you or if you merely have other reasons for leaving your writing for better times, you may get your paper done with HandmadeWriting . We are always available to assist you with your paper promptly. All you need to do is go to our website, submit paper instructions, and take care of yourself while we are taking care of your paper. 

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Essay Samples on Sports

When college athletes have to start with an academic writing task, they often feel lost and do not know how to start. It’s exactly the same with other academic subjects because one should take time and find inspiring information that can be used unless you already have a prompt. You can focus on the importance of sports or talk about the pros of recreational sports and spending time outside. See our sport essay example as a starting point and learn how to structure your writing correctly. Your introduction part should start with a brief introduction or statistical information that explains your writing objectives or the peculiarities of the problem that you plan to address. The majority of college essays about sports that you see below will provide you with inspiring ideas and teach you how to implement various quotes without falling into the plagiarism trap. If you want to use some source, remember that you must introduce it first and explain why it is there. When you’re talking about the use of medication in college sports, turn to some stats and explain why these are important or biased as you research. It will help you to add an author’s voice. 

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The debate surrounding whether college athletes should be paid has sparked intense discussions in recent years. While some argue that compensating college athletes is a just recognition of their contributions, others maintain that the current system holds merits. This essay will delve into the multifaceted...

• Paying College Athletes
• Student Athletes

Why Basketball is the Best Sport Among Others

When it comes to sports, there's a wide array of options to choose from, each with its own unique appeal. However, in my opinion, basketball stands out as the ultimate sport that offers a perfect blend of athleticism, teamwork, excitement, and versatility. In this essay,...

• Favorite Sport

Why Basketball Is My Favorite Sport: Memorable Moments and Life Lessons

Of all the sports that capture my heart and ignite my passion, basketball stands as the undisputed favorite. Its fast-paced action, camaraderie among teammates, and the thrill of competition combine to create an unparalleled experience that has enchanted me since childhood. This essay delves into...

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Why Baseball is the Best Sport for Me

When it comes to sports, there are countless options that capture the hearts and minds of enthusiasts around the world. However, for me, baseball stands out as the ultimate sport that offers a unique blend of skill, strategy, tradition, and excitement. In this essay, I...

Should Sports Be Segregated by Gender

The question of whether sports should be segregated by gender is a topic that sparks discussions about equity, inclusion, and athletic performance. Advocates of gender segregation argue that it ensures a level playing field, prevents physical disadvantage, and maintains fair competition. On the other hand,...

• Women in Sports

Overview of Bowling as a Sport for Everyone

Bowling, often underestimated and overlooked, stands as a testament to the idea that sports transcend stereotypes and are accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Therefore bowling is considered a sport for everyone. This essay explores the inclusive nature of bowling, its physical and...

• Competitive Sports

College Athletes Should Get Paid: An Argumentative Exploration of the Issue

College athletics in the modern era have evolved into a billion-dollar industry, captivating audiences across the nation. While these athletes bring in substantial revenue for their institutions, there remains a heated debate on whether college athletes should receive financial compensation for their efforts. In this...

• College Sport Teams

Beyond the Field: How Competitive Sports Teach Us About Life

Competitive sports have long been regarded as more than just physical activities. Engaging in sports goes beyond the pursuit of victory; it imparts valuable life lessons that extend far beyond the playing field. This essay delves into the ways how competitive sports teach us about...

Advantages and Disadvantages of Team Sports: Fostering Unity and Individual Growth

Team sports have long been a cornerstone of physical education and recreational activities, offering individuals the opportunity to engage in collaborative and competitive experiences. While team sports promote teamwork, discipline, and physical fitness, they also come with a set of advantages and disadvantages that shape...

Harmony of Mind and Body: Exploring the Benefits of Yoga

Yoga, an ancient practice that originated in India, has transcended time and culture to become a globally recognized method for achieving physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. From its roots in meditation and mindfulness, yoga has evolved into a diverse range of practices that offer numerous...

• Recreation and Sports

The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup: an Overview

Background The FIFA Women's World Cup stands as a global football tournament fiercely contested by senior women's national teams of FIFA member associations. The 2023 edition enjoys a joint collaboration between Australia and New Zealand, scheduled from 20th July to 20th August. This momentous occasion...

The History of Volleyball: Evolution and Global Impact

Volleyball, a sport known for its fast-paced rallies and dynamic gameplay, has a rich and captivating history that spans over a century. From its humble beginnings as a recreational activity to its emergence as a globally celebrated sport, this game has undergone significant transformations during...

How to Play Volleyball: Mastering Rules of the Game

Volleyball is a dynamic and exciting sport that combines athleticism, strategy, and teamwork. As a passionate player and avid enthusiast of the game, I have come to appreciate the intricacies and joys of volleyball and now I can explain to anyone how to play volleyball....

Why I Love Volleyball: a Passion That Sets My Heart Ablaze

Playing volleyball has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. The sport's unique blend of athleticism, teamwork, and sheer exhilaration has captured my heart and ignited a deep love for the game. I will answer 'why I love...

• About Myself

Playing Volleyball: Benefits in Terms of Motor Learning Skills

Over the past term our class has been investigating the idea of Motor Learning and how to apply our theoretical knowledge into our volleyball gameplay. Volleyball gives different benefits and some of them I will analyse in the essay. To begin with, motor learning is...

• Personal Experience

Being a Volleyball Player: Morgan Beck as a Powerhouse on the Court

Ever glowing and heavenly beautiful Morgan Beck is one of the renowned names in the world of sports. She is a pro beach volleyball player that represents Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Pro, AVP Young Guns and USA Volleyball. She is also part of the...

• Famous Person

Was the Reconstruction Era a Success or Failure: A Look Through Sport

The competitive sport of basketball traces its origins to a game known as peach basketball. In 1891, Dr. James Naismith invented basketball at Springfield College, Massachusetts. Initially, peach baskets without openings at the bottom served as goals, requiring the use of ladders to retrieve the...

• Reconstruction Era of The United States

The Issue of Racism in Soccer: Causes, Effects, and Ways to Combat

Introduction Picture yourself as a person of color, having to confront racism in the profession you cherish. Wouldn't you long to release all that anger and frustration? Unfortunately, this is the reality for the black community and people of color in the realm of sports,...

Passion and Perseverance: The Key to Success for Student-Athletes

Success. One word that has many different meanings to many different people. To some, it means making a great amount of money, while others define it as finding happiness and love. However, student-athletes define success a bit differently. To a student-athlete, success means winning games,...

The Road to Equity: Evaluating the Case for Paying Student Athletes

Globally, there have been conversations and debates on whether to pay college athletes. In recent times, generating revenues with these athletes has intensified, drawing the attention of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Arguments debate that these athletes from colleges are just students and they...

Macronutrient Intake in Team Sport Athletes

Introduction: Optimizing energy intake and macronutrient composition is crucial for enhancing performance and supporting the training demands of team sport athletes. Inadequate energy intake during training can lead to adverse effects such as loss of lean muscle mass and decreased bone density, increasing the risk...

Soccer as My Hobby and How It Shapes My Life

Hobby is an activity, habit or favorite choice of a human, who regularly performs in leisure or extra time for pleasure, relaxation and enjoyment. Everyone has different hobbies that he or she would like to do to have fun or relax. They can be physical...

Lessons from Ancient Greece: Contributions and Limitations

Philosophers, Society, and Olympic Games Greek scholars began to investigate the world through the lens of observation rather than recounting the myths of their ancient Gods. During this period, Philosophers questioned a lot about life's topics. They are also known as the founders of scientific...

• Ancient Civilizations
• Ancient Greece
• Olympic Games

The Nike's Popularity Among Track and Field Athletes

Not many people know that Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman first started the company as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. On May 30, 1971, the name was officially changed to Nike. Nike's first employee Jeff Johnson came up with the name of Nike. Phil Knight...

• Track and Field

The Analysis of Movement Used in Track and Field

The track and field sprint is a common event at track meets at the middle and high school, collegiate and professional levels. It is often performed in many meets as a 55, 100, 200- or 400-meter distance, depending on the season. It can be an...

Track and Field: The Funding and Physical Education Requirements

Physical education requirements are updated to reflect how an active lifestyle benefits the student's well-being. Inadequate physical activity can have a negative effect on the individual’s confidence. The school district welcomes high school students to enroll into track and field programs as a requirement for...

• Physical Education

A Person You Admire: Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is my favorite footballer and sportsperson. He inspires and motivates me. He has many fans round the world. he's the foremost reason why I started following and playing this beautiful game. Cristiano has many nicknames. Among fans, he's known by names like Ronnie,...

A Trend By Kneeling During The National Anthem

Over the last couple of years during football season, a former quarterback from the San Francisco 49ers has made a name for himself. He has gained a lot of attention, both negative and positive from the media and NFL fans, as well as citizens across...

• American Culture

College Sport: Good For Health And Well Learning

College sport helps students in studies and life because students get better grades, become more mature, learn life skills, and while some people say sports cause injuries that limit a person's time and ability they improve the students overall health physically and mentally. So doing...

Swimming as a Hard Skill Necessary for Human Being

Swimming is hard. For non-swimmers swimming is harder than most realise and not easy to take up as a regular sport. All those good swimmers you see have excellent cardio-respiratory fitness and often years of technique training. So don't be discouraged. And... The first step...

• Human Behavior

The 2012 London Olympics Women's Boxing

The 2012 London Olympics, described as the ‘Women Olympics’ had the potential to either make or break Women’s Boxing, and, in terms of media interest and coverage, it was certainly a groundbreaking moment for the sport. The results of the media reporting from UK newspapers...

Cricket: Main Rules, Tricks and Perspective

Sports analytics play a significant role in numerous issues related to sport. A number of these problems are the ranking of individual players and their specialised skills, the composition of groups with an optimal balance of specialised skills, the ranking of teams, the negotiation of...

Everest: The 'Goddess Mother of the World'

Mount Everest is one of the mountains on the crest of the Great Himalayas region which lies on the edge of both Nepal and China. It’s the world’s tallest mountain above sea level, reaching an altitude of 8,848 metres. Mount Everest remains to be one...

• Mount Everest
• Mountain Climbing

The Highlights of Some of the Best Kinesiology Tapes

Whether you are a runner, skater, baller or involved in any form of athletics, a kinesiology tape is your ticket to less painful joints and muscles. The sports tape is used by professional athletes to support their muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments. The tape is...

• Kinesiology

How the Gym Influences Fitness

A primary concern that both men and women share is how they care about their physical appearance. Gym members believe they have to represent a particular image to be attractive in today’s society. Women are expected to be curvy and thin, while men are expected...

Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali and Cassius Clay

Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in 1964, a reckless new expert fighter, straight from his Olympic gold award triumph, detonates on to the scene, Cassius Clay. Sharp and candid, he cuts an entirely new picture for African Americans in-game with his pleased open self-assurance with his...

• African American
• Muhammad Ali

Famous Indian Badminton League and Its Role

The IBL was a first of its kind initiative of the Badminton Association of India. Originally proposed by the Maharashtra Badminton Association, the League was commercially managed by a sports management company, Sporty Solutionz Private Limited. The idea was to make Poona (the original name...

World Record of the Fastest Tennis Ball Hit

Tennis has been known as a game of inches, kings, game of lifetime…. It is incredible even today with its outstanding players, known with their incredible shots. Novak Djokovic is famous for his crazy shots from baseline to the edge of opponents service boxes. One...

The First Reported Hazing Death

In 1838, John Butler died due to a class hazing at Franklin Seminary in Kentucky, the first reported hazing death. October. In 1905, Stuart L. Pierson was hit by an unscheduled train and died because he was being initiated into Delta Kappa Epsilon at Kenyon...

Jackie Robinson as the African American to Play Major League Baseball

Jackie Robinson once said,'I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking of me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.”. Born on January 31st, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia on a plantation, Jackie Robinson was the youngest among his five siblings....

• Jackie Robinson

Valinco Skydiving Center and Fondest Memories

If you want to have a unique experience during your next parachute jump, here are some destinations to consider. In front of the beauty of our beautiful planet, many thrill seekers take advantage of their passion to admire the magnificent landscapes from here and elsewhere...

• Adventure Sports

Piles of Books on Chess Strategies

I looked down at the battlefield, checkered with rich maple and mahogany. In a deep half-hour contemplation, I looked down at the fallen soldiers in this ongoing battle. Knights scattered across the field ready to be sacrificed to protect the kings. Pawns and bishops discarded...

Boxing Is Great for Your Physical Health

Boxing is a sport that catches many people’s attention. So many people enjoy watching this sport. This exciting sport has been going on for thousands of years! Boxing has been going on since 1681. Boxing is a great sport. It is a very hard sport...

• Physical Exercise

Sarath Ton and Her Effect Wrestling Techniques

Sasha Banks is one of the fiercest and most respected female wrestlers in the world. Fans and critics alike are in awe of her flamboyant fashion sense, her effect wrestling techniques, and the thrilling performances she always puts on in the ring. Before becoming a...

Taekwondo, Music and Co-creating Own Fashion Line

One of the main reasons I want to study architecture is my passion for French Romanesque-style buildings. It is my ambition to one day contribute to the construction of these. This passion stemmed from my visits to France as a child. On these trips, I...

An Importance of Foundation in a Play of Badminton

The fundamental badminton skills are essentially used as a foundation in a play of badminton; this can be from your stance to how you serve in a play of badminton. Making a habit of extensively practicing these techniques will immensely increase the development of your...

Sports And Life Experiences And How They Shape The Person You Are Today

Over time, people have begun to believe sports shape people poorly, they’ll say that it makes the player arrogant, cocky, and even rude, but what if I told you they were completely wrong? What if I told you sports changed your personality for the better?...

• Individual Identity
• Personal Growth and Development

Equal Pay For Equal Work In Women's Sports 

Women's equal pay in sports is a big argument in today's society. A reason why it is a big argument is because in some sports, for example, “The women’s national team actually generated more revenue than the men’s as well, according to new reports —...

• Equal Pay For Equal Work

The Question Whether College Athletes Should Be Paid

What do you think, should college athletes be paid? Well you came to the right place where we will go over all of the factual evidence we have pulled from very creditable sources and professionals. The thing about this subject is that it is a...

Teachers And Professional Athletes Are Paid Differently: Teachers Should Be Paid More

Is it fair that Teachers and Professional Athletes are paid differently? I think the real question should be if they can even be categorized the same. I don't believe the wages of the two can even compare, simply because who is to say one is...

Paying College Athletes: Should College Athletes Be Paid

There are many controversies surrounding the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the most discussed one being about athletes getting paid. This dispute has been going on for decades, but only recently has it made the news that current and former players strongly disagree with the rule...

Considering E Sport And Video Games As A Competitive Sport

What is E-sport? E-sport is a type of sport competition that uses video games instead of using physical activity. It is believed that there are many people who have a different view on what E-sport is; whether if it is considered as a real sport...

• Impact of Video Games
• Video Games

The Discourse Community Analysis Of A Football Team

I came to UC Merced and joined Writing 001 with no knowledge of what a discourse could be. Now in Lovas’s class reading “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie. I had no idea what a discourse community was, the idea of this is very well...

Defining Sport: Cheerleading As A Type Of Sport

How do you define something like a sport? That has been a debate surrounding cheerleading for the longest time. The discussion on whether it is a sport or art is fiery and characterized by two very passionate sides, each defending their claim. Cheerleading, which was...

• Cheerleading

Considering Video Games A Competitive Sport

Many people think of football, basketball, baseball, etc. when you say sport some of you might say shooting and other forms of stationary sports like archery. Others might even debate things like cheese rolling and hot dog eating. But surprisingly not many people would consider...

The Debate Whether College Athletes Should Be Paid

Athletes most of the time incline to getting into sports for the easy and fun way to earn money, but colleges paying young athletes would eliminate the line between amateur and professional sports. According to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) the reason why student...

The Need For College Athletes To Be Paid

College athletics have increased tremendous popularity among Americans in the course of recent decades. This has come about into expanded livelihoods for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the schools taking part inside the affiliation. This has filled the open thought of whether school...

College Athletes Should Be Paid: Opening The Conversation

College athletics have increased tremendously popular among Americans in the course of recent decades. This has come about into expanded livelihoods for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the schools taking part inside the affiliation. This has filled the open thought of whether school...

College Athletes And Whether They Should Be Paid

College sports are turning out to be more and more like the professional leagues with the one exception being the players don’t get paid. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) makes billions of dollars off these student athletes. College basketball and football are two of...

American Sport: Cheerleading And American Football

American football is one of the most watched sporting events in the USA, But lately there has been a debate rather or not football is dangerous and should it be banned for certain ages or no tackle football whatsoever. Football is dangerous, but less dangerous...

All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy: Application Of Saying In P. E.

”All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' this is an example of a proverb that means without time from work a person can become bored of the work being done. This quote itself can be used to tell the importance of physical...

• Childhood Obesity

Importance Of Physical Fitness In Marathon Runners

Running is one of the most popular sports and it is performed in various distances like long distances and short distances and there are also various other competitions as well as the events for the runners and the most popular one is the Marathon. Marathon...

Effects Of Running On Our Health

Running is tiring, it’s tedious, it’s painful and it’s exhausting. We often hear many complaining about aching knees, strained muscles, and how energy-consuming it is, not to mention how hot and humid it is to run here in Singapore. So why do people still run?...

Jackie Robinson And The American Dilemma

Racism. Unfortunately, it is an American dilemma still being battled today. However, in 1919, the year Jackie Robinson was born, was a particularly devastating year in regards to this matter. Case in point, the horrific death of a 17-year-old African-American boy, Eugene Williams. Both whites...

• Racial Segregation

Never Had It Made: Jackie Robinson

From all the options my brain collected, I chose to read and write about Jackie Robinson, who is most famously known for being the first African American to play in major league baseball. Robinson was born in 1919 and died in 1972 of a heart...

The Experience Of Competitive Games Before Spring Break

In this essay, I will be comparing my own life to the hero cycle. It will reflect on a time when I have been forced out of my comfort zone. This was when I tried out for cheer. It was my first time trying out...

• Spring Break

Soccer Vs Basketball: The Uniqueness Of Each Sport

Playing sports is an emotional, physical, and mental adventure. You have the opportunity to know whether you are a team player or a maverick. Soccer and Basketball are two of the most popular sports that are played by people around the world. The purpose of...

Evolution Of Basketball And Football In The World Of Sports

Have you ever thought to yourself, how did the game of basketball become such a worldwide sport? How the game has evolved into what it is now? There’s a lot of questions that pop into the human head when the topic of basketball is introduced....

Study On The Mental Game Of Fencing

Fencing is one of the oldest sports existing, being one of the five sports that was part of the first Olympic Games. Around 1458, fencing wasn’t a sport, but an army training, but Domenico Angelo established in 1763 the first rules and made a sport...

• Psychoanalysis

Story Of The Controversial Case Of Oj Simpson

There are a number of subjects that divide opinions among Americans – guns, healthcare, and more. One other subject on that list is Orenthal James Simpson, more commonly known as O.J Simpson. He has gone from being one of the most adored personalities in America...

Overview Of The Three Ai Strategies For Chess Game

Minimax Tree Minimax is a sort of backtracking calculation that is utilized in basic leadership and game hypothesis to locate the ideal move for a player, expecting that your rival likewise plays ideally. This method is mostly used in two player games like chess, Mancala...

• Artificial Intelligence

Types Of Artificial Intelligence And Algorithmic Strategies In Chess Games

Strategy One: Minimax Algorithm In this algorithmic strategy, created by John von Neumann. He classified chess as a two-person, zero-sum game with complete information. This means that this class of problems can’t be fully solved using the Minimax Algorithm as the Minimax Algorithm doesn’t go...

Difference Between Civil And Criminal Liability And Their Importance

This week’s topic brings back memories of reading the John Grisham book, King of the Torts. The setting is obviously in the USA, where most torts are filed in the world. King of the Torts is good reading and Grisham a brilliant author. Civil liability...

History Of Adidas Company And Quality Of Its Footwear Products

Introduction Adidas was founded in 1949 as a member company of German sportswear manufacturer adidas AG. Named after its founder, Adolf Adi Dassler, shoe production began in hazogenaurach in 1920. Adidas owns three series: performance (three stripes) and originals (clover), And the sports fashion series...

• Athletic Shoe

Benefits Of New Balance Running Shoes For Athletes

Have you ever wondered how you can ever be able to run faster than a lightning bolt? Well, I heard the new 2019 New Balance 1400v6 running shoes will make you faster than ever. I always wondered how I can be lighter on my feet...

Analysis Of The Memoir Shoe Dog, Nike's History Of Entrepreneurship

'Shoe Dog' is not only Knight's autobiography, but also Nike's epic of entrepreneurship. In the process of starting a business from zero to zero, with the help of wisdom, talent, belief and luck, Nike can overcome every danger. This shows the spirit of entrepreneurship and...

Lampuuk Beach: Coastal Light That Have Recovered From Tsunami Trauma

Lampuuk Beach is one of the main tourist destinations in Aceh Besar before the 2004 tsunami. The beach is always crowded with visitors, both from Banda Aceh, Beraboh, or other areas. With white sand and shady pine trees, this place is the ideal place to...

Creative Writing Assignment About My Passion With Chess

Chess is a fantastic game to play. Hello my name is Ethan Shin. I am a sixth grade student at Geneva school. I would like to tell you about chess. The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, once said, “Chess makes men wiser and clear sighted.”...

Correlation Between The Height Of Nba Players And The Average Points Per Minute Played

Abstract The National Basketball Association (NBA) is famous for the tall men who throw a ball through a hoop, but there is not much know about the influence of the length of a basketball player on the numbers of scores made. This study has showed...

• Correlation

Pursuit Of Excellence In The Soul Of An Olympian By Heather L. Reid

The author, Heather L. Reid looks at Olympism and what it meant in ancient Greece, outlining what great philosophers like Plato, Aristotle and Socrates thought of Olympics. The author starts her article by looking at an ancient Olympic stadium in Nemea. The athletes started their...

Concerns About Athlete Mental Health In Sports

Helping athletes with poor mental health is a subject of study that has gained plenty of popularity over the years. Driven in part by the raising of awareness of elite athletes who have suffered and or continue to suffer with mental health, this topic has...

• Healthy Lifestyle
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Title Ix: Opening A New Door Of Academic Opportunities For Women

Title IX was passed in 1972, giving many influential women an opportunity to prove their abilities and create a path for many women to follow.. One example of this is how Title IX caused the creation of the United States National Women’s Soccer Team (USWNT)....

Overview Of The Issues In Sports Medicine sector

There is high pressure for competitors to perform in top notch sports, for example, football, where wounds are universal, have added to the fast advancement of medication in sports. Human health care services callings have created social orders and intrigue bunches inside their centralized computer...

• Sports Medicine

Movie Report On Concussion: American Football Drama

Synopsis This movie is based on true events that relates with “League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis” issue. The crisis starts when Mike Webster a former NFL player was found dead in his pickup truck. Dr Bennet Omalu, a forensic neuropathologist handles Webster’s autopsy...

• American Football
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My Passion for Skating: Exploring the Reasons Behind its Place as My Favorite Sport

When individuals involve themselves in various sports, it helps them alleviate work and school-related stress. When I was a child I have been participating in sporting activities. When I feel distracted and exhausted so that I can entertain myself and others. The sporting activity that...

Why Athletes and College Students Should Cut Down on Drinking

Joe Montana, a former Notre Dame standout has a son who was among 11 Fighting Irish athletes arrested on misdemeanor charges of underage drinking at a party (Trotter 1). A total of 44 people were arrested after city police responded to a call about a...

• College Students
• Underage Drinking

Is The WWE Industry too Violent to be Considered Entertainment

Introduction WWE has been on the top of their game for many years now and there have been so many controversies and debates on the fact of weather the WWE is fake or real, weather their superstars have actually died or just gone into retirement...

• Violence in Sports

Overview of the Major Causes of Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle accidents are common on our roads. Due to the bike's efficiency in terms of speed most people prefer to use them. However, because motorcyclists lack any sort of surrounding protective structure on their vehicles, they are more likely to suffer severe or fatal injuries...

Writing Assignment on the Teamwork During the Challenging Mt. Everest Climbing

This writeup focuses on the Everest simulation game which presents a challenge to five team members climbing the mount Everest with different roles, independent goals but a common ultimate goal of reaching the summit of the mountain and staying alive. However, culturally, the four team...

The Disadvantages of Intense Training Among Runners

In sports and athletics, the common belief is that the harder you train and the faster you complete rounds and cycles, the stronger you become. While this is mostly true, it also varies according to the type of sport and competition. It seems counter-intuitive, but...

Toxic Masculinity, Hazing and How It Affects the Mental Health of Others

Throughout the world, men on average have a difficult time seeking help and speaking up when put in serious, uncomfortable or life threatening situations. Prior to college, most males are involved with sports because it is a stereotype of the their gender. However, 74 percent...

• Masculinity

Technological Advancements and the Future of Tennis

Among other sports, many would say that tennis has lagged behind in terms of technological advancements. Tennis players today would learn the same way, and use almost identical equipment as athletes and recreational players almost 50 years ago. The norm would be going to a...

• Advantages of Technology

Why I Prefer Mountain Climbing to Other Leisure Activities

Activity Description The fact that there were a considerable number of events to choose from in our leisure event, we had to pick an event that could be endorsed by every student. In other words, the event had to meet the needs of every student....

Drug Abuse in Sports and How Sport Organizations Deal With the Issue

The usage of illicit substances in sport, better known as doping is becoming a rising issue in modern times. The purpose of taking these drugs is either enhance performance of an athlete or to escape from the large amounts of pressure and stress on them....

• Steroids in Sports

History of Cricket Bats and Their Further Development

The cricket bat was first mentioned in 1624 when an investigation was carried out into the passing away of a fielder. In that era, the bowlers used to bowl underarm, which is by throwing the ball from knee level. This is why the bats used...

History of Golden State Warriors Success in the NBA

The world is changing in every aspect compared to how it was lived a decade ago. Fewer and fewer people take daily strolls in the park and hang out in social media communities instead, businesses have less need for actual, physical stalls to reach their...

History of the Legendary Photographs of Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston Match

Muhammad Ali was the former heavyweight boxing champion. During 1964, Ali won one of the most known fights against Sonny Liston. At the time of this event, Ali was known by his former name, Cassius Clay. Cassius Clay was known as the “the greatest man...

• Photography

Comparison Of Swiss Ball Exercises And Plyometric Training For Agility

Hockey is a team sports which requires two physiological components anaerobic and aerobic capacity& one of the most popular gamesin the world. [1] As we all know key feature of the field hockey is changing of direction during sprinting as well as intermittent running, e....

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5. Why Basketball Is My Favorite Sport: Memorable Moments and Life Lessons

6. Why Baseball is the Best Sport for Me

7. Should Sports Be Segregated by Gender

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Argumentative Essay: The Importance of Sports

Participation in sports is extremely important, and should be encouraged much more. Children and young people in particular need to do sport so that they develop good habits that they can continue into adulthood. The main benefits of sport are improved health and fitness, and the development of social and communication skills.

With more than a third of adults in the USA being classed as obese, and many more being overweight, it has never been more important to participate in sports. People that do sport on a regular basis are burning more calories than those that don’t, and are therefore less likely to end up overweight. Being a healthy weight means that you will be less likely to die young and suffer from heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes and a range of other conditions, and if you already eat well, it can give you an extra calorie allowance so you can treat yourself without feeling guilty about it.

As well as improving cardiovascular health and fitness, exercising is also good for the musculoskeletal system, making muscles more supple and toned, and improving the strength of bones and joints. People who do sports will be stronger and more able to lift and carry heavy things, which is also always useful, and they are less likely to become really weak and frail as they get older because their bodies are strong. Furthermore, doing sports can improve mental health as well as physical health, with exercise being helpful for people with depression and a range of other mental health issues, because it releases good chemicals into our brains. It also makes people feel better about their bodies, which can make them happier, and reduces the risk of eating disorders and crash dieting, as people make more sensible, healthy changes to their lifestyle.

Sports also allow people to develop personally. Social and communication skills can be learned and developed through sport. Teamwork, for example, is naturally learned through participating in team sports and games. Communication skills can really be honed, as they are at the center of any team’s success, and a lack of them leads to failure. Many people will also develop leadership skills through sport, often discovering abilities that they never knew they even had.

Many people’s self-esteem improves through sport as they discover things that they are good at and improve their body. Participating in any competitive sport also improves our ability to handle pressure and still perform well, as well as teaching us how to win and lose graciously. All in all, the fact that playing sport is good for us is completely undeniable, because it helps our minds and bodies, and ultimately means that we will be living longer, happier lives.

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How to Write a Successful 5-Paragraph Essay on Sports

Writing a five-paragraph essay about sports follows the same process you learned in middle school or high school about how to organize an essay. The basic components of your sports essay are:

• Introduction
• Body – Point #1
• Body – Point #2
• Body – Point #3

That general framework can be used effectively for virtually any paper, including yours. For your sports piece, preparation is key. Here’s how you should get ready to do your paper and where to go from there.

How Should I Prepare for My 5-Paragraph Essay on Sports?

First all, do your research. Read extensively about the subject you’re writing about, take thorough notes, and make sure you have a firm grasp on the ins and outs of your selected topic. Next, create a rough outline. It will be helpful if you write a sentence or two about what you want to include in the introduction and for each paragraph after that. This will give you a chance to consider what the most important elements of each paragraph should be before you write them out and elaborate on them.

How Do I Make My Essay on Sports Stand Out?

Consider what makes the sport you chose for your topic unique. Who are the iconic athletes and what have they accomplished other than success for their team? Try to discover some kind of greater truth within your topic and present it to the reader in a meaningful way. Evoking emotion in the reader will make your essay memorable, so do your best to translate your enthusiasm and passion onto the page by using powerful language and a variety of strong adjectives.

How to Write a Solid Introduction

Your introductory paragraph should explain the problem, events, or situation you will discuss in a concise way. You should outline the three points that will be addressed in detail in each of the three paragraphs that form the body. That way not only will you know what to write about as you go, your reader will easily be able to follow the progression of your paper as they go.

Think of your intro as a way to let the reader know what the piece is about and why they should continue reading. If your paper seeks to explain a pattern found among athletes in their rookie season for example, state what implications this discovery might have. This will give the reader a good reason to read on.

The 3-Part Body of an Effective Sports Essay

Each paragraph in the body should completely explain their designated main point. When you move onto the next paragraph, the idea explained in the previous paragraph should be coherent and leave no obvious questions unanswered. Be sure to keep the focus on your sport, team, or athlete without veering off on tangents. If you do decide to go into some backstory within your essay, keep it concise and relevant.

You need to wrap up your paper at the end with a strong conclusive statement. Be sure to make sense of your main points and overall argument with a logical ending that summarizes and ties your paper together. A great way to leave the reader is with a sentence that leaves them in contemplation. Read your final sentence out loud when you finish writing your essay and see if it resonates.

Tips for Successful Writing about Sports

Your tone does not have to be rigid and overly formal for a sports related essay. The topic calls for an informal tone, so don’t hesitate to express yourself in a semi-casual way. Take extra time when editing your paper and making revisions. Read it through at least three times for errors and structural improvements, and then read it again and makes changes accordingly to the content until your essay flows effortlessly.

Essay on Sports: 100+ Topics and Examples

How to Write an Essay on Sports

Various sports, like basketball, tennis, and soccer, are popular among young and older generations worldwide. In addition to the fact that playing sports brings mental and physical health in shape, it also projects sportsmen and women's leadership skills. These role models give sports fans reasons to keep rooting for their favorite players and fuel young athletes' motivation to keep practicing and perfecting themselves in various youth sports.

If you are interested in professional sports or the career development of professional athletes, we encourage you to write a college essay on sports.

Choosing a relevant topic when writing an essay on sports requires deep knowledge of a specific sports industry and its representatives.

• Choose a topic of your interest. Usually, tasks we are genuinely curious about require equal mental stimulation but less tension and stress. For instance, you could choose the topic of the influence of physical fitness on mental health in case you are interested in health science.
• Look for relevant resources to provide trustworthy and valuable information regarding the shortlist of sports essay topics. For example, you could check out famous journals that prioritize writing about physical activity and sports cultures, such as the British Journal of Sports Medicine or the Journal of Human Sport and Exercise.
• After gathering relevant data, list the major issues you will write about in the sports essay. For instance, if you'd rather concentrate on the features your favorite athlete acquires, we suggest you write on persuasive sports essay topics. Highlight the major events in the sports career of chosen male or female athletes that helped them go pro.
• Construct an essay outline highlighting the major points you will touch down throughout your essay. This will loosen the essay writing process and will save some time for you as well.
• As you point out the major issue of reflection in the thesis statement part of your introductory paragraph, proceed with the body paragraphs of arguments supporting your perspective regarding the statement.

Keep reading to find a variety of essay topics like an essay on sports day in English, as well as specified issues relating to sports competitions, such as an essay on concussions in sports, etc.

Essay Topics on Sports

College students who are interested in doing and writing about sports can find many essay topics listed below on sports ranging from Olympic games to performance-enhancing drugs, sports nutrition to sports injuries, and so on.

Persuasive Essay Topics on Sports

• Cross-country skiing is the most dangerous winter sport.
• American universities should pay college athletes
• Ice-Skating is the most aesthetically pleasing sport.
• Soccer is one of the most played college sports in the US.
• Alcohol consumption should be prohibited during the Olympic games.
• More awareness should be raised about racist team players in all kinds of sports.
• FIFA's primary mission is to promote intercultural relations.
• We should reconsider the age range of baseball players.
• There is a link between team sports and math.
• Dealing with Medicine is the most disputable issue of the Olympic Games.
• Sports culture in the US is much higher than in East European countries.
• Cricket should be included in the Summer Olympics.
• The UEFA Championship promotes youth sports.
• The New Orleans Saints as a revolutionary NFL team.
• Everyone should be developed at least in one sport.
• Fitness obsession is a benefit for physical health.
• Sports nutrition is more important than physical activity.
• Dancing is one of the best confidence boosters.
• The rise of Charlotte Horne's value because of MJ.
• International teams in football attract a wide range of audience.

Feel free to ask to ' write me an essay ' on a wide range of persuasive essay topics on sports. Our writers are always at your service to help you achieve academic success.

Argumentative Essay Topics on Sports

• Should major sports events be taken in politically dangerous zones?
• Sports programs should be accessible through all types of TV channel packages.
• Transgender athletes should have the freedom to choose their own pronouns.
• Current sports organizations are corrupt.
• Athletic training should be psychological too.
• Soccer is number one of the most popular sports around the US.
• The most quality games were played at the World Cup 2022.
• School athletics should be paid for.
• American football is not popular around the world.
• Ice hockey is the most dangerous of winter sports.
• Sporting events are mostly watched during work days.
• Physical exercise is as important as mental through athletic development.
• Sports psychology: implementation of a mental training course for student-athletes.
• Many current sports organizations degrade women's sports.
• Sports history: development of baseball around the USA.
• Playing sports should be obligatory for school children.
• Professional athletes should be paid more in Western European countries.
• Toxic masculinity ruins the success of team sports.
• Cheerleading should be part of the Olympic games.
• Are video games sports?

Simply ask to do my paper on various argumentative essay topics on sports and receive the high-quality finished product in the nick of time.

Essay on Sports and Games in School

• Should sports be made compulsory in schools?
• The impact of promoting Air Jordans on developing a winner's mindset in school children.
• The importance of having sports clubs in schools.
• Should school sports participation be an excuse to miss classes?
• Governments should encourage more youngsters to play school sports.
• Is sports a solution to the current mental health crisis in school children?
• Should governments promote more opportunities for high schoolers to pursue aesthetically pleasing sports?
• Which sport is most popular among youngsters around the US?
• Should prospective basketball players be rejected due to height measures in school basketball teams?
• The importance of physical therapy in high school athletes.
• Does sport teach the importance of teamwork?
• Should parents encourage students to play sports?
• Can the gym be a substitute for physical fitness?
• Do sports conflict with academic learning?
• Sports medicine application to mental exhaustion in school athletes.
• Does sport help students develop leadership skills?
• Is playing chess stimulating analytical thinking?
• Importance of media coverage of sports events.
• The pressure of performance in sports
• The chances of school students making it into the national basketball team.

Argumentative Essay on Gender Inequality in Sports

Check out some of the best sports essay topics if you are willing to write an argumentative essay on gender inequality in sports:

• Why are female athletes paid less than their male counterparts in most sports?
• Male athletes have more chances of going pro in basketball than women.
• Club sports exclude some players based on gender.
• Male and female athletes are equally resilient to sports injuries.
• Soccer and Ice hockey are male-dominated sports.
• The marketing strategies of UCR's Women's Basketball are inefficient.
• Height should not be a decisive factor for either men's or women's basketball.
• Gender prejudices discriminate against myriads of potentially successful athletes in various sports.
• National teams should be completed with males as well as females.
• Women's sports are not valued as much as Men's sports.
• Sports medicine is actively used by female athletes under pressure to enhance performance.
• The number of female athletes participating in the Olympic games should increase.
• Fewer female students choose to play sports after graduating from high school compared to the number of male students.
• Negative psychological aspects of post-traumatic stress disorder in athletes.
• More female students should be encouraged to play sports while performing their academic duties.
• Comparatively, more men make it to major league baseball than women.
• Performance-enhancing drugs adversely affect growing healthy muscle groups.
• Ancient sports like the ancient Greek Olympics have nothing in common with modern Olympic games.
• Lack of women professional football players in America.
• Women's soccer is less promoted by European high schools than Men's.

If you have already surpassed the age of school and you're currently working on an essay on sports and games in school or trying to write an essay on sports event in school, do not hesitate to contact our dissertation writers to hire .

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Essay on Benefits of Games and Sports

Playing professional sports brings about its advantages. Consider writing an essay on benefits of games and sports and choose from a wide variety of topics below:

• Benefits of Playing Sports: Improved concentration
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Increased dopamine and serotonin level
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Improved mood
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Improved sleeping habits
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Reduced stress and depression
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Boosted Self-confidence
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Development of leadership traits
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Improved mental health
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Healthy sleeping habits
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Maintaining healthy body weight
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Improved academic performance in school children
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Better scholastic outcomes
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Active blood circulation
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Developing school athletes as better team players
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Enhanced analytic thinking
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Effective multitasking
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Improved mental and physical health.
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Opportunity to develop a career outside the home nation.
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Better communication skills.
• Benefits of Playing Sports: Smart time management.

Essay on My Favorite Sports Person

Famous sports figures often inspire school students. Take a look at the list of topics to write an essay on my favourite sports person:

• Roger Federer: my favorite tennis player
• Tiger Woods: the best golfer in the US
• Cristiano Ronaldo: The GOAT of GOATs.
• Rafael Nadal: the most prominent tennis player in Spain
• Kevin Durant: the rising star of the NBA
• Lebron James: the best basketball player in the modern NBA
• Usain Bolt: greatest sprinter of all time
• Alexi Lalas: most beloved American soccer player
• Michael Schumacher: seven-time World Champion
• Frank Thomas: greatest baseball player
• Shaun White: the best American snowboarder
• Jennie Finch: most honorable softball player in America
• Dirk Nowitzki: the guy who beat Lebron James.
• Kevin Garnett: most emotional and dedicated in NBA
• Ray Bourque: the best of hockey players
• Billie Jean King: Honor for women tennis players
• Bill Elliot: Nascar's most popular driver
• Mark Messier: greatest leader in hockey history
• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia: Rising star of European football
• Maradona: most prominent soccer player of all time

Feel free to write an essay on sports and games for 10th class from the above topics.

Persuasive Essay on Sports Betting

If you decide to write a persuasive essay on sports betting, take some inspiration from the topics below:

• Beginners should be taught how to place a bet.
• Money-line betting is addictive
• Sports betting should be prohibited under the 18
• Betting on NFL wins totals
• Scandal and controversy in sports are always connected to betting
• Game theory has a direct relation to gambling
• Online casinos should be banned
• Math is used in gambling to assess the risks of winning
• Sports bettors are great analysts
• Mobile betting is a better option than desktop
• Sportsbooks are the main guide to learning sports betting
• Gambling is more entertaining than addictive
• The FIFA World Cup has the biggest betting volume
• The Super Bowl makes up half of all sports bets summed up
• Kentucky Derby is one of the highest-rated betting events in horse racing
• The Grand National horse racing attracts the highest sports bettings around the UK
• Las Vegas is the best gambling destination in the world
• Singapore has one of the strictest gambling rules in the world
• Monte Carlo is the classiest gambling point
• Aruba is the Vegas of the Caribbean

Common App Essay on Sports

You can easily craft top-notch essays related to sports in your college application. Take some of the examples from the topics listed below, and do not hesitate to write a common app essay on sports.

• Learning to take constructive criticism as a soccer player
• Sports is the greatest teacher of teamwork
• Keeping a winner mindset through the challenges of chess
• How I Learned to be a leader through my college sports experience
• Basketball taught me the value of my own contribution to the team's success
• How Failures in soccer championships boosted my self-confidence
• The constant practice resulted in major success: how sport taught me the value of invested work
• How I learned to appreciate my body through the aesthetics of ice skating
• Hip-Hop dancing is the best teacher of networking with people of multicultural origins
• Winning a national tournament in swimming after numerous defeats
• Overcoming a sports injury and going back to a fresh start taught me resilience
• Being a part of the basketball team helped me better perceive my athletic abilities
• Coming from a family of immigrants, my soccer team helped me develop a sense of belonging on American land
• Being a high school student and an athlete led me to better time management
• Baseball player enhanced my concentration skills; within me
• Getting in touch with professional sports persons and mentors led me to personal growth
• Learning from mistakes and using defeat for my own benefit is what playing ice hockey taught me
• Running on the track made me become mentally sharp
• I learned how to lead the game through soccer
• Playing sports led me to broaden my network of professionals

Sample College Essay on Sports

The winning mindset plays a major role in helping athletes develop to the best of their potential. The profound legend of modern-day basketball, Michael Jordan is one of those rare athlete leaders that set an example for millions of college basketball players in and out of the USA on mastering his mind and shaping himself through tough discipline. Therefore, if you are interested in sports psychology, you could pick a related topic and represent an athlete or specific sports teams that similarly show off psychological discipline through their performance that later results in their success.

We have prepared a sample essay on sports below. Examine it carefully to understand a sports research paper format better!

Final Words

We are hoping that not only have you gained some ideas about essay topics on sports, but you are also leaving this article with the motivation to keep working despite any rejections or failures that come along the way.

Meanwhile, you can always use a research paper writing help service, and our experts will guide you through your winning essay writing process.

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Essay on Importance of Sports for Students and Children

500+ words essay on importance of sports.

First of all, Sport refers to an activity involving physical activity and skill . Here, two or more parties compete against each other. Sports are an integral part of human life and there is great importance of sports in all spheres of life. Furthermore, Sports help build the character and personality of a person. It certainly is an excellent tool to keep the body physically fit. Most noteworthy, the benefits of Sports are so many that books can be written.  Sports have a massive positive effect on both the mind and body.

Physical Benefits of Sports

First of all, Sports strengthen the heart. Regular Sports certainly make the heart stronger. Hence, Sport is an excellent preventive measure against heart diseases . This certainly increases the life expectancy of individuals. Furthermore, a healthy heart means a healthy blood pressure.

Sports involve physical activity of the body. Due to this physical activity, blood vessels remain clean. Sports reduces the amount of cholesterol and fats in the body. This happens because of the increase of flexibility of the wall of the blood vessels. The flexibility increases due to physical exertion, which is the result of Sports.

Furthermore, the sugar level in blood also gets lower thanks to Sports. The sugar certainly does not accumulate in the blood due to physical activity.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

A person experiences a good quality of breathing because of Sports. Sports strengthen the lungs of the body. Sports certainly escalate the lung capacity and efficiency of the body. Hence, more oxygen enters the blood which is extremely beneficial. Furthermore, there are fewer chances of developing lung diseases due to Sports.

Appropriate body weight is easy to maintain because of sports. A Sports playing person probably does not suffer from obesity or underweight problems. Sports certainly help the body remain fit and slim.

Furthermore, Sports also improves the quality of bones. A person who plays sports will have strong bones even in old age. Several scientific research reports that Sports prevent many diseases. For example, many researchers conclude that Sports prevent the development of cancer.

Other Benefits of Sports

Sport is certainly an excellent tool to build self-confidence . Playing Sports increases confidence to talk properly. A sport certainly improves the skills of communicating with others. Furthermore, the person experiences confidence in sitting, standing, and walking properly. Hence, Sports enriches the social life of an individual.

Sports bring discipline in life. It certainly teaches the values of dedication and patience. Sports also teach people how to handle failure. Furthermore, the importance of following a time schedule is also present in Sports.

Above all, Sports improves the thinking ability of individuals. Sports certainly sharpen the mind. Children who play Sports probably perform better at exams than those who don’t.

Finally, Sports reduces the stress of mind . A Sports playing person would certainly experience less depression. Sports ensure the peace of mind of those playing it. Most noteworthy, Sports brings happiness and joy in the life of individuals.

A sport is an aspect of human life that is of paramount importance. It certainly increases the quality of human life. Sports must be made mandatory in schools. This is because it is as important as education. Everyone must perform at least one Sport activity on a regular basis.

{ “@context”: “https://schema.org”, “@type”: “FAQPage”, “mainEntity”: [ { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “How do Sports clean blood vessels?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Sports clean blood vessels by physical activity. This physical activity certainly reduces the amount of fat and cholesterol.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “How Sports improves the quality of breathing?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Sports improves the quality of breathing by strengthening the lungs. This certainly results in increasing lung capacity.” } } ] }

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The Teamwork in Sports

How it works

There’s no ‘I’ in team. It’s an old saying that is both linguistically right and significant in team settings in sport and prevalent elsewhere. As a coach sends her team off to compete, they no longer represent a group of individuals, but instead, a team. Teamwork is what I believe coaches should be focusing on. Coaches should utilize teamwork to unite your players, and each athlete will receive various mental rewards both all through amusement. A cheer-leading coach for high school varsity cheer-leading should aim for one hundred percent participation.

Any youth coach should follow the guidelines listed below and instill it in the minds of young athletes.

The key to an effective activity where everybody fills in as a group is participation. Team sports are cooperative and runs parallel with teamwork as a crucial instrument to the success of the team. As a coach, you can plant a couple of thoughts into the brains of your players, hitting a string with them and building relationship with the significance of collaboration on the field. Its frequently said that collaboration is ‘1+1=3’, as the positive contribution of every individual intuitively breeds accomplishment as a group. A comparative articulation normally utilized says that ‘the name on the front of the shirt could really compare to the name on the back’.

Whatever significant witticism you use to convey the importance of teamwork, it is ultimately about understanding that more can be accomplished as a team than as a group of individuals. Sometimes when players achieve adulthood, there can be situations where athletes don’t see eye-to-eye. In any case, that doesn’t need to translate on the field or create a dysfunctional team. A gathering that has confidence in collaboration, achievement, and disappointment as a unit will have the capacity to perceive their common goals as a team and set any hostility aside when they take to the field. Furthermore, that team bond just gets stronger as they play with this mentality more.

A team that has slugged it out all season for each other will feel a substantially stronger connection as they take into a play-off game or competition. Showing your team the benefits of cooperation begins on the preparation ground and beginning of the season yet should constantly extend past that towards social and relaxation time. Your teammates are probably going to invest a considerable amount of time with each other at practice and furthermore outside of formal team meeting. Holding get-togethers outside of your ordinary practice and competition is an incredible method to unite your players.

A gathering of companions off the field will liable to result in a group that is more eager to cooperate on it. Besides, when your team does unavoidably pursue into progress fabricating a solid group fellowship, they’ll have the capacity to appreciate it more off the field as they are as of now used to associating in their extra time. For youth groups, using every effort to ensure your team is a group of friends is eve mire vital. A child’s confidence can be altered if they feel like they are not apart of the team – so bend over backward to incorporate every one of your individuals in social exercises.

Another factor that is especially imperative for youth groups (yet at the same time applies to everybody) is just satisfaction. A positive and pleasant climate is better for everybody, and frequently collaboration and fun can come as an inseparable unit. Teams that utilize collaboration can achieve awesome things. Also, group achievement itself is more fulfilling than individual achievement. For youth sports, delight in game is dependably a point of convergence for coaches. Players that appreciate sport will probably hold returning, get their companions included and bear on playing the game into adulthood. Collaboration breeds a strong unit that are more disposed to achieve achievement – and everybody appreciates winning.

Another fundamental segment to team sports is competition. Cooperating as a team breeds a sound focused edge that can just look good for the group and every person inside it. Cooperation in games enables your individuals to cooperate to accomplish a shared objective. That may win the alliance, getting one over on an opponent, or just enhancing as a team. While it’s important guarantee players don’t think winning is everything in game (and once more, that is especially valid for youth sports), a level of rivalry is in every case more prone to prompt better collaboration. To do as such, plot your group’s goal – and stretch how they are to be accomplished as a unit. What’s the most ideal approach to accomplish a group’s targets? Through the intensity of teamwork.

A high school varsity team could contain anything somewhere in the range of 6-30 girls, however every one of them have singular jobs – and every job is vital to the team’s success. Guaranteeing every player knows their role and its significance to the team, is a key part to fruitful collaboration. Disclose to each member of the team how vital their job is and indicate them in creating exercises around what they bring to the team, and what your team would miss without it. It’ll make every member feel esteemed as a piece of the group, give them clear directions on how they can add to progress, and give a feeling of responsibility to their activities as a major aspect of that team. Give each member clarity by demonstrating that they are so essential to the group ethos, and they’ll understand the importance of teamwork while trusting that other members will take their role on the team in account.

As we’ve addressed various topics previously, if there is one thing that collaboration breeds it is achievement. Off the back of that, if there is one thing that achievement breeds at that point it’s confidence. As a group, aggregate confidence is best accomplished by utilizing collaboration – and confidence as a team can convert into confidence for each person. For youth teams, the positive (or negative) affect confidence can have on children is a sensitive and delicate task– and as coach you must continually survey the confidence levels of every one of your team members.

The individuals who function well in a group communicate well with each other and must cooperate on the field to step up and take care of issues. Young individuals shouldn’t simply play game to practice and create aptitudes in that specific game. The advantages should address building fundamental abilities that assist youth grow as a competitor and as an individual. Encouraging teamwork prompts communication among teammates and working as a team accomplish a shared objective – which are skills needed on and off the field.

As the coach, you must set up the structures to enable your players to prosper. Given the advantages that collaboration can give your team, put it at the cutting edge of your coaching mind. To do that, there are various qualities you can execute into your training style that will energize cooperation at each level of what your team does. As the coach, you are a piece of the team, not the dictator pioneer. Advancing a team domain incorporates giving players a chance to offer their opinions on how best to approach accomplishing the team goals.

Be anything but difficult to converse with and urge players to give their contemplations on how the group could progress. Much the same as you are a piece of the group, so too is every other person – and every one of them have an equivalent impact. Every part of the team has a task to carry out – and they should all be dealt with as a contribution to the success of the team. Lastly, as a coach you are good example for which colleagues will gain from and hope to imitate. The advantages of successful cooperation are there for all to see, and the mentor should set the tone for a positive domain that enables the group to function admirably together.

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Team Sports: Benefit of Playing for Children Essay

Introduction.

It is proven that human beings cannot survive in the world without interdependence. Man is a social animal and research has proven the same. Character building is arguably the most important aspect in the life of a human being. The process of character building starts as early as the childhood period of a person. Inculcating values is imperative for any parent in the world; all these important aspects often decide the fate of a human being. This paper will throw light upon the benefits of team sports to children. A comprehensive understanding of the subject will be presented in the paper.

There is a very high demand for managers these days and the most important quality that a manager ought to possess is teamwork. Teamwork is one aspect that can be worked upon relentlessly unless perfection is attained. The feeling of teamwork can be and must be developed as early as the childhood of human beings. There are numerous advantages of the same, for instance teamwork is highly useful in achieving common goals this is the only reason why top companies pay hefty compensation to managers. Successful managers certainly know how to make the most of the teamwork. This quality can be inculcated in children by encouraging them to play team sports like Soccer, Volleyball etc. Teamwork satisfies an individual and without this important quality it is extremely difficult to survive in today’s world. Hence this is very certain the participation of the children in team sports must be encouraged by the parent’s to inculcate the quality of teamwork in them.

Active participation in team sports can make a child realize that he/she is overweight and it is high time for him/her to start working out. “The importance of physical activity such as team sports is at an all-time high due to the fact that many of our children are now overweight. Studies show that currently, only one out of four adolescent children participated regularly in any type of organized physical activity. This statistic is frightening to hear considering that the number of obese adolescents in America has nearly tripled in the past 20 years. In 1980, 5% of all adolescents were overweight. A study conducted in 1999 showed that a shocking 14% of all adolescents now have a weight problem.” (The benefits of Team Sports for Children, 2009). Obesity is a very big concern for parents all across the globe and team sports is the best possible solution to deal with obesity. This is probably the biggest advantage of participating in team sports.

Team sports is a reality check for the egoistic children, when a child involves him/her in a team sports it becomes imperative to let go off the ego and attitude, the same teaches many useful lessons to the egoistic children and forces them to change their attitude and one’s the attitude is changed for better, the growth of a human being becomes inevitable. When parents encourage the children while playing, the children get a lot of moral support and the same can also bring the parents in shape. Team sport also teaches children patience which is extremely important to prosper in life. Impulsive people can be successful in life but they very often reach where they actually should have reached, in other words they fail to utilize their full potential. There are numerous other advantages of team sports but the most important have been covered in the paper. It is very important to encourage the participation of children in team sports to ensure their growth and prosperity.

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Article contents

Motivation in sport and performance.

• Glyn C. Roberts , Glyn C. Roberts Department of Coaching and Psychology, Norwegian School of Sport Science
• Christina G. L. Nerstad Christina G. L. Nerstad Department of Public Administration and Leadership, Oslo Metropolitan University
•  and  P. Nicolas Lemyre P. Nicolas Lemyre Department of Coaching and Psychology, Norwegian School of Sport Science
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.150
• Published online: 30 July 2018

Motivation is the largest single topic in psychology, with at least 32 theories that attempt to explain why people are or are not motivated to achieve. Within sport psychology research, there are a plethora of techniques of how to increase and sustain motivation (strategies to enhance agency beliefs, self-regulation, goal setting, and others). However, when explaining the conceptual undergirding of motivation in sport, the why of motivation, two theories predominate: Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Both theories predict the same outcomes, such as increased achievement striving, sustained behavior change, and perceptions of well-being, but they differ in why those outcomes occur. AGT assumes that individuals cognitively evaluate the competence demands and meaningfulness of the activity, and that those perceptions govern behavior. SDT assumes that individuals are driven by three basic needs, competence, autonomy, and relatedness, and the satisfaction of those needs govern behavior. The following discusses both theories and concludes that each has their strengths and weaknesses.

• achievement orientations
• basic needs
• motivational climate
• behavior change
• Achievement Goal Theory
• Self-Determination Theory

Introduction

We can never have equality of achievement, but we can have equality of motivation : That was the mission of John Nicholls ( 1979 ). His goal was “equality of optimal motivation” (p. 1071) so that everyone should achieve the best that is possible for him or her to fulfill their potential. This enshrines the conceptual basis of enhancing motivation for sustained behavior change evident in the extant literature. For optimal motivation, it is argued that strategies need to be developed where individuals adopt and sustain achievement striving. Whether it is business leaders trying to motivate people in the workplace, the health industry trying to halt the rise in childhood obesity and sedentary lifestyles, parents and teachers bemoaning the study habits of children and adolescents, or coaches and administrators within the sport and performance communities wondering how to get better “results,” all are concerned with the issue of sustained motivated behavior.

How do we develop motivation for sustained striving? If we take our cues from everyday life, then it may be associated with arousal, such as the “motivational” tirades of coaches in the locker room. Former players of Manchester United Football Club have often remarked about the halftime locker room “hairdryer treatment” talks of the legendary coach of Manchester United Sir Alex Ferguson. Some believe it is a measure of confidence, a winning attitude that motivates one to better performance. Some believe it is a simple matter of positive thinking: Believe and you will achieve! Some believe it is a personal entity or is genetically endowed; you either “have it, or not”! However, these beliefs do not begin to capture the complexity and richness of contemporary motivational theory and research.

The term motivation is a very overused and vague term, especially in the “trenches”—the classroom, the gymnasium, the exercise room, the playing fields, the sport arenas, the workplace, etc. (e.g., Ford, 1992 ; Roberts, 2012 ; Roberts, Treasure, & Conroy, 2007 ). We have former successful sports stars, politicians, businesspeople who earn “big bucks” on the lecture circuit giving what are termed “motivational talks”! We have sports commentators and business correspondents who argue that the successful are more motivated to achieve than the unsuccessful. But their definitions and understanding of what motivation is differs. Even among motivation researchers, motivation is defined broadly by some, and narrowly by others, so that the term is useless as an organizing construct. Ford ( 1992 ) has argued that there are at least 32 theories of motivation that have their own definitions and explanations of the construct. In contemporary motivation research, because the term is so vague, the solution has been to abandon the term and use descriptions of cognitive processes such as self-regulation or other self-systems that affect motivational processes. However, the important assumption agreed to by most contemporary theorists is that motivation is not an entity but is a process (e.g., Maehr & Braskamp, 1986 ). Typically, motivation is the process that influences the initiation, direction, magnitude, perseverance, continuation, and quality of goal-directed behavior (Maehr & Zusho, 2009 ). To understand motivation, we must attempt to understand the process of motivation and the constructs that drive the process and how they apply to sustained behavior change.

The history of motivation theory has been the search for the overarching theory, and, as such, it was assumed that when that theory evolved, a whole range of achievement behaviors would not only be better understood, but intervention opportunities would also present themselves (Roberts, 1992 , 2012 ). Despite the efforts of many, and the arguments of some (e.g., Bandura, 1986 ), this overarching theory remains elusive and certainly not within our grasp yet. One of the reasons is that there is not universal agreement on how the psyche works to foster motivation. However, the search continues. There is excellent work in both sport and other achievement arenas that are ongoing in search of theoretical concepts and processes to understand and enhance achievement behaviors.

The study of motivation and its effect on achievement behavior is the investigation of the energization, direction, and regulation of behavior. Thus, while some avenues of research that describe the direction and/or the regulation of behavior without specifying why the behavior is energized are not “true” motivational theories, even though they may describe achievement behavior very well. Goal setting is such a case in sport and performance (e.g., Locke & Latham, 1985 ). Goal setting specifies the direction and regulation of achievement behavior, but to date there is no sufficient psychological explanation to explain why behavior from a goal-setting perspective is initiated (Hall & Kerr, 2001 ). Motivation theories are predicated upon a set of assumptions about individuals and about the factors that give impetus to achievement behavior (Roberts, 1992 ). Motivation theories ask why .

Typically, in the research literature pertaining to motivation in sport and performance, motivation theories refer to needs, dispositions, social variables, and/or cognitions that come into play when a person undertakes a task at which he or she is evaluated, enters into competition with others, or attempts to attain some standard of excellence. At such times, the individual is assumed to be responsible for the outcome of the task and that some level of challenge is inherent in the task. Moreover, such circumstances are assumed to facilitate various needs, motivational dispositions, and/or cognitive assessments that affect achievement striving. Specifically, it has been hypothesized that the energizing constructs of achievement behavior are basic needs, approach and/or avoidance dispositions, expectancies, incentive values of success and failure, and/or cognitive assessments of what it takes to achieve success and/or avoid failure.

Understanding the Process of Motivation

Motivation theories are on a continuum ranging from deterministic to mechanistic to organismic to cognitive (for a more extensive treatment of motivation theories, see Ford, 1992 ). Deterministic and mechanistic theories view humans as being passive, at least partially, and driven by psychological needs and/or drives. Organismic theories include innate needs but also recognize that a dialectic occurs between the organism and the social context. Social cognitive theories view humans as being active and initiating action through subjective interpretation of the achievement context. When motivation matters, theoretical models governing motivation and achievement behavior abound. There is no shortage of theories! However, since the late 1970s, theories that encompass social cognitive dynamics have dominated the research literature.

Weiner ( 1972 ) signaled the beginning of the cognitive revolution by arguing that individuals who were high or low in motivation were likely to think differently about why success and failure occurred. The notion that thoughts, rather than needs or drives, were the critical variables transformed the study of motivation. As Harwood, Spray, and Keegan ( 2008 ) stated, the development of social cognitive theories has been a watershed for our understanding of sport achievement behavior. Harwood and colleagues continue to state that achievement goal theory, in particular, has “triggered a penetrating wave of research into the interpersonal and environmental influences on athlete behavior in achievement settings” (p. 158). The majority of motivation research in sport performance contexts over the past 40 years has adopted a social cognitive approach, at least partially. The most popular contemporary theories in sport psychology tend to be based on organismic (e.g., Self-Determination theory, Deci & Ryan, 1985 ; Hierarchical goal model, Elliot, 1999 ) or social cognitive criteria (e.g., Achievement Goal Theory, Nicholls, 1989 ) and are based on the more dynamic and sophisticated conceptions that assume the human is an active participant in decision making and in planning achievement.

We have confined our review to include only the most important theories for sport and performance. It may be debated whether we have included all of the important theories. However, even a cursory review of the motivation literature in sport immediately reveals that the most cited theories are Achievement Goal Theory (e.g., Dweck, 2006 ; Nicholls, 1989 ) and Self-Determination Theory (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 1985 ). These are the most used theories in the sport and performance arena. Thus, for sport performance, we take a critical eye to Self-Determination Theory (SDT) (e.g., Ntoumanis, 2012 ; Standage & Ryan, 2012 ) and Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) (e.g., Duda, 2001 ; Roberts, 2001 , 2012 ) and their principal advocates.

We will discuss each theory in turn and identify the process of motivation within each, and we will briefly cite the research in sport and performance to support the basic tenets and findings. Then we will discuss the similarities and differences of each theory and conclude with a series of suggestions for future research in sport and performance contexts.

The Theories

First, we will discuss AGT in its various guises.

Achievement Goal Theory and Research

The history and development of AGT in sport has been reviewed in several recent publications (e.g., Duda, 2005 ; Duda & Hall, 2001 ; Harwood et al., 2008 ; Lochbaum, Kazak Cetinkalp, Graham, Wright, & Zazo, 2016 ; Roberts, 2012 ; Roberts Treasure, & Conroy, 2007 ). We will not exhaustively review the literature in the present article, rather we will focus on identifying key constructs, tenets, and constraints to the theory; review the basic conceptual infrastructure and empirical support; and present recent proposals for expanding and/or restructuring the approach, with some rebuttals and counterpoints! AGT is a social cognitive theory that assumes that the individual is an intentional, rational, goal-directed organism and that achievement goals govern achievement beliefs and guide subsequent decision making and behavior in achievement contexts. It is these goals that reflect the purposes of achievement striving. Once adopted, the achievement goal determines the integrated pattern of beliefs that energize approach and avoid strategies, the differing engagement levels, and the differing responses to achievement outcomes. Goals are what give an activity purpose or meaning (Kaplan & Maehr, 2007 ; Maehr & Nicholls, 1980 ). By recognizing the importance of the meaning of behavior, it becomes clear that there may be multiple goals of action, not one (Maehr & Braskamp, 1986 ). Thus, an individual’s investment of personal resources such as effort, talent, and time in an activity is dependent on the achievement goal of the individual.

The overall goal of action in AGT, thereby becoming the conceptual energizing force, is the desire to develop and demonstrate competence and to avoid demonstrating incompetence in an achievement context (Nicholls, 1984 ). However, competence has more than one meaning. Based on previous research on learned helplessness (Dweck, 1975 ), cooperation/competition (Ames, 1984 ), and his own work on children’s understanding of the concepts of effort and ability ( 1976 ), Nicholls’s conceptual contribution was to argue that more than one conception of ability exists, and that achievement goals and behavior may differ depending on the conception of ability held by the person. Two conceptions of ability (at least) manifest themselves in achievement contexts, namely an undifferentiated concept of ability , where ability and effort are not differentiated by the individual; and a differentiated concept of ability , where ability and effort are differentiated (Nicholls, 1984 , 1989 ).

Nicholls ( 1978 , 1989 ) argued that children originally possess an undifferentiated conception of ability and associate ability with learning through effort so that the more effort one puts forth, the more learning (and ability) one achieves. Following a series of experiments, Nicholls ( 1978 ; Nicholls & Miller, 1983 , 1984 ) determined that by the age of 12, children are able to differentiate luck, task difficulty, and effort from ability, enabling a differentiated perspective. When utilizing this differentiated perspective, children begin to see ability as capacity and that the demonstration of competence involves outperforming others. In terms of effort, high ability is inferred when outperforming others and expending equal or less effort or performing equal to others while expending less effort.

An individual will approach a task or activity with certain goals of action reflecting their personal perceptions and beliefs about the form of ability they wish to demonstrate (Nicholls, 1984 , 1989 ). They interpret their performance in terms of these perceptions and beliefs and form a personal theory of achievement at the activity (Nicholls, 1989 ) that reflects the individual’s perception of how things work in achievement situations. The adopted personal theory of achievement (Dweck, 2006 , terms this as an implicit person theory ) affects one’s beliefs about how to achieve success and avoid failure at the activity. Therefore, based on their personal theory of achievement, people will differ in which of the conceptions of ability and criteria of success and failure they use.

State of Involvement

The two conceptions of ability thereby become the source of the criteria by which individuals assess success and failure. The goals of action are to meet the criteria. Nicholls ( 1989 ) identifies achievement behavior utilizing the undifferentiated conception of ability as being task involved and achievement behavior utilizing the differentiated conception of ability as being ego involved .

When task involved, the goal of action is to develop mastery, improvement, or learning; and the demonstration of ability is self-referenced, internal, and autonomous. Success is realized when mastery or improvement is attained. Perceived ability becomes less relevant as the individual is trying to demonstrate or develop mastery at the task rather than demonstrate normative ability. The achievement behaviors are adaptive in that the individual is more likely to persist in the face of failure, to exert effort, select challenging tasks, and be intrinsically interested in the task (e.g., Duda & Hall, 2001 ; Nicholls, 1989 ; Roberts, 2012 ).

When ego involved, the goal of action is to demonstrate ability relative to others, or to outperform others, making ability other referenced and external. Success is realized when the performance of others is exceeded, especially when expending less effort (Nicholls, 1984 , 1989 ). Perceived ability is relevant as the individual is trying to demonstrate normative ability, or avoid demonstrating inability, to determine how his/her ability fares with comparative others. These people seek competitive contests and want to demonstrate superiority. When perceived ability is high, demonstrating high-normative ability is likely; therefore, the individual is motivated to persist and demonstrate that competence to pertinent others. The ego-involved person is inclined to use the least amount of effort to realize the goal of action (Nicholls, 1989 ). If the perception of ability is low, then the individual recognizes that ability is unlikely to be demonstrated, and he/she manifests maladaptive achievement behaviors because he/she wishes to avoid demonstrating incompetence (Nicholls, 1989 ). Maladaptive behaviors are avoiding the task; avoiding challenge; reducing persistence in the face of difficulty; exerting little effort; and, in sport, even dropping out if achievement of the desired goal appears difficult. These people avoid competitive contests, as their lack of competence may be exposed. While the participant may view these avoidance behaviors as adaptive, because a lack of ability is disguised, they are considered maladaptive in terms of achievement behavior.

One of the most important tenets of AGT is that the states of involvement are mutually exclusive (e.g., Nicholls, 1989 ; Treasure et al., 2001 ). One is either ego or task involved. One’s state of motivational involvement ranges on a continuum from task to ego involvement. The goal state is very dynamic and can change from moment to moment as information is processed (Gernigon, d’Arippe-Longueville, Delignières, & Ninot, 2004 ). An athlete may begin a task with strong task-involved motivation, but contextual events may make the athlete wish to demonstrate superiority to others, and the athlete becomes ego involved in the task (as an example, when a coach publicly highlights a mistake). Similarly, an athlete may begin a competitive event with a strong ego-involved state of involvement, but as the event unfolds, the athlete may realize he or she will win easily (or lose emphatically) and therefore begin to work on mastery criteria instead and become task involved. Thus, goal states are dynamic and ebb and flow depending on the perception of the athlete.

In this article, when we refer to the motivated state of involvement of the individual, we use the terms ego and task involvement to be consistent with Nicholls’s use of the terms. However, other theorists use different terms such as mastery and performance (e.g., Ames, 1992a ; Dweck, 1986 ). In addition, when we refer to individual dispositions, we use the terms task and ego orientation to be consistent with Nicholls. Again, other motivation theorists (e.g., Dweck, 1986 , 2006 ; Elliot, 1999 ; Maehr & Braskamp, 1986 ) have used different terms (e.g., self-schemas, personal theories of achievement, implicit personal theories, personal investment) to describe the same phenomena.

Goal Orientations, an Individual Difference Variable

When individuals are predisposed (e.g., through their personal theory of achievement) to act in an ego- or task-involved manner, these predispositions are called achievement goal orientations . Individual differences in the disposition to be ego or task involved may be the result of socialization through task or ego-involving contexts in the home or other significant achievement contexts (e.g., classrooms, sport). The way Elliott and Dweck ( 1988 ) explain it is that each of the achievement goals runs off a different “program with different commands, decision rules, and inference rules, and hence, with different cognitive, affective, and behavioral consequences. Each goal, in a sense, creates and organizes its own world—each evoking different thoughts and emotions and calling forth different behaviors” (p. 11).

Goal orientations are not “traits” or based on needs. They are cognitive schemas that are dynamic and subject to change as information pertaining to one’s performance on the task is processed. The orientations have some stability over time and are relatively enduring in sport (Duda & Whitehead, 1998 ; Roberts, Treasure, & Balague, 1998 ). Thus, being task or ego oriented refers to the inclination of the individual to be task or ego involved in sport.

The important attribute of achievement goal orientations is that they are orthogonal and independent. One can be high or low in each or both orientations at the same time. Based on developmental research with children, Nicholls ( 1989 ) concluded that by the age of 12, it is possible for an individual to be high or low in both task and ego goal orientation, or high in one and low in the other. In the sport and exercise literature, this orthogonality has been supported (e.g., Duda, 2001 ; Lemyre, Roberts, & Ommundsen, 2002 ; Lochbaum et al., 2016 ; Pensgaard & Roberts, 2000 ; Roberts, Treasure, & Kavussanu, 1996 ; Walling & Duda, 1995 ). For qualitative reviews, see Duda and Whitehead ( 1998 ), and Roberts ( 2012 ) and colleagues (Roberts, Treasure, & Kavussanu, 1997 ; Roberts, Treasure, & Conroy, 2007 ).

The implications of the orthogonality of goal orientations are important. The research evidence in sport suggests that individuals with high task and high ego or high task and low ego orientations have the most adaptive motivational profiles (e.g., Fox, Goudas, Biddle, Duda, & Armstrong, 1994 ; Hodge & Petlichkoff, 2000 ; Pensgaard & Roberts, 2002 ; Roberts, Treasure, & Kavussanu, 1996 ; Smith, Balaguer, & Duda, 2006 ). As one would expect, when an individual has been high in ego and low in task, or high in task and low in ego, then the findings are consistent with the findings reported above for task and ego orientation (task orientation is adaptive; ego orientation, especially when coupled with low perception of competence, is generally maladaptive). However, we find that high ego orientation when coupled with high (or moderate) task orientation is not maladaptive (e.g., Cumming, Hall, Harwood, & Gammage, 2002 ; Harwood, Cumming, & Fletcher, 2004 ; Pensgaard & Roberts, 2002 ; Smith et al., 2006 ; Wang & Biddle, 2001 ). Therefore, rather than focusing on whether an individual is task or ego oriented, it is important to consider the simultaneous combination of task and ego orientation (Kaplan & Maehr, 2007 ; Roberts et al., 2007 ).

The Research Evidence

Two strategies are used to determine the goal orientation profiles (high in each, high in one and low in the other, and low in each). One strategy has been to create the four profile groups through a mean or median split of the task and ego scores (e.g., Fox et al., 1994 ; Roberts et al., 1996 ). A weakness of this approach is that individuals may be misclassified. An alternative is to use cluster analysis to obtain the goal profiles (e.g., Hodge & Petlichkoff, 2000 ). Researchers in sport have used cluster analysis (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998 ) to investigate goal orientations and in general have supported the use of cluster analysis to produce the goal orientation profiles (e.g., Cumming et al., 2002 ; Harwood et al., 2004 ; Hodge & Petlichkoff, 2000 ; Smith et al., 2006 ; Wang & Biddle, 2001 ). The clusters have varied across these studies, but importantly, participants with high ego/high task and high task/moderate or low in ego goal orientations have consistently reported more desirable responses on the variables under study (e.g., greater imagery use, more physical activity, higher self-determination, better social relationships). Thus, the motivational implications of the orthogonality of goals are a very important attribute of AGT.

Elite athletes are likely to be high task and high ego (e.g., Pensgaard & Roberts, 2000 ) or high ego and low or moderate in task orientation. In sport, the individuals most at risk are the high ego and low task oriented. These are the people most likely to exhibit maladaptive motivation, drop out, and are the athletes most likely to burn out when they believe they cannot demonstrate competence (Lemyre, Roberts, & Stray-Gundersen, 2007 ). The low ego and low task people are the least motivated, and they may not even commit to achievement tasks. The important issue in the present discussion is that the orthogonality of the goal orientations has been demonstrated quite conclusively (see Lochbaum et al., 2016 ), and the orthogonality of the goals is an important factor determining sustained motivated behavior in sport. The avenue of research related to achievement goals in the context of sport and performance has demonstrated that individual differences in goal orientations are associated with different motivational processes and different achievement behaviors (e.g., Lemyre et al., 2007 ). In comprehensive previous reviews, the hypotheses pertinent to the goal orientations are consistently supported (e.g., Duda, 2001 ; Duda & Hall, 2001 ; Lochbaum et al., 2016 ; Roberts, 2001 , 2012 ). Task orientation is associated with adaptive achievement strategies, positive affect, well-being, less cheating, better performance, and intrinsic forms of motivation. Ego orientation is associated with maladaptive achievement strategies, negative affect, ill-being, and extrinsic forms of motivation.

Goal Orientations and Mindsets

Dweck ( 2012 ) differs from Nicholls somewhat in that she argues that one’s personal theory of motivation gives rise to implicit theories about how things work in achievement settings. Dweck ( 2000 ) agrees with Nicholls ( 1989 ) that there exist specific individual difference variables that stimulate the pursuit of different goals; such variables are implicit person theories (IPTs). These theories reflect beliefs individuals have about themselves and their assumptions about the plasticity of personal characteristics such as personality, abilities (e.g., athletic), and intelligence, which guides human behavior (Dweck, 1986 ). Because they are not explicitly enunciated in the mind of the individual holding them, these person theories are typically referred to as implicit (Burnette, O’Boyle, VanEpps, Pollack, & Finkel, 2013 ). Thus, IPTs portray schematic knowledge structures that include beliefs about the stability of a characteristic, which in turn classifies the way individuals assign meanings to various occasions (Burnette et al., 2013 ; Ross, 1989 ). According to Dweck ( 1986 , 2012 ), there are two such IPTs. An entity IPT, also referred to as a fixed mindset , assumes that personal attributes are entities that reside within individuals and cannot be changed much over time (Dweck, 2000 , 2012 ). Thus, a so-called entity theorist believes that individuals have given abilities that cannot really be changed or developed (Dweck, 2006 ).

On the other hand, incremental IPT, also referred to as a growth mindset , assumes that personal attributes are relatively changeable (Dweck, 1999 ). Thus, individuals with a growth mindset, also called incremental theorists, believe that with effort, guidance, and effective strategies, all individuals can develop and increase their abilities over time (Dweck, 1999 , 2006 ).

The two mindsets are operationalized in such a manner that individuals lie somewhere along a continuum between the fixed and growth mindset prototypes; thus, one of the implicit theories is likely to be dominant (Heslin & Vandewalle, 2008 ; Spray, Wang, Biddle, Chatzisarantis, & Warburton, 2006 ). Still, it should be noted that it may be possible and beneficial for individuals to hold a combination of both growth and fixed mindsets (Dweck & Leggett, 1988 ; Harwood, Spray, & Keegan, 2008 ): That is, when present differences in relative ability are recognized, but blended with an emphasis on individual growth in ability (Dweck & Elliot, 1983 ; Dweck & Leggett, 1988 ). Sport psychological research has provided support for this suggestion given the typically negative, but weak, relationship between higher-ordered growth and fixed mindset dimensions (Biddle, Wang, Chatzisarantis, & Spray, 2003 ; Spray et al., 2006 ; Wang, Woon, Biddle, & Spray, 2005 ).

The IPTs (or mindsets) are relatively stable dispositions, and empirical evidence supports such a conceptualization (Dweck, 1999 ; Dweck, Chiu, & Hong, 1995 ; Dweck & Leggett, 1988 ). However, there is also empirical evidence indicating that IPTs may be modified through interventions where changes in IPTs and behavior have been found to sustain for periods of six to nine weeks (e.g., Aronson, Fried, & Good, 2002 ; Heslin, Latham, & Vandewalle, 2005 ).

IPTs (or mindsets) have been studied comprehensively in the educational achievement domain typically with experimental designs, although scholars have extended the IPT applicability to other domains such as work (Heslin & Vandewalle, 2008 ) and sport/physical education (Ommundsen, 2003 ; Spray et al., 2006 ). Accordingly mindsets have been shown to be important for success in various domains such as physical and emotional health, in social relationships, in academics, and in the workplace (Dweck, 2012 ). In sport, existing research has mainly been conducted with student participants, and thus IPTs have typically been measured with reference to physical education and sport where the majority of studies have been cross-sectional (Harwood et al., 2008 ), with a few exceptions (e.g., Spray et al., 2006 ). In the next paragraph, we will briefly present the main findings from various achievement domains, focusing on sport, physical education, and education.

Research based on diverse populations suggests that individuals can hold different IPTs in different domains such as in sport or schoolwork; growth and fixed mindsets are endorsed approximately equally; further, IPTs are generally uncorrelated with the Big Five trait dimensions, cognitive complexity, self-esteem, and education (Burnette et al., 2013 ). IPTs have previously been linked to self-regulatory processes such as social comparison, selective information attention, goal setting, and overcoming stereotype threat (Aronson et al., 2002 ; Mangels, Butterfield, Lamb, Good, & Dweck, 2006 ; Nussbaum & Dweck, 2008 ; Robins & Pals, 2002 ). In the sport domain, a fixed mindset of ability has been associated with self-reported amotivation, increased levels of anxiety, reduced levels of satisfaction, more acceptance of cheating behavior that was partly mediated by approach, and avoidance-performance goal orientation. On the other hand, a growth mindset predicts positively enjoyment, satisfaction, and reduced acceptance of cheating behavior through perceptions of approach and avoidance-mastery goal orientation (Biddle et al., 2003 ; Corrion et al., 2010 ; Ommundsen, 2001c ).

Based on an experimental design, Cury, Da Fonséca, Zahn, and Elliot ( 2008 ) found that a fixed mindset has a detrimental influence on performance. Specifically, holding a fixed mindset facilitated concerns about the implications of failure. Such worry further led to decreased practice that directly undermined performance. This finding aligns with several other studies suggesting that individuals with a growth mindset perform better on various tasks (e.g., Aronson et al., 2002 ; Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007 ; Mangels et al., 2006 ; Moser, Schroder, Heeter, Moran, & Lee, 2011 ; Paunesku et al., 2015 ).

IPTs and Goal Orientation

According to Dweck ( 1986 , 1999 ), individuals have different goals in achievement situations, and these goals have their basis in the individuals’ IPTs. Dweck’s approach to goal orientations may be referred to as a person-oriented approach, where personality plays a major role in goal adoption (Maehr & Zusho, 2009 ). Specifically, Dweck and Leggett ( 1988 ) argue that goal orientations have their basis in the individuals’ IPTs, although they may be responsive to change (e.g., Aronson et al., 2002 ; Paunesku et al., 2015 ; Spray et al., 2006 ).

The goals, which Dweck terms either performance or mastery goals, that individuals adopt help create mastery-oriented or helpless responses (Dweck, 1999 ). Individuals with a growth mindset view their ability as something they can improve over time and are thus more likely to adopt mastery goals (Dweck, 1999 ; Dweck & Leggett, 1988 ; Payne, Youngcourt, & Beaubien, 2007 ). Conversely, individuals with a fixed mindset are more likely to endorse performance goals (ability judgments), which creates vulnerability to a helpless pattern of behavior, particularly when their perceived ability is low (Dweck & Leggett, 1988 ; Maehr & Zusho, 2009 ). When helpless, individuals may attribute their failures to personal inadequacy, deficient abilities, or intelligence, and they experience negative affect (Dweck, 1999 ; Dweck & Leggett, 1988 ). Given that mastery goals concern mastery of new things, such as a new technical skill in ski jumping, growth mindset individuals respond to difficult problem solving with a clear mastery-oriented pattern (Elliott & Dweck, 1988 ). This was evident even when facing failure, where individuals managed to continue their focus on the task and how to solve it.

Fixed mindset individuals show a clear helpless pattern in response to difficult problem solving, especially when failing. In sport and physical education research, similar empirical evidence has emerged where a fixed mindset predicts performance goals while a growth mindset predicts mastery goals (e.g., Biddle, Seos, & Chatzisarantis, 1999 ; Biddle et al., 2003 ; Cury, Da Fonséca, Rufo, & Sarrazin, 2002 ; Ommundsen, 2001a , 2001b ; Spray et al., 2006 ). A meta-analysis of the goal orientation nomological net also found support for Dweck’s ( 1986 , 1999 ) predictions that a fixed mindset is negatively correlated with a mastery orientation and positively correlated with performance orientation (Payne et al., 2007 ). However the effect sizes were very small, indicating limited evidence for Dweck’s ( 1986 ) propositions of IPTs being the primary underlying antecedents of goal orientations.

However, a more recent meta-analysis (Burnette et al., 2013 ) including 28,217 respondents from various achievement domains (68% academic), representing 10 different nations covered in 113 different studies, investigated the relationship between IPTs and self-regulation. The results revealed that IPTs predicted distinct self-regulatory processes (performance and mastery orientation, helpless and mastery strategies, negative emotions, and expectations), which in turn predicted goal achievement. The results indicated that a growth mindset significantly and negatively predicted performance orientation, positively predicted mastery orientation, negatively predicted helpless strategies, positively predicted mastery-oriented strategies, negatively predicted negative emotions, and positively predicted expectations. The effects on goal orientation and helpless/mastery strategies were even stronger in the absence versus presence of ego threats such as failure feedback (Burnette et al., 2013 ). These findings lend additional support for Dweck’s initial propositions that IPTs are important predictors of individual goal orientation.

The Re-Introduction of Approach and Avoid Goals

A provocative theory challenging AGT has emerged from work on the hierarchical model of achievement motivation (e.g., Elliot, 1999 ; Elliot & Conroy, 2005 ). The hierarchical model claims to revise and extend AGT. The theory is based on the premise that approach and avoidance motivation are also important in considering achievement striving. Briefly, the hierarchical model of achievement motivation asserts that the dynamic states of involvement are influenced by both the definition of competence and the valence of the goals.

The arguments are similar to arguments made within Need Achievement Theory and research relative to approach success and avoid failure dispositions (e.g., Atkinson & Feather, 1966 ). Contemporary researchers suggest that an approach and an avoid motivation exist (e.g., Elliot, 1997 ; Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996 ; Middleton & Midgley, 1997 ; Skaalvik, 1997 ) and that individuals strive to be competent (an appetitive or approach valence) or strive to avoid appearing incompetent (an aversive or avoid valence). Thus, it is possible to differentiate goals based on their valence or the degree to which the focal outcome is pleasant or unpleasant.

In reviewing the achievement goal literature, Elliot ( 1994 ) observed that performance goals that focus on the pleasant possibility of demonstrating competence (approach goals) lead to different outcomes than performance goals focused on the unpleasant possibility of demonstrating incompetence (avoidance goals). Performance-avoidance goals reduce both free-choice behavior and self-reported interest in a task, whereas performance-approach goals did not have any consistent effect on intrinsic motivation indices (Rawsthorne & Elliot, 1999 ). This finding led to the introduction of a tripartite model of achievement goals comprising mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals (Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996 ). Following a series of studies by Cury and colleagues (e.g., Cury, Elliot, Sarrazin, Da Fonséca, & Rufo, 2002 ; Cury et al., 2002 ; Cury, Da Fonséca, et al., 2003 ), the model expanded to include a fourth possible achievement goal: mastery-avoidance goal (e.g., Elliot & Conroy, 2005 ). Thus, the argument was proffered that achievement goals should consider both the definition of competence and the valence of the striving . The model now became 2 by 2 with two definitions of competence (mastery vs. performance) and two valences of striving (approaching competence vs. avoiding incompetence) (see Papaioannou, Ziurbanos, Krommidas & Ampatatzoglou, 2012 ; Roberts et al., 2007 ).

The introduction of the hierarchical model has challenged many of the tenets and underlying assumptions of traditional AGT. In particular, it expanded the mastery and performance dichotomy to expand the theory from two goals to four goals. A body of evidence has accumulated to support these assertions, and some argue that the new model is a “better” theory to explain motivated behavior (e.g., Elliot & Conroy, 2005 ). However, the extension is criticized in that it violates some of the basic tenets of AGT (e.g., it negates the orthogonality of orientations) and adds little conceptual understanding to the motivational equation (e.g., Maehr & Zusho, 2009 ; Roberts, 2012 ) and undermines the parsimony and elegance of AGT.

It is not the only source of criticism of the traditional model, or the only expansion of the number of goals. AGT has had strong criticism from Harwood and colleagues (e.g., Harwood, Hardy, & Swain, 2000 ; Harwood & Hardy, 2001 ; Harwood et al., 2008 ) who raise what they term as conceptual and methodological issues. Others have argued for multiple goals, such as process, performance, and outcome goals (e.g., Burton & Weiss, 2008 ; Gould, 2010 ; Hardy, Jones, & Gould, 1996 ; Kingston & Wilson, 2009 ). Harwood and colleagues also argue for multiple states of task involvement and multiple goals (e.g., Harwood et al., 2008 ). Initially, Harwood and colleagues argued that achievement goal theory was not as useful in sport as in education, and they argued that task involvement, as a state, did not exist in sport because of the ego-involving nature of the sport experience: The goal pertinent to sport was termed “self-referenced ego involvement” (Harwood et al., 2000 , p. 244). They proposed that there were three states of involvement that were termed task involvement, self-referenced ego involvement, and norm-referenced ego involvement. This argument was strongly rebutted by Treasure and colleagues (Treasure et al., 2001 ) where the conceptual logic behind the multiple states of involvement was seriously questioned. However, it is for the reader to read the articles and decide for himself or herself.

The above documents the various approaches to arguing for the emergence of goal orientations within AGT. However, the approaches all agree that a personal theory of motivation, an implicit theory, or valence determine the goal orientation (task or ego, mastery or performance) of the individual. The orientation, in turn, determines the state of involvement (task or ego) of the individual.

The Motivational Climate: Mastery and Performance Criteria

One of the most powerful aspects of AGT is that it incorporates not only the individual difference variables of task and ego orientations, growth and entity orientations, but also the situational determinants of task and ego involvement. The situation plays a central role in the motivation process (Ames, 1992a , 1992b , 1992c ; Nicholls, 1984 , 1989 ). Consistent with other motivation research that has emphasized the situational determinants of behavior (e.g., Ames, 1984 ; deCharms, 1976 , 1984 ; Dweck, 2006 ), research within AGT has examined how the structure of the environment can make it more or less likely that an individual will become task or ego involved. The premise of this line of research is that the individual perceives the degree to which task and ego criteria are salient within the context. Through their perception of the criteria inherent in the context and the behaviors necessary to achieve success and/or avoid failure, this affects the achievement behaviors, cognition, and affective responses of individuals (Ames, 1992b ; Roberts, Treasure, & Conroy, 2007 ; Roberts, Treasure, & Kavussanu, 1997 ). When we refer to the achievement cues within the context, the schemas emerging from achievement situations, we will be consistent with Ames and refer to the task-involving aspect of the context as mastery criteria and the ego-involving aspect of the context as performance criteria.

The premise of the research from a situational perspective is that the nature of an individual’s experiences and how he/she interprets these experiences influence the degree to which a mastery and/or a performance set of criteria to achieve success is perceived as salient. A performance climate is created when the criteria of success and failure are other referenced and ego involving (Ames, 1992b ), and the athlete perceives that the demonstration of normative ability is valued. A mastery climate is created when the criteria of success and failure are self-referenced and task involving (Ames, 1992b ), and the athlete perceives that the demonstration of mastery and learning are valued. This is assumed to affect an individual’s interpretation of the criteria of success and failure extant in the context and to affect achievement behavior. The individual will adopt adaptive achievement strategies (namely, to work hard, seek challenging tasks, persist in the face of difficulty) in the climate in which he or she feels comfortable. For most people, and especially children, this is in the climate that emphasizes mastery (e.g., Biddle, 2001 ; Roberts, Treasure, & Conroy, 2007 ; Roberts, Treasure, & Kavussanu, 1997 ; Treasure, 1997 , 2001 ). In mastery-oriented situations, an individual is assumed to adopt adaptive achievement strategies such as working hard, seeking challenging tasks, and persisting in the face of difficulty (Harwood et al., 2015 ; Roberts, 2012 ). Certainly, the extant research supports that assumption (e.g., Treasure, 2001 ). However, we must not forget that some people function well in a performance climate. These are people who are high in perceived competence at the activity and who wish to demonstrate their competence and enjoy demonstrating superiority to others. As long as the perception of high ability lasts, these people seek challenging tasks and revel in demonstrating their ability. But as soon as the perception of ability wavers, because of age, injury, or an individual enters into a more elite context, then these people are likely to adopt maladaptive achievement strategies (namely, to seek easy tasks, reduce effort, or give up in the face of difficulty).

The extant literature in sport suggests that the creation of a mastery motivational climate is likely to be important in optimizing positive (i.e., well-being, sportsmanship, persistence, task perseverance, adaptive achievement strategies) and attenuating negative (i.e., overtraining, self-handicapping, stress responses, burning-out, cheating) attributes (e.g., Fry & Gano-Overway, 2010 ; Iwasaki & Fry, 2016 ; Kuczka & Treasure, 2005 ; Miller et al., 2004 ; Ommundsen & Roberts, 1999 ; Sarrazin, Roberts, Cury, Biddle, & Famose, 2002 ; Standage, Duda, & Ntoumanis, 2003 ; Standage, Treasure, Hooper, & Kuczka, 2007 ; Treasure & Roberts, 2001 ; Wilhelmsen, Sorensen, & Seippel, in press ). This pattern of findings has been confirmed in a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative review using 104 studies (n=34,156) that found that perceptions of a mastery climate were associated with adaptive motivational outcomes including perceived competence, self-esteem, objective performance improvement, intrinsic motivation, positive affective states, experienced flow, and were less likely to cheat (Harwood et al., 2015 ). Conversely, perceptions of a performance climate were associated with extrinsic motivation, negative affective states, maladaptive performance strategies, perfectionism, and likelihood to cheat. The extant evidence, therefore, supports the position that perceptions of a mastery motivational climate are associated with more adaptive motivational and affective response patterns than perceptions of a performance climate in the context of sport engagement.

For the purposes of the present discussion, it is well to realize that dispositional goal orientations and perceptions of the climate are two independent dimensions of motivation within AGT that interact to affect behavior (Nicholls, 1989 ). But the powerful and parsimonious aspect of AGT is that both the individual dispositions and the perception of the motivational climate are encompassed by the theory. It is true that research to date primarily deals with dispositional goal orientations and perceptions of the motivational climate as separate constructs in isolation to each other (e.g., Harwood et al., 2015 ; Lochbaum et al., 2016 ). It has been suggested that an interactionist approach that looks to combine both variables promises to provide a more complete understanding of achievement behaviors in the sport and physical education experience (e.g., Duda, Chi, Newton, Walling, & Catley, 1995 ; Papaioannou, 1994 ; Roberts, 1992 , 2012 ; Roberts & Treasure, 1992 ; Roberts et al., 2007 ; Roberts, Treasure, & Kavussanu, 1997 ; Treasure, 2001 ).

In a qualitative review, Roberts ( 2012 ) argued that instead of looking at achievement goals and the motivational climate separately, as is the custom, AGT should focus on an integrated perspective because dispositional goal orientations and the perceived motivational climate are part of the same theoretical platform and that the energizing force for motivated behavior is the resultant state of involvement. It supports meaningful relationships between personal goals of achievement and/or the perceived criteria of success and failure in the motivational climate with cognitive and affective beliefs about involvement in physical activity, as well as achievement striving.

However, there are few studies that have investigated the interactive effect of both the goal orientations and the motivational climate within the same study. One exception is a recent study investigating the perceived physical and pedagogical inclusion of disabled students in physical education. Wilhelmsen and colleagues ( in press ) found that to feel socially and physically included it is important to have a high mastery climate and a low performance climate. In addition, the children felt more social and pedagogical inclusion when high in task and ego orientation, or high in task orientation, but only when in a mastery climate. Another exception is a study conducted by Cury and colleagues (Cury, Biddle, Famose, Goudas, Sarrazin & Durand, 1996 ). In this study, the researchers utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the interest of adolescent girls in physical education. The researchers conclude by suggesting that their findings support the positive effects of a mastery-oriented motivational climate in physical education and offer evidence of a possible shaping effect of the climate on an individual’s goal orientation. This has been supported in more recent studies (e.g., Iwasaki & Fry, 2016 ).

SEM and multilevel SEM may be appropriate techniques to examine potential relationships among achievement goals and perceptions of the motivational climate, including the testing of interactive effects (e.g., Preacher, Zyphur, & Zhang, 2016 ). Particularly the multilevel SEM approach may provide some interesting insights into how goal orientations and the motivational climate may interplay by simultaneously accounting for the individual and group level of analysis (cf. Lam, Ruzek, Schenke, Conley, & Karabenick, 2015 ).

Research has found interesting relationships between orientations and the climate (e.g., Swain & Harwood, 1996 ; Treasure & Roberts, 1998 ; Wilhelmsen et al., in press ), but some research has failed to find the hypothesized effects (e.g., Harwood & Swain, 1998 ). Although moderated hierarchical analysis does enable researchers to examine the separate, as well as the interactive effects of goal orientations and the motivational climate, this type of analysis is not powerful. However, the fact that significant main effects emerged for both climate and orientations appears to confirm the veracity of investigating the effects of goal orientations and perceptions of the motivational climate that the majority of achievement goal research has taken to date. Even though some have discussed the implications of both goal orientations and the motivational climate within a model (e.g., Roberts, 1992 ; Treasure, 2001 ), we have to agree with Harwood and colleagues ( 2008 ) that research in sport has not yet fully examined the interaction of dispositions and the situational criteria of the motivational climate on the manifestation of goal involvement.

Conclusions From AGT Research

There are two important conclusions we may draw from the evidence of the research effort on AGT over the past 40 years. The first one is that ego involving and IPT focusing on entity goals are more likely to lead to maladaptive achievement behavior, especially when participants perceive competence to be low, are concerned with failure, or invested in protecting self-worth. In such circumstances, the evidence is quite clear: Motivation ebbs, task investment is low, persistence is low, performance suffers, satisfaction and enjoyment are lower, peer relationships suffer, cheating is more likely, burnout is more likely, and participants feel more negatively about themselves and the achievement context. But as we have been at pains to note, this does not mean that ego-involving goals are always negative; in some situations and for some people they are positive. When one is ego oriented with a high perception of competence, then that goal is facilitative of achievement and functions as a motivating construct (e.g., Pensgaard & Roberts, 2002 ). This is precisely why being ego involved in sport can be very motivating and lead to sustained achievement behavior. But even then, ego-involving goals are more “fragile” and can lead to maladaptive achievement striving as context information is processed (Dweck & Leggett, 1988 ) such as when age begins to become a factor in elite sport performance or when injury strikes.

Second, the research is unequivocal that task involving (mastery) and IPT focusing on growth goals are adaptive. When task involved, whether through personal dispositions or participants perceive mastery criteria in the context, or both, then motivation is optimized, participants are invested in the task, persist longer, performance is higher, satisfaction and enjoyment are higher, peer relationships are fostered, burnout and cheating are less likely, and participants feel more positively about themselves and the task. Being task involved has been consistently associated with desirable cognitive-, affective-, and achievement-striving responses. The research is clear that if we wish to optimize motivation in sport and physical activity, we ought to promote task involvement. It does not matter whether we do it through enhancing socialization experiences so that the individual has a task-goal orientation and is naturally task involved (Nicholls, 1989 ) or we structure the physical activity context to be more task involving (Ames, 1992a ; Treasure & Roberts, 1995 , 2001 ). The crucial issue is that the participant has task-involving goals of achievement. The evidence has led many sport psychologists to conclude that being task involved better enables participants to manage motivation in the sport experience (e.g., Brunel, 2000 ; Duda & Hall, 2001 ; Iwasaki & Fry, 2016 ; Hall & Kerr, 1997 ; Pensgaard & Roberts, 2002 ; Roberts, 2001 , 2012 ; Roberts, Treasure, & Conroy, 2007 ; Roberts, Treasure, & Kavussanu, 1997 ; Theeboom, de Knop, & Weiss, 1995 ; Treasure & Roberts, 1995 ).

Now let us discuss Self-Determination Theory and its principal advocates.

Self-Determination Theory and Research

A central element of Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985 ) is the concept of psychological needs. Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT; Deci & Ryan, 2000 ) is one of five mini-theories that constitute the meta-theory of SDT. Within BPNT, Deci and Ryan proposed that individuals have innate and fundamental psychological needs that individuals seek to satisfy in order to achieve psychological adjustment, internalization, well-being, and personal growth. However, a dialectic occurs between the active organism and the social-contextual conditions that constitute the basis for the theory’s predictions about behavior, experience, and development processes. They propose that individuals will develop and function most effectively when their immediate psychosocial environment provides support for their basic psychological needs.

Three basic psychological needs have been identified, namely, the need for autonomy, the need for competence, and the need for relatedness. The need for autonomy refers to the perception that one is an “origin” of his or her own actions (Milyavskaya et al., 2009 ). The need for competence is associated with the perception of experiencing mastery and efficiency in a given environment and social context (Deci & Ryan, 1991 ). The need for relatedness is linked to the perception of experiencing meaningful interactions to significant others in a given context (Milyavskaya et al., 2009 ). Frustration of these needs is believed to have a negative impact on the individual’s psychological development, integrity, and well-being. Self-protective accommodations may be developed by individuals experiencing basic psychological needs thwarting to cope with the associated psychological deficit (Ryan, Sheldon, Kasser, & Deci, 1996 ). While these adjustments may provide some compensating satisfaction, these strategies ultimately fail to satisfy the thwarted basic needs, potentially leading to serious psychological maladjustments or pathologies (Froreich, Vartanian, Zawadzki, Grisham, & Touyz, 2017 ; Thogersen-Ntoumani, Ntoumanis, & Nikitaras, 2010 ).

SDT (Deci & Ryan, 1985 , 2000 ) stipulates that individuals in achievement settings will adopt a more or less self-determined motivational style because of the perceived level of satisfaction and fulfillment of the three basic psychological needs. When all three needs are satisfied within an activity, individuals will feel a high degree of autonomous and self-determined motivation. In different sport and achievement contexts, numerous studies have linked high autonomous motivation to active information seeking, higher levels of performance, task perseverance, goal attainment, and increased well-being (Amabile, Goldfarb, & Brackfield, 1990 ; Van den Broeck, Ferris, Chang, & Rosen, 2016 ; Koestner & Losier, 2002 ). However, lower levels of perceived autonomy have been linked to ineffective goal striving; impaired performance and persistence; increased feelings of stress, anxiety, self-criticism; vulnerability to persuasion, as well as exhaustion and burnout (Van den Broeck et al., 2016 ; Gagné & Forest, 2008 ; Koestner & Losier, 2002 ; Treasure, Lemyre, Kuczka, & Standage, 2007 ). Needs thwarting, defined as the intentional obstruction of the needs (Bartholomew, Ntoumanis, Ryan, & Thøgersen-Ntoumani, 2011 ; Vansteenkiste & Ryan, 2013 ), has been reported to be more detrimental than experiencing low levels of need satisfaction. It is linked to higher reported levels of ill-being and exhaustion in a performance context (Bentzen, Lemyre, & Kenttä, 2016a ). SDT also describes how different perceptions of a performance environment can either promote or undermine well-being (Deci & Ryan, 2000 ). An autonomy-supportive environment is characterized by an understanding and acknowledgment of one’s perspectives and provides a meaningful rationale for arduous tasks, offering opportunities for personal solutions and minimizing performance pressure (Deci & Ryan, 2000 ; Ryan & Deci, 2002 ). On the other hand, a controlling environment will typically put normative constraints on how one is expected to behave in a given environment, imposing predetermined goals, setting up a variety of restraints, imposing contingent pressure and rewards, and often expecting performance levels beyond reason (Deci & Ryan, 2000 , Gagné & Deci, 2005 ). An autonomy-supportive environment believed to promote basic psychological needs satisfaction while controlling environment will likely challenge the satisfaction of those needs and thwart the process to achieve a healthy balance (Ryan & Deci, 2002 ).

From an SDT perspective, individuals can be motivated for different reasons (Deci & Ryan, 1985 ; Ryan & Deci, 2000 ). These different reasons for being involved in an activity are typically placed on a continuum of autonomy ranging from high to low self-determination. The assumption is that it is the perceived incentive for the initiation of a behavior that influences subsequent levels of motivation. The most autonomous motivation regulation is labeled intrinsic motivation. An activity is intrinsically motivated and autonomous when it is freely experienced and self-endorsed. Intrinsic motivation emanates from the target behavior itself with the locus of causality being perceived as internal. However, some actions can be motivated by external sources of regulations that are not necessarily endorsed by the self. In this case people do not feel as autonomous, perceiving an external locus of causality (deCharms, 1968 ). Behaviors are perceived as being extrinsically motivated when individuals perform an activity because they value its associated outcomes more than the activity itself. SDT (Deci & Ryan, 1985 , 2008 ) contends that there is a continuum of extrinsic motivation, with each type of motivation differing as a function of the level of self-determination. The first extrinsic regulation is termed integrated regulation. Executed volitionally, integrated extrinsically motivated behaviors differ from intrinsically motivated actions in that they are aimed at obtaining personally important outcomes. The next extrinsic regulation on the continuum is identified regulation, corresponding to when the individual decides to participate in a task judged important for him/herself though not really interesting, such as exercising only for health benefits. The following regulation is termed introjected whereby behavior is fueled by inner pressures, such as guilt, to perform when the individual is not intrinsically interested but feels he/she ought to participate in the activity. The fourth extrinsic regulation is labeled external and represents extrinsic motivation as it was originally defined in the literature, for example, behavior controlled by specific external factors (Deci & Ryan, 2000 ). An externally regulated individual typically engages in the behavior to obtain something (e.g., an award) or to avoid a negative consequence (e.g., punishment). Finally, individuals can also behave in some contexts without any motivational reasons for participating in the activity. This construct is termed amotivation and it results from not valuing an activity (Deci & Ryan, 2000 ). Motivated individuals lack intention to participate in a given activity, and they do not perceive contingencies between their behavior and achievement outcomes. They are entirely lacking any form of self-determination, they have no relationship to any achievement goal, and their somewhat automatized behavior is solely controlled by the environment.

The different motivational regulations can thus be differentiated on a motivational continuum based on their relative autonomy, reflecting the level of self-determination within each regulation (Ryan & Connell, 1989 ). Intrinsic motivation is purely self-determined as it is defined through being involved in an activity for its own sake, because it is interesting and satisfying (Ryan, 1995 ). There are two extrinsically motivated forms of regulations that are also autonomous: namely, integrated and identified (Ryan & Deci, 2000 ). Integrated regulation is seen as is wholly autonomous as it reflects a behavior that is close to one’s own values and identity, while it is not necessarily interesting. Identified regulation is an autonomous form of motivational regulation as it reflects to what degree an athlete values sport participation. On the motivational continuum, these three autonomous regulations are followed by three less self-determined forms of motivation. Two of them are often seen as controlled motivational regulations, namely, introjected and extrinsic regulations. Introjected regulation refers to an athlete acting to avoid guilt and shame or to attain ego enhancements, such as pride (Deci & Ryan, 2000 ). External regulation is the least self-determined form of motivation on the continuum as it is characterized by behaviors conducted to satisfy external demands or to reward contingency (Chemolli & Gagné, 2014 ). Amotivation has been interpreted as a separate construct, outside of the continuum.

In an attempt to simplify these concepts and for the sake of parsimony, motivational regulations have often been collapsed into two types, based on whether they refer to more autonomous (intrinsic and identified) or more controlled (introjected and external) forms of motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2008 ; Williams, Gagné, Ryan, & Deci, 2002 ). While autonomous motivation refers to athletes feeling self-determined and involved because their sport is personally important or interesting (Williams et al., 2002 ), controlled motivation refers to behaviors of athletes feeling pressured or coerced by internal or external sources (Ryan & Deci, 2000 ). Research clearly indicates that these two dimensions of motivation lead to very different outcomes in performance settings (Deci & Ryan, 2008 ).

In an attempt to further simplify the use and the interpretation of the theoretical framework, some researchers have used a single score Self-Determination Index (SDI; e.g., Frenet, Guay, & Senecal, 2004 ; Vallerand, Fortier, & Guay, 1997 ; Vallerand, & Rousseau, 2001 ). The SDI has typically been computed using this formula: [(2*(IM knowledge + IM accomplishment + IM stimulation)/3 + 1*Identified Regulation]−[(1*Introjected Regulation + 1*External Regulation)/2 + 2*Amotivation]. The advantage to using such an approach is that it allows for a simplification of the interpretation of an individual’s quality of motivation where the higher the positive index score, the more self-determined the motivation. Some researchers (e.g., Lemyre, Treasure, & Roberts, 2006 ) have demonstrated that it can be a useful methodology when investigating shifts in motivation over time. Lemyre and colleagues have also reported that this approach has important limitations as it collapses regulations with potentially very different effects on how individuals interpret the reasons for participating in different activities. Additionally, incorporating the amotivation subscale to the SDI may seem counterintuitive as it refers to the absence of regulation and should perhaps be interpreted independently from the continuum. In order to truly grasp the influence of each type of regulations and their potential interaction, Chemolli and Gagné ( 2014 ) argued that the quality of motivation should be measured with separate regulation scores rather than a sum score of regulations, as each motivational regulation should be seen as a temperature scale on its own. Recent studies investigating changes in quality of motivation over time have adopted this approach with advanced statistical analyses.

Research Evidence

SDT states that intrinsic motivation and more self-determined forms of extrinsic motivation (identified, integrated regulations) are associated with adaptive emotional, cognitive, and behavioral consequences. The non-self-determined forms of motivation (introjected and extrinsic regulations) and amotivation have been associated with a variety of maladaptive participation outcomes in different performance settings (Deci & Ryan, 2000 ). Even though some researchers (e.g., Martinent & Decret, 2015 ) have clearly argued that higher levels of self-determined forms of motivation generally increase chances to succeed and reach the elite level in sports, Vallerand and colleagues ( 2008 ) have suggested that a combination of different motivational regulations (self-determined and controlled) may be optimal in achieving high levels of performance depending on the context and the time frame. That is, the quality of motivation of participants in sports and other performance contexts will often reflect a motivational profile based on a combination of self-determined and controlled forms of motivation, also leading to positive outcomes. Hypothetically, the presence of certain self-determined reasons for engaging in activity may neutralize the negative influence of other controlled reasons for participation, while the presence of these regulations may significantly add to the motivation and the determination of an athlete.

In a study by DiBartolo, Frost, Chang, LaSota, and Grills ( 2004 ), the authors state that individuals in a performance context pursuing challenging goals and high, personal standards may experience different levels of self-determined motivation because of perceiving these goals and standards of performance as a challenge or a required level of performance necessary to attain or to maintain self-worth. The assumption is that intrinsic motivation translates well in a challenge-seeking state, as the athlete is able to maintain intrinsic interest for the activity. In contrast, if those high, personal standards are in order to maintain or attain a sense of self-worth, it may hinder self-determined behavior. Autonomous and self-determined motivation is expected to lead to more adaptive coping skills accompanied by more flexible and positive stress appraisals (Mouratidis & Michou, 2011 ). When motivation is not self-determined and the athlete’s behavior is externally regulated, the athlete will perceive less control, which may lead to maladaptive achievement outcomes such as performance impairment, physical, and emotional exhaustion, which are all symptoms of burnout (Lemyre et al., 2007 ). Research in this area has suggested that athlete burnout is a result of a negative shift toward a less self-determined quality of motivation and a continuous experience of stress. This is due to personal factors such as maladaptive forms of passion and perfectionism or situational factors such as parental pressure or physical overtraining (Gould, 1996 ; Lemyre et al., 2007 ; Lemyre, Treasure, & Roberts, 2006 ). Athletes who suffer from burnout will typically show signs of demotivation because of the reduced sense of accomplishment and devaluation of the sport experience in general (Lemyre et al., 2007 ). Burnout seems to share many commonalities with amotivation. Amotivation reflects a state where an athlete who was originally showing great motivation for an activity experienced a gradual deterioration of the quality of his or her motivation over time, often in the face of adversity and an inability to achieve important goals. The athlete ends up by feeling that there is no relationship between the investment in the activity and the return for this investment (Lemyre et al., 2006 ). These findings support the use of Self-Determination Theory to understand better the factors leading to maladaptive achievement outcomes in sports such as burnout. In addition, Quested and Duda ( 2011 ) found that promoting autonomous motivation is relevant to reduce the risk of burnout in vocational dancers.

In a series of articles investigating psychological adjustment, well-being, and prevention of exhaustion in elite sport coaches, Bentzen and colleagues (Bentzen, Lemyre, & Kenttä, 2014 , 2016a , 2016b ) used an SDT framework to better understand the complex challenges associated with performing in a position of leadership in sports. In one of their articles (Bentzen et al., 2016a ), the authors used the SDT-process model (Ryan, Patrick, Deci, & Williams, 2008 ) to highlight how personal and environmental variables interact. While SDT assumes that people have natural developmental tendencies for growth, experiencing mastery, and integrating new experiences into a coherent sense (Ryan & Deci, 2002 ), the SDT-process model presents a framework explaining how these tendencies are fueled and supported in the interaction with the social environment (Deci & Ryan, 2000 ). The process from the individual interacting with the environment to outcomes is described as the SDT-process model (Ryan et al., 2008 ). The proposed sequential development model has four important components where (1) the perceived environment predicts, (2) psychological need satisfaction predicts, (3) the quality of motivation finally predicting, (4) and outcomes (Bentzen et al., 2016a ; Fortier, Sweet, O’Sullivan, & Williams, 2007 ; Halvari, Halvari, Bjørnebekk, & Deci, 2013 ; Williams, McGregor, Zeldman, Freedman, & Deci, 2004 ). Following this framework, Bentzen and colleagues ( 2016a ) investigated changes in motivation indices relative to burnout symptoms in high-performance coaches over the course of a sport season. The authors found that lower levels of need satisfaction in coaches as well as the experience of having their needs thwarted led to maladaptive outcomes. They also found that high levels of autonomous motivation had a preventive effect on the development of exhaustion in elite-level coaches. Their research underlined the importance of a performance environment promoting the development and maintenance of autonomous motivation in individuals to ensure performance and well-being, as well as preventing exhaustion.

Similarities and Differences Between AGT and SDT

As is clear to the reader from the preceding, there are some remarkable similarities in the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional outcomes predicted by SDT and AGT. In both theories, participants become invested in the task, persist longer, performance is higher, satisfaction and enjoyment are higher, peer relationships are fostered, well-being is enhanced, and participants feel more positively about themselves and the task when motivation is task involving and/or self-determined. Being task involved and self-determined have been consistently associated with desirable cognitive-, affective-, and achievement-striving responses. The research is now clear that if we wish to optimize motivation in sport and performing contexts, we ought to promote task involvement and/or autonomous forms of motivation. It does not matter whether we do it through enhancing socialization experiences so that we encourage the individual to be task involved or autonomous or the person is naturally task involved through their disposition to be task oriented (AGT) or to satisfy basic needs (SDT).

However, the theories do have some basic differences. First, and most obvious, AGT and SDT differ in the energization of achievement behavior. SDT argues that the person is motivated to satisfy the basic needs of competence, relatedness, and autonomy. It is striving to satisfy these basic needs that stoke the motivational engine. In terms of “nature versus nature,” SDT assumes that nature is the major underlying energization of motivated behavior, and there are universal basic needs that every person has and seeks to satisfy, even though a dialectic occurs between the context and the individual. Conversely, AGT argues that we are motivated to achieve because we wish to demonstrate competence: to others and ourselves. We learn through our socialization experiences that the demonstration of competence is a valued attribute in society. There is a long history in psychology of how individuals are socialized to recognize that the demonstration of competence is a valued social attribute (e.g., Roberts & Sutton Smith, 1962 ). AGT assumes that the demonstration of competence is a learned attribute; therefore, it is nurtured by socialization processes. Thus, whether we choose SDT or AGT, it becomes an issue of how one believes the psyche functions: Do we have basic needs that drive the human organism, or is the human organism intentional and rational and makes decisions based on how one thinks things work in achievement settings? One’s choice of theory may simply come down to that basic question.

A second major difference in the two theories is in terms of scope. SDT purports to be a meta “theory of everything,” which is concerned with the global nature of human beings (Deci & Ryan, 2012 ). SDT is a meta-theory with five mini-theories within it, with Basic Needs Theory being the motivational “engine” that drives the theory. SDT argues that all people need to experience the basic psychological nutrients of competence, relatedness, and autonomy for effective functioning, psychological health, well-being, and the development of personality and cognitive structures. The degree to which the three basic needs are satisfied or thwarted has positive and negative influence on a wide range of outcomes, including motivation. AGT, on the other hand, is a more restricted theory dealing with achievement-motivated behavior in pursuit of a specified goal that is valued and meaningful to the individual. When one is trying to demonstrate ability in a valued context to self and/or others, then AGT is a parsimonious and elegant theory to describe and explain the social cognitive dynamics of pursuing an achievement goal or outcome (Maehr & Zusho, 2009 ), which is why it lends itself to competitive sport and performance so well.

A third difference is in the arguments pertaining to the relevance of the social context to affect achievement behavior. Both SDT and AGT emphasize the importance of the social environment (AGT: Mastery, Performance; SDT: Autonomy support, Controlling), but there are substantive differences. According to SDT, social factors influence human motivation through the mediating variables of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Vallerand, 1997 ). On the other hand, AGT focuses on how perceptions of the extant criteria of success and failure that create either a mastery or a performance climate, which in turn interacts with dispositional goals to influence affect, behavior, and cognition in achievement contexts (Ntoumanis, 2001 ). Still, there is a “general convergence of evidence from achievement goal theories and SDT concerning the optimal design of learning environments” (Deci & Ryan, 2000 , p. 260). Specifically, both conceptual frameworks suggest that intrinsic motivation is nurtured in environments that promote self-mastery and choice. On the other hand, intrinsic motivation is thwarted, or supplanted by ego involvement, in environments in which normative comparison operates and rewards are provided contingent on performance.

AGT and SDT also have similarities, and not only in outcome predictions. There are similarities in achievement goals. Achievement goals are relevant to SDT, and researchers have looked at the influence of what is termed goal content (intrinsic vs. extrinsic) on the quality of motivation of individuals in different performance contexts (e.g., Solberg & Halvari, 2009 ). SDT differentiates between intrinsic and extrinsic goal content. Intrinsic goal content is associated to reasons such as learning and personal growth, friendship, and social contribution (Kasser & Ryan, 1996 ). It is assumed to lead to adaptive outcomes. This is very similar to the goal of task involvement in AGT, which is associated with learning, personal growth, and mastery. Extrinsic goal content is associated to reasons such as financial success, status, and physical appearance. Extrinsic goal content increases the risk for an athlete to experience maladaptive participation outcomes (e.g., Solberg & Halvari, 2009 ). This is very similar to the goal of ego involvement in AGT that is associated with status relative to others and the demonstration of normative competence. The conceptual rationale behind the achievement goals is, of course, quite different. In SDT, the assumption is that intrinsic goal content is expected to promote the fulfillment of the three basic needs (Deci & Ryan, 2000 , 2012 ) while extrinsic goals are not instrumental to basic need satisfaction as they lead an individual to focus on external outcomes and social comparison (Kasser & Ryan, 1996 ; Solberg & Halvari, 2009 ). In AGT, because it has a more limited focus on demonstrating a valued social attribute, then the demonstration of competence as one defines competence is expected to influence one’s motivational stance. These concepts in SDT have yet to be exhaustively investigated in the context of sport and performance; however, research has suggested that intrinsic goal content mediated the relationship between sport participation and psychological well-being (Chatzisarantis & Hagger, 2009 ) in a similar way to AGT research findings. In a study of elite athletes, Solberg and Halvari ( 2009 ) found that athletes experiencing autonomy support from their coach were more likely to have autonomous and intrinsic reasons for their goals and reported more positive emotional well-being. This is similar to the research findings with the mastery motivational climate in AGT (e.g., Ames, 1992c ).

All motivation theories over time have a focus on competence, in one form or another. SDT and AGT are no different. SDT’s focus is on the need for competence as a unitary human need that when satisfied will facilitate autonomous motivation (Ntoumanis, 2001 ). SDT has been criticized for not providing a well-articulated and internally consistent conceptualization of the role of competence in maintaining autonomous motivation (Butler, 1987 ). According to Butler, SDT has not sufficiently distinguished between different kinds of competence goals or the relation between the perception of autonomy and different conceptions of ability. It may be argued that SDT has contributed more to the understanding of how social contexts may foster intrinsic motivation by the support of autonomy instead of clarifying how these contexts may contribute to continuing motivation by promoting either one rather than another conception of ability (Butler, 1987 ). This is supported by Spinath and Steinmayr ( 2012 ) who argue also that different aspects of competence are important. For people with competence-demonstration goals, measuring competence relative to others or certain external criteria is important, while for people with competence-development goals, it is important to “measure one’s own competence against intraindividual temporal standards” (p. 1144). The distinction is not captured with measurement of the need for competence. On the other hand, AGT is more concerned with how thoughts and perceptions energize motivated behavior. The focus is on how being task or ego involved influences task difficulty choices and sustained achievement striving. Being “task involved” is important to both theories. Task involvement “bears a considerable relation to intrinsic motivation when applied to the achievement domain” (Deci & Ryan, 2000 , p. 260). When individuals are task involved, their motivation to perform a task derives from intrinsic properties and not from the expected outcomes of the task. When intrinsically motivated, people do an activity because the behavior in itself is interesting as well as spontaneously satisfying. When individuals are task involved, the intrinsic motivation system is involved in initiating, sustaining, and rewarding a specific behavior or activity (Deci & Ryan, 2000 ). Being task involved indicates that the individual strives for mastery, while being intrinsically motivated makes the mastery a reward in itself. Therefore, task involvement facilitates autonomous behavior as well as the need for competence (Ntoumanis, 2001 ).

Despite the partial convergence of constructs (performance climate/controlling climate; mastery climate/autonomous climate; need for competence, task involvement), and similar outcome predictions, the two theories are based on different theoretical perspectives that may make it inappropriate to combine them (Marsh, Craven, Hinkley, & Debus, 2003 ). However, an attempt has been made: Duda ( 2013 ) proposed a hierarchical reconceptualization of the motivational climate in sport, specifically for children, by combining the two conceptual frameworks. Duda introduced “empowering” and “disempowering” dimensions to coaching behavior to integrate SDT and AGT. When coaches are empowering, they will be autonomy supportive, mastery involving, and support social relatedness. Coaches will promote self-referenced criteria of success when assessing competence and will satisfy basic needs in the participants. When coaches are disempowering, they will be controlling and use performance criteria of success. Coaches will promote other referenced criteria of success when assessing competence and be less concerned with satisfying basic needs. Can the concepts of empowerment and disempowerment integrate SDT and AGT to become a unified theory? A recent study would suggest probably not: Using a Bayesian approach, Solstad and colleagues (in review) failed to confirm the hierarchical nature of the coach-created motivational climate as proposed by Duda. Solstad and colleagues agree with Marsh and colleagues ( 2003 ) who argued that the two theories are based on different conceptual arguments, which make it inappropriate to combine them. The empowerment concepts are proposed to integrate the theories, but in fact they make a descriptive and pragmatic case to use both theories to maximize the likelihood of creating a supportive, task-involving, autonomous-coaching climate for the benefit of the children in the sport experience. Future attempts to create a unified theory need to address developing unique energizing constructs because, at the present time, both theories maintain their own unique energizing mechanisms. However, that does not mean that the children do not benefit from the pragmatic inclusion of both theories as argued cogently by Duda; they clearly do (Solstad, 2016 ).

Conclusions and Future Directions

As we have stated above, in both theories, when motivation is task involving and/or self-determined, participants become invested in the task, persist longer, perform better, satisfaction and enjoyment are higher, peer relationships are fostered, well-being is enhanced, and participants feel more positively about themselves and the task. Being task involved and self-determined have been consistently associated with desirable cognitive-, affective-, and achievement-striving responses. The research is now clear that if we wish to optimize motivation in sport and performing contexts, we should promote task involvement and/or autonomous forms of motivation. Both theories recognize the importance of personal variables and the impact of the perceived context on motivation for sustained achievement behavior.

Which theory should we use? Well, that clearly depends on your understanding of how the psyche works. Do you believe that satisfying basic needs drive the human organism? If so, SDT is for you. Do you believe that the human organism is rational and intentional and is driven by how one perceives the social context or believes in trying to demonstrate either task or ego-involved competence? Then AGT is for you. SDT is a more global theory of personality; AGT is limited to achievement tasks that are valued by the person. It is a choice, but the predictions of both theories are remarkably similar. However, it would seem that trying to integrate the theories is not viable at this time (Marsh et al., 2003 ; Solstad et al., forthcoming ), but that does not mean we should stop trying.

It is interesting to note that a mastery/autonomy-supportive climate has been found to facilitate positive outcomes while a performance/controlling climate is associated with negative outcomes. But these climates may be interdependent and may thus exist simultaneously, certainly within AGT (Ames, 1992a , 1992b , 1992c ). An interesting line of inquiry for future research may be to investigate further the interplay between the opposing climates. To the best of our knowledge, there are only two studies that address this, and then only from an AGT approach (Buch, Nerstad, & Safvenbom, 2017 ; Ommundsen & Roberts, 1999 ). For example, Buch and colleagues found a positive relationship between perceived mastery climate and increased intrinsic motivation only when combined with low levels of perceived performance climate. An important task for future research would be to attempt to clarify what may represent a beneficial balance between mastery (autonomous) and performance (controlling) climates in sport and performance.

Another interesting direction could be to question whether being task involved is beneficial for everyone. There is evidence that being ego involved is beneficial for some individuals in competitive contexts when the individual has a high perception of competence (Pensgaard & Roberts, 2000 ). This research showed also that elite athletes seem to benefit from being high in both task and ego orientations. It may be that individuals who are simply high in task orientation may not function well in a highly competitive environment.

Given that mastery (autonomous) and performance (controlling) climates have such profound influence on achievement behavior, future research should address what may be the crucial antecedents of such climates in sport. This would also inform coaching behaviors. As an example, one study has addressed how leadership style (e.g., Baric & Bucik, 2009 ) may be such a relevant antecedent. Other possible and important antecedents may exist.

Some researchers have questioned whether IPTs can operate at the situational level. Although IPTs have been found to be temporarily changeable (interventions), the fact that IPTs initially are operationalized as relatively stable dispositions may confuse an operationalization at the situational level. Perhaps a better and more theoretically sound approach could be to investigate the predictive value of the perceived motivational climate as operationalized by Nicholls ( 1984 ) and Ames ( 1992c ). Dweck’s approach builds on Nicholls’s ( 1981 ) initial ideas, and thus it would facilitate theoretical coherence to link the IPTs with the perceived motivational climate. One study did test this showing that a performance climate induced a fixed mindset of ability, while a mastery climate generated a growth mindset in physical education students (Ommundsen, 2001c ). This study’s findings are based on cross-sectional data that suggests the need for more rigorous designs and data to support the findings. This could also facilitate an answer to how IPTs are socialized in ongoing interactions in various achievement domains. Specifically, the extant criteria of success and failure signaled through the policies, practices, and procedures in sports, at school or in organizations, may contribute to elicit the different beliefs (Maehr & Braskamp, 1986 ).

We began with the philosophical approach of Nicholls ( 1979 ), and we end with a quote from his 1989 book that pertains to both AGT and SDT equally: “If all students are optimally motivated, we are on the way to the goal of equality in the fulfillment of potential” (Nicholls, 1989 , p. 151). Nicholls was interested in the academic domain, but the same is certainly true in the sport domain.

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(page 117) p. 117 Conclusion

• Published: November 2014
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Sport is a physical activity still enjoyed as a natural expression of athleticism and energy, in many different forms and settings, by millions of people around the globe. At the elite level, sport is a multi-billion dollar global business. The Conclusion shows that the 19th-century idea of fair play and sportsmanship still shapes the way in which sport is thought about. But at the core, much of the practice and business of sport is rotten, and does not conform to the ethical and moral ideals that it was founded on. It also concludes that sport, despite all its rules, is not an equal competition.

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Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Video Games — ESport as a real sport

Esport as a Real Sport

• Categories: Competitive Sports Video Games

About this sample

Words: 2134 |

11 min read

Published: Feb 12, 2019

Words: 2134 | Pages: 5 | 11 min read

Works Cited

• Kendall, L. (2011). Gaming masculinity: Exploring the construction of masculinity in video games. Gender and Society, 25(6), 779-799.
• Li, S. (2016). Competitive video gaming: A review of the literature and implications for future research. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, 8(2), 1-14.
• Players Guide. (1982). World champion contest: Official rules. Atari, Inc.
• Perks, R. W. (1999). The definition and classification of sport: An interdisciplinary mosaic. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 23(4), 381-401.
• Oxford English Dictionary. (n.d.). Sport. Retrieved from [URL]
• Aadahl, M., Kjaer, M., & Jørgensen, T. (2007). Perceived exertion related to heart rate and blood lactate during arm and leg exercise. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 99(1), 19-26.
• Stroud, L., Amonette, W. E., & Dupler, T. L. (2010). The energy cost of playing Nintendo Wii. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 42(5), 804-808.
• Bronner, S., Pinsker, R., & Noah, B. (2013). Active gaming in physical education: A comparative study. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 13(4), 388-392.
• Boot, W. R., Sumner, A., Towne, T. J., Rodriguez, P., & Ericsson, K. A. (2016). Professional video gaming as a new sport: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 202.
• Masteralexis, L. P., Barr, C. A., & Hums, M. A. (2015). Principles and practice of sport management. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

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2024 Zurich Classic Heritage Course Preview and Breakdown for TPC Louisiana

M y goal each week is to highlight a few different angles and elements that may be less spoken about to provide some value in this course preview. With so much history to look back on through the years, both as a team event and stroke play event, we have developed a good sense of what is typically rewarded around TPC Louisiana. We are going to dive into great detail in an attempt to digest the statistical data and historical stats to create actionable info for you to utilize for building lineups and picking your teams for the Zurich Classic. Here we go!

An Introduction to the Course

Opened to the public in 2004, TPC Louisiana quickly became a fixture on the PGA Tour schedule. Located just outside of New Orleans in Avondale, Louisiana, this golf course was designed by the world-famous Pete Dye, best known for his innovative and challenging course designs. The course provides a relatively restrained look into the mind of Pete Dye, who did a great job of blending the natural Louisiana native terrain with his aesthetic.

You will still catch glimpses of the bold features and risk/reward nuances that made Dye infamous, but for the most part, he relied on the natural wetlands and water to create hazards and difficulty. That said, as with any Dye course, you must think strategically and make wise decisions to conquer it. The team element of this event throws a bit of a wrinkle into the traditional Dye-course thought process, as players are more willing to take on the risk in certain situations with the understanding that they can be picked up by their partner.

The water comes into play on fewer holes than you may think. This is part of the genius of Dye. He always keeps it within sight and makes you think about the hazard, even if the impact is likely minimal. Water is on play on 8 holes. The greens are well protected by bunkers, although not overly difficult to get up and down out of. The faces are not steep but there are 106 of them total on the course to help protect some pin locations and doglegs.

One thing of note from the GCSAA, the TPC Louisiana property has seen 24" inches of rain this season, which is a ton. We saw this on the courses throughout the Florida swing, the rain has softened everything and the courses tend to have less firmness and roll this season. It's been a few weeks of dryer weather so it will be interesting to see if this still affects play. TPC Louisiana is always in fantastic shape and the team will do a great job of having this course ready to go for this unique team event!

Recent Winners:

2023: Hardy/Riley -30 : 50/1

2022: Cantlay/Schauffele -29 : 8/1

2021: Smith/Leishman -20 : 12/1

2019: Rahm/Palmer -26 : 16/1

2018: Horschel/Piercy -22 : 30-1

Course Specs

This course, like many in the TPC network, was designed with the intention of hosting professional golf tournaments. That was delayed slightly after opening due to Hurricane Katrina, but TPC Louisiana has now hosted a PGA Tour event every year since 2007. The course will play 7,435 yards this week as a par 72 . Given the team format, players will typically adjust their strategy to take on more risk as they are fully aware that they need to get to around -25 under par to win.

All four of the par-5s are easily reachable for nearly every team in the field. The longest hole is also the final hole on the course, the 585-yard par-5 18th that bends around the water. With the 16th hole being a short, sometimes driveable par-4, we are set up for some dramatic finishes which we have routinely seen over the years at this event. The golf course is pretty straightforward which is somewhat atypical of a Pete Dye design. The majority of your emphasis in handicapping this week should be focused on and derived from understanding the team element. Here is how it works.

Thursday: Four-Ball (Best Ball)

Friday: Foursomes (Alt Shot)

Saturday: Four-Ball (Best Ball)

Sunday: Foursomes (Alt Shot)

Explanation of Four-Ball from the PGA Tour: For Four-Ball play, the players on each team will each play his own ball throughout the entirety of the round, with the best score on each hole recorded. Example: On the first hole, both golfers on each team tee off. Player A pars the hole and Player B birdies it. The team will be credited with a birdie.

Explanation of Foursomes from the PGA Tour: For Foursomes play, players will rotate tee shots. One player will hit the tee shots on all the odd-numbered holes, and the other will hit the tee shot on even-numbered holes. Example: Player A and Player B are partners. On the first hole, Player A tees off; Player B plays the second shot; Player A plays the third shot; and so on until the ball is holed. The total strokes taken will result in the team's score for that hole.

The greens this week average just over 5,000 sq. ft in size and are Bermuda Grass with a POA Trivialis overseed. These surfaces have become commonplace amongst courses that are hosted PGA Tour tournaments in the South. This week will mark the 10th tournament this season that has been played on the POA overseeded Bermuda.

Statistical Considerations

Even though I would not classify this course as a Driver-heavy layout, players are absolutely going to send it on most holes, particularly during the Four-Ball sessions. I expect that the teams who will have the most success this week will effectively turn a 7,400-yard course into a pitch and putt. Therefore, I am going to look at recent approach proximity from both team members on shots inside 125 yards, both from the fairway and the rough. The fairways tend to narrow the further that you hit it off the tee, but players don't typically mind playing from the rough inside 100 yards out here.

I also think you can really simplify things by looking into recent strokes gained total numbers combined for both players. This will ultimately provide you with a list of teams that have the best form in totality. I'm less concerned with course-specific data and history, and I'm placing a heavy emphasis on their current form. In a similar mold, Greens in Regulation always emerges as a pivotal stat in the team formats because it becomes all about giving yourself as many looks at birdie or better as possible.

The greens pose some subtle challenges for players, especially is the Bermuda grass grain is more present. The breaks are generally pretty subtle and there is not a ton of undulation. We have substantial data this season that will provide you with a good understanding of which players are rolling it well. When you have to get to -25 to -30 under par, events like this become much more of a putting contest in comparison to tournaments which play to a harder difficulty.

Lastly, and this may be more of an eyeball test, but when you are presented with a scrambling opportunity you simply must get up and down. Bogeys are killers in team events and can often pile up in the alternate shot portion. You will often be put into unfamiliar positions due to an error by your partner. You want a player who is adept at scrambling and relishes situations where they can get themselves and their team out of trouble. It's going to happen, you might as well embrace it!

Stat Radar Plot for TPC Louisiana, via RickRunGood.com:

Best Team Course Fit Rankings for the RBC Heritage:

• Hoge/McNealy
• Cantlay/Schauffele
• McIlroy/Lowry
• Zalatoris/Theegala
• Hojgaard/Hojgaard
• Borschel/Alexander
• Taylor/Hadwin
• Malnati/Knox

*Based on last 36 rounds of player data.

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Thousands of fans prove Utah is a hockey state at NHL team intro event

Lines of thousands of people wrapped around the delta center to welcome utah’s new nhl team to their new home.

By Krysyan Edler

Wednesday, April 24, 2024, will go down as a historic day in Utah sports history — Gov. Spencer Cox said so, and fans agreed.

Thousands descended on the Delta Center Wednesday to welcome Utah’s new NHL team to its new home. An hour before the doors opened, lines of fans vying to be among the lucky ones to be inside with the team wrapped around the outside of the arena.

“We’ve waited a long time for this day,” Cox said during the program. “It’s a historic day for the state of Utah.”

For Ogden resident and lifelong hockey fan Victoria Brammer, it was a no-brainer to attend Wednesday’s event.

“It’s history,” she said.

At the Delta Center, fans enjoyed hockey-themed games, face-painting, live music, free food and even 4v4 roller hockey. They were then invited inside and introduced to the team’s players, head coach André Tourigny and general manager Bill Armstrong in a special program.

Utah is excited for its new NHL team @NHLinUtah #NHLinUtah pic.twitter.com/Hu1YPAox3j — Krysyan Edler (@edler_krysyan) April 24, 2024

Utah is a hockey state

A sold-out crowd and then some showed up to the event.

The Delta Center was filled to capacity, with fans sitting all the way up in the nosebleeds, trying to get a glimpse of their new hockey team. Hordes of fans hung out outside and watched the broadcast of the team’s introduction.

“It just shows you we are indeed a hockey town. Look how many people are here right now. Look at how many people have signed up for season tickets with deposits,” said Tyler Gulbransen from Midvale. “It’s incredible.

“People said hockey wasn’t going to work here, but it 100% is going to work here. I wanted to see what the turnout was going to be like. Like any other hockey fan, we’re dying for hockey here. We’re gonna support this team.”

Cox echoed those same thoughts.

“They told us that Utah was too small for an NHL team. They told us that we didn’t know hockey in Utah, and today we prove them all wrong,” the governor said.

Cheers of, “Let’s go, Utah,” pumped up the crowd before the team walked onto the ice, and the cheers only got louder throughout the program, often drowning out whatever players were saying over the microphone.

Introducing your Utah NHL team pic.twitter.com/LJCzf6cLCJ — Krysyan Edler (@edler_krysyan) April 24, 2024

Several fans sported the sweaters of their favorite NHL teams, but for Gulbransen, his current allegiance to the Colorado Avalanche doesn’t dull his excitement for Utah’s NHL team at all.

“I was ecstatic, just knowing that we’re going to have so much NHL talent coming to Salt Lake,” he said. “It’s incredible. I will still stay loyal to the Avalanche. I’m going to try to get season tickets for the NHL team here and will support the team — except for when they’re playing the Avalanche, of course. It’s big for the community.”

NHL is a family affair in Utah

If Wednesday is any evidence, the NHL will definitely be a family affair in Utah. It already is, months before the team’s inaugural season even starts.

Edward Anderson from Bountiful came to the fan event to pique his 13-year-old son’s interest in hockey. He now gets to share the sport he loves with his son as they cheer on a new team they can support together.

They were one of the last ones allowed inside the arena.

“It’s the right time,” he said of Utah getting an NHL team. “I agree with (team owner) Ryan Smith. It’s the right time to bring them in. We’re ready for it. Fans are ready for it. It’s obvious.”

Brammer brought her 9-year-old son, Troy, to see the players and is looking forward to cheering on the new team as a family.

“I’ve been a hockey fan my whole life, and it makes sense to have a hockey team here — there’s a fanbase and everything,” she said. “We’ve gone to Grizzlies games, we’ve gone to Ogden Mustang games all the time. We watch Boston Bruins religiously, and now we get a home team. That’s even better.”

New role models in Utah

Armstrong and several players mentioned how touched they were by the number of young fans who showed up at the airport earlier in the day to welcome the team. Several young fans came to the Delta Center later to continue sharing that love.

Youth hockey players, including Kase Powell, Teagan McGuire and Bourke Tarbeth, were encouraged to wear their hockey sweaters at the event. The three friends are excited to have 19 new hockey role models in the state of Utah.

“It’s my first year (of hockey), and I’ve already loved it,” 12-year-old Powell said. “I definitely feel like this is my sport, and I’m really glad that there’s people to look up to and that we actually have a team representing our state.”

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Reporter Apologizes for 'Awkward' Exchange With Caitlin Clark at Fever Press Conference

• Author: Karl Rasmussen

Caitlin Clark had her introductory press conference with the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday, giving media members the first opportunity to talk with the new face of the franchise after she was selected with the No.1 pick on Monday evening.

Things took a rather unexpected and uncomfortable turn, however, when one reporter posed a bizarre question to Clark.

After receiving some criticism on social media after video of the exchange went viral, the reporter, Gregg Doyel of IndyStar, issued an apology for his actions.

"Today in my uniquely oafish way, while welcoming @CaitlinClark22 to Indy, I formed my hands into her signature. My comment afterward was clumsy and awkward. I sincerely apologize. Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better," wrote Doyel on X .

Today in my uniquely oafish way, while welcoming @CaitlinClark22 to Indy, I formed my hands into her signature 🫶. My comment afterward was clumsy and awkward. I sincerely apologize. Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better. — Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelStar) April 17, 2024

During the initial exchange, Doyel asked Clark about the heart-shaped hand gesture she makes to her family after games.

When Clark asked if he liked the gesture, Doyel responded saying, "I like that you're here."

Clark then explained the significance of the hand gesture, to which Doyel said, "Start doing it to me and we'll get along just fine."

Reporter: 🫶 Caitlin Clark: "You like that?" Reporter: "I like that you're here." Caitlin: "Yeah, I do that at my family after every game.” Reporter: "Start doing it to me and we'll get along just fine." Caitlin: 😳 (via @IndianaFever / YT) pic.twitter.com/BBjU881K7a — ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 17, 2024

The 22-year-old awkwardly smiled after Doyel made his remarks, seemingly not quite sure how to react, while Doyel transitioned into asking another question.

The uncomfortable moment resulted in an apology from the reporter, and fortunately, the rest of the introductory presser went on without a hitch.

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