Miracle On Ice Setting Theory

Another key factor to the successful team in Miracle on Ice was motivation. Motivation is an action that pushes a player to achieve the desired goal. One main problem that the head coach faced in Miracle on Ice was self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief a person has that they can accomplish goals. Past accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and emotional cues are the deciding factors of self-efficacy. The U.S.A. had not won a gold medal in years and the Soviet Union was undefeated. This played a large role in the players performance. Coach Brooks, the head coach, tried to combat this with verbal persuasion. Vicarious experience is taking in account for observations and conversations and comparing how the task was done previously. The team had vicarious experience by watching tapes of past games to observe and learn from other’s mistakes. Emotional cues are feelings that effect task

Goal setting theory is the idea that goals are the main drivers of intensity and persistence of effort. By setting specific and difficult goals the team will have a better outcome. Coach Brooks is great at setting goals and pushing his team to achieve them. For example, Coach Brooks tell the newly formed team “the final roster will have 20 names on it so more of you are going home. Give 99% and you’ll make my job very easy.” (Miracle on Ice). This is a difficult goal and it is clearly stated and enforced. Coach Brooks continues to set difficult and to some impossible goals. “and everyone in this room knows what people are saying about our chances, I know, you know it, but I also know there is a way to stay with this team… the team that is finally willing to do this is the team that has a chance to put them down” (Miracle on Ice, Coach Brooks). Coach Brooks motivates the team by giving them an almost impossible goal and makes it tangible. The goal setting theory helped the