The most influential person on an athlete’s sport experience is typically a coach. The environment or climate that the coach creates can influence athlete motivation and behavior. Motivational climate is the way in which the structure of the social environment influences individuals’ motivation and motivational process. The motivational climate is created through the interactions between the coach and athlete. The climate that the coach creates helps to motivate athletes in trainings and competitions. According to achievement goal motivation theory, the motivational climate is described in terms of the extent in which the environment is oriented towards promoting task mastery and learning goals or social comparison and performance goals. In a task-oriented motivational climate, the coach values effort and improvement. This type of coach encourages cooperation and makes everyone feel like they play an important role on the team. In this climate, mistakes are a part of learning. Success is defined as giving maximum effort and observing improvement of skills. A task-oriented motivational climate corresponds with a mastery motivational climate that too focuses on effort, improvement, and learning. As well, athletes experience heightened perceptions of control over their actions and outcomes. Overall, a coach providing …show more content…
This type of coach gives most attention to the “stars” and encourages team rivalry. In this climate, mistakes are punished. Success is defined as demonstrating superior ability as compared to others and winning. An ego-oriented motivational climate corresponds with a performance motivational climate that focuses on outcome and ability. As well, athletes experience diminished perceptions of control over their actions and outcomes. Overall, a coach providing athletes with a task-oriented or performance motivational climate put an emphasis on outcome and ability in