In Australian Football, it is likely that a player will be motivated by a variety of reasons. These reasons will change with age, experience, work and other commitments. However, if a player is not sufficiently motivated, they will not train effectively or perform in games. As a player, you should be aware that there are many different types of motivation.

• Participation Motivation – why players choose to play Australian Football and play at a particular level?
• Long-Term Motivation – is a commitment to training and practising for Australian Football over an entire season or career.
• Short-Term Motivation – is building up for a particular game or competition.
• Pre-Game Motivation – the ‘psych-up’ before the game.
• Extrinsic Motivation – for rewards, recognition, money or accolades.
• Intrinsic Motivation – for fun, fitness, making friends or improving performance.

Most people fit into three categories of motivation:

1. Trait Cantered – the personality, needs and goals of a player are the primary determinants.
2. Situational-Cantered – motivation is determined primarily by situation, such as if you are playing against the top team or a player you want to beat who is your arch rival.
3. Interactional – motivation results neither solely from participants’ factors, such as personality, goals, needs or interests, nor solely from situational factors such as coaches style or the win loss record of the team. It resolves around a willingness to compete and not let down your team mates.

Understanding what motivates you is important in order to maximise your performance when setting goals and working towards a target. Understanding the effort you will invest in a chosen direction can motivate you to achieve. For example, two players may both be motivated to attend training, however one player has a very low intensity and is unenthusiastic at training where the other player has a very high intensity and gives an all-out 100% effort while at training.

As a player, you can control your motivation level. It is important to be aware of why you are involved in your sport and what you need to do to reach a goal. It is important for a player to feel accepted as a valued member of a team. You can improve your motivation by setting realistic goals, being involved in decision-making, celebrating individual progress and improvement, not over-emphasising winning, and by investing time in training and self-improvement. Motivation depends on goal setting.