Motivation

[packedhouse01]

I've been reading some great articles on the Packers and some of the cuts that have been made and who might make the roster. As I was doing that I began to wonder how important it is for the head coach or the assistant coaches to motivate players? What role does that have in how well a player plays? Can a coach really motivate a player to be better? Can the head coach motivate his team to execute better, or is it really all just about preparation and then going out and going through the motions and the team with best talent that executes the best will win? What role does motivation have in wins or losses?

 

[DePack]

In my mind.....they can't motivate a player to play better during gametime. They can prepare and motivate during game preparations. But by the time these guys are pros, motivation during the games probably does nothing. These players never would have gotten to where they are if they needed to be motivated during a game.

Saying that, I do think emotion is a huge part of the game of football. On game day the emotion must be high and I do think that the teams sometimes take on the personality of the head coach.

 

[Buckeyepackfan]

Brett Favre...quote...
"they pay you to practice and prepare, if you can't show up and play for free on Sunday, you're in this for the wrong reason."

Not an exact quote but pretty close.

 

[digsthepack]

Words of wisdom. He still remembers that it is a game. I love Brett's down-to-earth style...it is what makes him so revered among all fans of the game as well as his peers.

 

[DePack]

Words of wisdom. He still remembers that it is a game. I love Brett's down-to-earth style...it is what makes him so revered among all fans of the game as well as his peers.

So why do you hate him? :wink:

 

[pyledriver80]

I've been reading some great articles on the Packers and some of the cuts that have been made and who might make the roster. As I was doing that I began to wonder how important it is for the head coach or the assistant coaches to motivate players? What role does that have in how well a player plays? Can a coach really motivate a player to be better? Can the head coach motivate his team to execute better, or is it really all just about preparation and then going out and going through the motions and the team with best talent that executes the best will win? What role does motivation have in wins or losses?

Great post! I as a coach have often wondered this. To me, I think motivation is basically something people say because it sounds good. The truth is the better football team will win 95% of the time. It's not about a coach motivating his players, sorry.

Players have to be self-motivated. They have to strive to get better. You can show them things over and over in practice but come gameday some players will just do what they want.


As a matter of fact, coaches are completely unimportant outside of the play-calling and overall scheme they apply. Coaches get the blame when things go wrong which is unfair at times. It's like 4th and 26. It was the right Defense to be in but the guys just didn't make the play they were supposed to.


I feel strongly about this. We can draw up the plays, teach the plays, etc BUT it comes down to the players to execute them. Motivation has to be individual. The right personel, the right scheme and TALENT will trump "motivation" every time.

 

[Popcynical]

Motivation is a HUGE part of the game, in my opinion. You can't say it isn't if you're a Packer fan. Look at Vince Lombardi. Probably the greatest motivational coach of all time.

Motivation, hard work, teamwork,and dedication win football games.

"Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate. "
~Vince Lombardi

 

[tromadz]

i think motivation is a huge reason the improved play from week 1 to week 2 was there.

 

[cheesey]

It's true........sometimes being the underdog, you get motivated to PROVE that you are better then you are thought of. Yes, you have to have talent to start with. But think of how many pro's are great in college, then stink it up in the NFL? Look at Favre..........had Wolf not gone after him, he may have spent his entire career on the bench at Atlanta. Holmgren gave him the motivation to go out and do well. The talent was there, but had there not been a GM and a Coach that pushed him, he may have not turned out to be a future hall of famer.

 

[TomAllen]

One of the few times I have to disagree with you Pyle.

I think motivation plays a huge factor in football. How can you play a football game if you are unmotivated? And who in their right mind would want to go out on a football field without the proper motivation? You can get killed out there. No self motivation is a factor, there's no doubt.

But external motivation is extremely important in football, much like war, the player has to have a "cause" to believe in, and the desire not to want to let his team, or his coach down in the game. That is what I think was the main cause of Sherman's demise--he could not thoroughly motivate his players come game day.

Football is a physical and emotional game, and you got to get your mind right in order to play it!

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"What we have here..is a failure to communicate".

 

[tonytokes]

As a matter of fact, coaches are completely unimportant outside of the play-calling and overall scheme they apply. Coaches get the blame when things go wrong which is unfair at times. It's like 4th and 26. It was the right Defense to be in but the guys just didn't make the play they were supposed to.


I feel strongly about this. We can draw up the plays, teach the plays, etc BUT it comes down to the players to execute them. Motivation has to be individual. The right personel, the right scheme and TALENT will trump "motivation" every time.

with all respect, i couldnt disagree with you more. sounds like a cop-out for average coaching.

good players motivate themselves, sure, but teams personify their leader and when a team has an intense leader who finds creative ways to get more out of their players (call that motivation if you will), you see it on the field. look at pittsburgh or hell, even vince lombardi. im convinced that vince wasnt the greatest play caller of his day -- im sure he was good -- but he had a way to get as close to 100% out of his players.

the sales staff that works for me generally does well. they're paid on 100% commission so for someone to insinuate that they dont need motivation because putting money in their pocket and paying rent should be enough for an adult to perform is just not true. i do a lot of little things all the time, one on one conversations, getting in people's heads, promoting other people's situations, whatever... i can almost ALWAYS see a direct correlation to performance based on a motivational "tactic" i might choose to employ.

sometimes there's an intangible that is not measurable, something that goes way beyond just talent. that's not to say that a poor team will beat a very talented team because they get good motivation from their coach but consistant performance at a high level has a lot to do with coaching and leadership.

as a coach, if you havent read 21 irrefutable laws of leadership then you're selling yourself and your team a bit short.

mike sherman is a perfect example. great organization, im sure on paper the team was prepared as hell, but he had no intensity and his team reflected that. you can point to a .667 winning percentage and ill point to a team that should have one at LEAST one more super bowl during that era.

again, no offense with any of this.

 

[packedhouse01]

I guess I'm leaning toward the importance of the role the head coach plays in motivation. I certainly think that their role goes far beyond coming up with a game plan, organizing practices and calling plays on Sunday. I know in a perfect world, and with the money these athletes make, you shouldn't need to have someone motivating your butt. However, I just don't think that's realistic. I think the Ray Nitchke's, Reggie White's, Brett Favre's of the world can get themselves up and ready to play, but for every player like that there are two or three who can't. As an example, I think Robert Ferguson has enough talent to be a player in this league, but week in and week out, he disappears. We see fragments of his ability, but we don't see it all the time. Is that because he can't be motivated, or is it because he's just not that good? On the other hand Mike Holmgren came to Green Bay and motivated the heck out of his team, especially in those early years. He was a great tactition, but he was also one heck of a motivator. So the debate goes on.....I just think the great coachces in this league have the ability to motivate and do so all the time.

 

[Timmons]

If I had to choose between:

Good motivation and bad play calling
or
good play calling and bad motivation

I'd take good motivation everytime.

Consider the military leader who leaves his army no way out (there's a story about a commander of a boat-delivered army being ordered to burn their boats upon arrival to hostile shores).

I think motivation is worth more than a good plan every time.

 

[Raider Pride]

Motivation is like taking a bath. You have to do it very day or your thinking starts a stinking.

I do not think it is any different for a professional football team or a sales team at Toyota. Motivation is about self-talk, it is about visualizing success, it is about neuro-linguistic programming, it is about the ten most important two letter words in the english language... "If it is to be it is up to me."

I have had the opportunity to work with and study under some of the best in the world in the motivation business.

Take an average team with motivation and pit them against a good team with little motivation and the average team wins 80% of the games.

R.P.

 

[packedhouse01]

I couldn't agree more Raider.

 

[trippster]

Motivation is like taking a bath. You have to do it very day or your thinking starts a stinking.

I do not think it is any different for a professional football team or a sales team at Toyota. Motivation is about self-talk, it is about visualizing success, it is about neuro-linguistic programming, it is about the ten most important two letter words in the english language... "If it is to be it is up to me."

I have had the opportunity to work with and study under some of the best in the world in the motivation business.

Take an average team with motivation and pit them against a good team with little motivation and the average team wins 80% of the games.

R.P.

:shock: :-? WTF? :shock:

 

[4packgirl]

for a minute there, i thought y'all had gone crazy! the first several posts indicated motivation was not necessary - i was shaking my head & saying "WTF" to myself. how anyone who has played or coached any type of sports team could ever think that motivation is not a key to how a team plays is SHOCKING at best!!

motivated people can do amazing things...things they couldn't/wouldn't do in any given situation.

 

[Zero2Cool]

Motivation and Teaching are two of the main qualities looked for in a coaching staff.

Jim Bates was/is a great motivator, great example.

 

[Schmitty]

I agree with whoever said you dont need to be motivated at game time. During practice I think you need to be motivated, but you practice all week to be ready on game day. Players cant wait to play on game day and every player wants to win, so I think players play their ***es off on game day. I think when it comes to the game that teammates are more motivating to other players then the caoches are. At least that is how it was for me in high school.

 

[packedhouse01]

I think motivation on game day is just as important as in practice. Getting your head right through visualization, or whatever technique players chose to use is very important. As a matter of fact I thought it was a distinct weakness in Mike Sherman's teams. How many times did any of you sit back at game time and say to yourself, "damn, they're not ready to play again."? I know I said that time and again. I was at the game vs. Atlanta in the playoffs and I'm telling that all of the fans around me said the same thing I did, we could tell that when the team came out of the tunnel they weren't ready. They just looked flat, almost like, seasons over, and then they proceeded to play just like that.