By Mrinal Asija, current Master of Management (Marketing) student
On 2nd May, students enrolled in the University’s Elite Athlete Program attended a lecture given by Dr. Lara Mossman, organised to help them better understand their psychological needs and take charge of their well-being.
Dr. Mossman lectures at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Wellbeing Science. Her research focuses on how sports coaches and teachers can facilitate environments that support young people's well-being and autonomous motivation.
On a day marked as Mental Health Day at the university, the student-athletes assembled for the first of a four-part series of specialist lectures designed specifically for students balancing academic and professional sporting careers.
Dr. Mossman started the lecture with the stirring quote, “I’m responsible for my own motivation,” which set the tone for the session ahead.
After explaining that motivation always works within a context as athletes operate in a system, Dr. Mossman introduced the Self Determination Theory. She explained how motivation depends on fulfilling three basic psychological needs – competence, autonomy, and relatedness- our relationship with others or a sense of belongingness. She then moved on to illustrate the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. She stressed that while both are important, the quality of motivation is higher when it comes from within oneself.
Lourenço Dias Amador, a lacrosse player, found the session very useful, not just for his sport, but also for his Ph.D. “The STD theory made me reflect on how to keep the basic needs in mind when playing my sport, which doesn’t usually have its coaches. We almost always try to coach each other to some degree. (I learned) how to understand my own motivations better and help support my team in making that reflection, and from there, we hopefully build our own motivation. It was a great session, thoroughly explained, but without being overly technical. It was very useful as I’m doing a Ph.D. in the same subject,” he shared his thoughts after the session.
Dr. Mossman also shared some tips for coaches for creating a supportive environment for athletes. These covered the things the coaches should “dial down” on, like criticism and controlling behaviour, and what they should “dial-up”, like acknowledging the feelings and perspectives of athletes. The session also gave the attendees the chance to interact and share their own motivations for pursuing their sport and discuss ideas for supporting the needs of their peers.
Dr. Mossman briefly mentioned that athletes often lose motivation toward their sport after joining a university on a scholarship. She later emphasised the importance of learning about self-motivation for athletes enrolled in university programs.
“It is beneficial to initiate conversations with coaches and peers to create a culture within a team where people feel that they belong and have that sense of relatedness,” she shared a tip for student-athletes after the lecture.
Ben Andrews, Head Coach of Strength and Conditioning Melbourne University Sport, organises lectures on various topics like nutrition and well-being as part of the Elite Athlete Program.
“The athletes who are part of a high-performance program, say an AFL player, are exposed to this education. They have their nutritionist, psychologist, and mentor as part of what they do as professional athletes. We want to bring that type of support through education to the University for our athletes without having to be at a professional level. Giving an athlete with talent, discipline, and work ethic the tools and knowledge on nutrition, mindfulness, and well-being can be very powerful. If they can implement those, they will be much more successful in what they do,” Andrews shared his goal behind organising these sessions.
