Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in Sport

Abraham Maslow developed his hierarchy of needs to show and explain his statement that motivation is a result of an individual’s attempts to satisfy needs. Maslow’s theory consists of five different levels in which are applied to create highly motivated athletes.

1. Physiological :

This is the base of producing a highly motivated athlete. This level consists of the basic needs for any human to be at the highest level of productivity. Included in this level is the need for food, water, sleep, rest and standard health maintenance for the human body. In order for athletes to be motivated and perform at their best the must be eating right and getting enough sleep. He also says that even at the highest level of performance, athletes need rest. Lack of a break and rest will result in stress which could eventually lead to depression and athletes performance declining.

2. Safety :

This portion of the pyramid is focused on the necessity for an athletes security and stability. In order for an athlete to be most motivated he/she must not be focused on worrying about income and security in order to focus on their training and sport.

3. Social :

When examining the athletes social needs in this section, Maslow explains that athletes need a sense of love and belonging with their teammates, coaches and other parties like friends and significant others. This feeling with encourage athletes to perform at their highest level and if in a team sport for the team member to work effectively together improving each athletes strengths.

4. Esteem:

As an athlete, a major contribution to motivation and success is their need for respect, admiration and recognition. This means that within their team and audience they must feel as if they are respected and admired to improve motivation. Athletes also need to be rewarded for their accomplishments by both monetary and non monetary rewards sometimes with something as simple as a “thank you” or “good job”.

5. Self actualization:

This is the tip of the pyramid and self actualization means that athletes need to constantly fulfill, grow and us their abilities to the fullest extent. Athletes must be given opportunities to hone their skills and a chance to participate in competition in order to reach their goals and dreams.