In December 2023, my daughter participated in a 4-day training camp with Floorball Canada in Ottawa, Canada.
Those of you who know me know that I can find Motivational Interviewing (MI) in everything. And I can tell you, there was a lot of MI and increased motivation at this camp.
The fantastic coaches professionally created the necessary environment to encourage the team's individual and group motivation. Self-determination theory (SDT), specifically the micro-theory Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT) were at play.
Competence - The need for competence refers to our basic need to be confident in our own ability to cope with, and succeed in, what we do. We need to feel capable in our ability to master tasks or situations within our social environments. An environment that supports an individual’s competence is one including positive feedback and encouragement, consistency, and structure.
Through exercises and drills, the team's skills were deepened and plays successful in demonstrating their skills. Each team members’ strengths were highlighted, brought forth and shared with their teammates. The team was challenged at just the right level and grew accordingly. Coaches and team members affirmed each other's strengths, inner resources, and efforts. There really was a positive atmosphere on the court.
Self-determination & autonomy - We need to feel free to choose and decide the path ahead and be in control of our own lives. Ryan & Deci (2018) explain the need for autonomy as the basic need to self-regulate one’s own experiences and actions. These actions are ones we do because we want to do them, and they agree with our inherent interests and values. An environment that supports the basic need for autonomy is one offering choices and encouraging self-regulation, instead of an over-controlling or demanding environment.
Throughout the whole structure of the camp, the team members were involved in the decision-making. It was obvious that all the players chose to be there 100% and to bring their A-game. The Canadian pride was evident and truly heart-warming.
Relatedness – This refers to the need to feel connected to others. We need to be a part of and belong to a social community to feel loved and valued in a social context. Relatedness also refers to experiencing oneself as giving or contributing to others, being significant and mattering to others (Ryan & Deci, 2018). A supportive environment is one involving others who care and where an individual is given the opportunity to both give to, and receive from, those around them.
Floorball Canada invites players with Canadian citizenship to play for the team. This means that players come from all over the world, for example Canada (of course), Switzerland, Belgium and Sweden (my daughter). The camp included team building, and other fun activities, to strengthen the bond between the players. Besides technical skills and tactics, the training camp was also about getting to know each other better, sharing dreams and growing as a team. In my opinion, this was perhaps the most amazing process to witness. They started out as strangers or acquaintances and left the camp as team-mates and life-long friends.
It was awesome to be a part of this process in December and to watch this wearing my motivation and MI glasses. Best of all was seeing my daughter develop as a person and floorball player because of the motivational environment that was created in only 4 days.
Well done Team Canada. Looking forward to watching floorball in Canada grow. Thanks for allowing my daughter (and me) to be apart of it.
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