“When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight in the world on top of me and I needed to perform and perform at a high level every day.” - Alex Rodriguez, Sports Illustrated, February 16, 2009
I wonder, at what point in his life did A-Rod stop playing baseball for the sake of the game and start playing to meet some external demands? Quite frankly, the culture of sport today demands that coaches and athletes perform at a high level and win no matter what the cost. The choice that coaches and athletes in youth and high school sports have to make is whether they will give in to this demand or stand up against it. Our studies show that performance at high levels is most likely to be fueled by an intrinsic motivation rather than external “pressure.” When coaches and athletes are motivated only by external pressure, they can take on a “win-at-all-costs” mentality and, like A-Rod, even turn to cheating. It is time to change the culture, not give into it. A-Rod gave into a culture in baseball that he called “very loose.” A true test of a champion today is whether or not they can stand up against what is wrong and do what is right.
It is interesting that A-Rod’s other excuse for using performance-enhancing drugs was that he was “young,” “stupid” and “naïve.” We often cite a study done by the Josephson Institute that found that only 27% of boys and 23% of girls would rather sit on the bench for a winning team than play on a team with a losing record. This is not to say that athletes want to lose, but winning simply isn’t the most important thing about sports to them. In the same study 70% of boys and 88% of girls agreed to the statement, “I want to win, but winning is not essential for me to enjoy my sports experience.” These young athletes are not stupid or naïve. They play for the sake of the game, not for money or to be remembered as one of the “greatest players of all time.” When sports become work, they cease to be play.
