Parental and familial support carries a lot of importance in many athletes’s motivations. Student athletes have multiple ways to motivate themselves, but they also often receive and thrive with outside encouragement from family and friends. How these different forms of support affect an athlete’s motivations depends purely on the mindset of the athlete.
Sophomore Kristin Krug has been playing soccer for about 10 years. Krug is motivated by personal ambition and making her family proud. “I think I hold myself to a high standard, and I do also really like making my family proud, which is also a huge motivator for me,” Krug said.
Her main sport is soccer, even though she started with gymnastics. “My parents do support me very well, they always show up to everything they can,” Krug said.
Krug believes that when her parents and family are at her soccer games, they help motivate her. “I just think it really helps my confidence, and it makes me feel loved while doing the thing that I love,” Krug said.
“My mom is really big on emotional support for me, because even when I have a bad game, she still comes and gives me a hug, tells me how great I did, even if I didn’t,” Krug said.
Krug believes her mother is a large motivator for putting her all on the field. “[My mom] gives me talks, she’s always there for me… Even sometimes giving me a hard time just because she wants me to do better and be good at what I do,” Krug said.
Krug’s father has always encouraged her, too. “My dad has always said, if I want to do something like go play for more expensive teams, then he will find ways to support me,” Krug said. “My dad has really helped my mindset a lot […] he really helped me get into the right mental space and believe in myself.”
Junior Vincent Farnsworth has been participating in sports since middle school, primarily in lacrosse and cross-country.
“My mom, she goes to every lacrosse game that I have, and my dad tries to make it to them,” Farnsworth said.
While Farnsworth receives cheering and applause from his family when he plays lacrosse, this support isn’t reciprocated in his other passion, cross-country
“My mom and dad aren’t able to go to my cross-country meets as often, because they are all over the state,” Farnsworth said, “so I don’t get as much support, [which] brings me down. I don’t have anyone that I know who cheers for me.”
Having acknowledged his preference for more support at his events, “I feel like more support will make me do better, only because it gives me a boost of motivation,” Farnsworth said. “When I’m exhausted and fatigued, and I hear them screaming, I think, ‘I can do better.’”
Farnsworth claimed that his biggest motivations are from himself. “I try to better myself; I know when I messed up, and I try to correct myself. So I [play my hardest] just because I play better, just to make myself feel good,” Farnsworth said.
Junior Edson Conn played soccer in elementary school, and the lessons he learned back then still motivate him today.
“Both my parents were there to watch me play soccer, even though I was really bad at it,” Conn said.
Conn defined the encouragement he’s received through consistent presence. “Just the continued support, showing up for every game […] and knowing that I’m not out there doing it all by myself all along,” Conn said.
Conn’s main motivator is outside presence and being able to share his experiences with others. His family’s thoughts inspire him in how he approaches his sports.
“Playing to show your parents, your grandparents, or whoever that is there to watch you [do] your absolute best, it gives you that little bit more motivation to do a little bit better,” Conn said. “You go, you do, you play your absolute best to make somebody proud of you, to make somebody happy for you, and to celebrate with you instead of just for yourself. You can celebrate by yourself any other time you want.”
Having multiple different experiences throughout his athletics, Conn believes having somebody beside him makes any situation easier.
“It’s better than doing it myself, because I can quit by myself. But when it’s more like teamwork, when you have somebody supporting you, you can go further,” Conn said. “It doesn’t have to be sports… if you have somebody there to walk alongside you, I think it’s easier to do the job, to take that extra step.”
