Running head: types and causality of motivation

Motivational Differences between: Professional and Non-Professional Rugby Players.
Samuel J Booth
University of Glamorgan

Content											Page
1.	Abstract										 4
2.	Introduction									4-16
2.1.	Self-Determination Theory							5-6
2.2.	External Pressures in Sport							7-8
2.3.	Motivation									8-9
2.4.	Dimensions of Motivation							9-10
2.5.	Individual Interpretation							10-11
2.6.	Individual Motivation							11-13
2.7.	Summary of Motivation							13-15 
2.8.	Aim										15-16
3.	Methodology									16-20
3.1.	Design									16
3.2.	Interview Development							17-18
3.3.	Participants									19
3.4.	Materials and Procedure							19-20
4.	Results										20-31
4.1.	Commitment									21-23
4.2.	Confidence									23-26
4.3.	Selection/ Enjoyment								27-28
5.	Discussion										29-32
6.	References										33-40
7.	Appendix										41-65
7.1.	Interview Questions								41-42
7.2.	Transcripts									43-64
7.3.	Figures 1 and 2								65
7.4.	Consent Form – For Participants						66

Abstract

There is a lack of evidence in the causality of motivation in athletes, and individual motives for those motivations. More specifically, there is a lack of evidence, to support the motivations in rugby players. This study looks into the motivational differences, between professional and non-professional rugby players. The study was conducted through qualitative analysis, based on, the Sport-Motivation-Scale, and the Exercise-Causality-Orientation-Scale. The results indicated that professional and non-professional rugby players, share similar motivations to participate in rugby. However, there was a difference in the causality of their motivations: professional rugby players, exhibit more extrinsic motivation, through incentives found at professional level.

Introduction

Many athletes experience physical and psychological pressures during the course of a season, as a result of; training, rehabilitation, injuries, possible defeat (Gould 1982), and competitive stress and anxiety (Nicholls and Polman, 2007). These, external pressures require great endurance from the athletes, both; physically and mentally, season after season. Constant pressures, which fall upon athletes, may affect their motivation towards their sport. From this, both, coaches and athletes underestimate the importance of motivation within their sport (Gould, 1982). 
Through research in professional practice, it is plausible to assume that professional athletes face stressors more often than non-professionals (Taylor and Wilson, 2005). It is possible, that the differences in, professional and non-professional experiences indicate different reasons to participate in sport, “Motivation is a factor in which athletes can control, by becoming aware of their own level of motivation, and learning strategies for influencing it” (Taylor and Wilson, 2005, p., 18). This paper, aims to find differences between professional and non-professional male rugby players, and what may affect their motivation towards their chosen sport, and what may de-motivate them. Providing evidence that indicates the causality of motivation in individuals is important to sport. It would allow coaches/ the player to provide programs that specifically apply to their need to increase motivation, and inevitably, leading to increases in individual performance. 

Self-Determination Theory

It is important to base further research on valid theories. One such theory is the self-determination theory (SDT). The self-determination theory proposes that, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are different from each other – through regular processes and experience (Gagne and Deci, 2005). It further suggests, behaviour, can be determined either intrinsically or extrinsically. Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are both, intentional, traits or states, which, together they stand in contrast to amotivation, which involves a lack of intention and motivation (Gagne and Deci, 2005).
The SDT proposes that extrinsic motivation varies in autonomy (Ryan and Connell, 1989), yet many researchers suggest extrinsically motivated behaviour is non-autonomous (Vallerand, 1997). Through continuation of SDT’s development in sport, it is now generally, referred to as a continuum of states (See Figure 1). For example, athletes who participate in sports, because of career and financial gain, are extrinsically motivated, yet, athletes who participate in a sport, to be with their friends, or, because their parents tell them too are also extrinsically motivated. Both examples involve needs to participate rather than want (enjoyment) of the sport itself. The former case of extrinsic motivation, shows the athlete participates out of choice and personal gain, whereas, the latter involves compliance with an external regulation. Heider, (1958) suggests that both of these situations represent intentional behaviour, although, they vary in their relative autonomy.
According to SDT, athletes have some level of each of the three orientations: autonomous, control and impersonal (Deci and Ryan 2008). It also suggests that an individual may continually slide up and down the continuum depending on situational specific moments. An example of this can be shown through, a non-professional rugby player: If they were too undergo a trial, to become a professional, a change of environment would inhibit the outcome of performance, which in turn, could alter their motivation – where they once were confident in their abilities they become more conscious of external regulators within the new environment. Gagne and Deci (2005) discuss, that needs for competence and autonomy, underlie intrinsic motivation - which people need to feel competent and autonomous to maintain their intrinsic motivation. According to SDT, satisfaction of these two needs are also necessary for internalisation (values and attitudes that turn external regulation to internal regulation) as well as a third basic need; the need for relatedness (Baumeister and Leary, 1995). More specifically, SDT suggests that when athletes experience satisfaction of the needs for relatedness and competence they will tend to internalise its value and regulation (Baumeister and Leary, 1995).

External pressures in sport. 

External pressures have been known to affect motivation within sport (Mullen and Markland, 1997). It is recognized, that professional athletes have to cope with demanding pressures induced by the media and their competitive environment (Nicholls and Polman, 2007). For example, John Terry recently had to cope with the media interfering with his private life whilst trying to maintain a professional manner, in which he responded with scoring a winning goal in the next game. However, there is little research to suggest that professional athletes are more capable of dealing with external pressures. Nicholls and Polman (2007) looked into stress among the England u-18 rugby team and found that the players reported: mistakes, injury, criticism, and watching other players play well, as the highest levels of perceived stress. This is reflective of Jonny Wilkinson when he misses a kick or tackle. If the stress perceived by the individual players exceeds their coping capabilities, then it is often linked to negative consequences such as decreased performance (Lazarus, 2000), injury (Smith, Ptacek, and Smoll, 1992), decreased satisfaction (Scanlan and Lewthwaite, 1984), and sport withdrawal (Kolt, Kirby, and Linder, 1995). It is reported that adolescent athletes must learn to cope with the stressors they experience to pursue a career in professional sport (Holt and Dunn, 2004). 
To pursue a professional career, Schraw and Ericsson (2005), suggest, that elite performers continuously face strenuous activity that drains physical and mental resources.  It is the ability of the individuals to recover and sustain high levels of performance for long periods of time without facing exhaustion. Exhaustion causes lower performances, emphasising difficult tasks and detection of errors, which, effect performance (as cited in Van Yperen, 2009). As mentioned earlier, through constant training and experience, professional athletes, may have the ability to recover from external stressors and physical exhaustion, more so than non-professional athletes.

Motivation

Motivation is interactions of internal factors (unconscious and conscious psychological processes) and external factors (social, familial, gratification, and recognition), these factors form a variety of drives such as: basic drives, self-image, exploration, and experience, affecting individual behavioural change (as cited in Recours, Souville, and Griffet, 2004). Motivation is important in psychology, as, it is one of the most prominent inhibitors of action across any life form (as cited in Cashmore, 2008, p, 287). Duda (1989) suggested that social environments such as competition, criticism, and self-image, influence behavioural variables such as learning and performance. It is from mainstream psychology, that sport psychology interprets motivation as a critical variable in an athlete, or, team’s performance – influencing the amount of effort expended. It initiates the ability to remain resilient after setbacks, how long someone will persist during long and difficult periods of training, and actual competition (Taylor and Wilson, 2005 p., 18). 
The motivational dimensions that will be studied in this paper, and discussed individually here, come from a well known scale called the SMS (sport motivation scale). The SMS indicates, there are three dimensions of motivation in sport; intrinsic motivation: to know, to accomplish things and to experience stimulation, extrinsic motivation: external regulation, introjections and identification, finally amotivation (Pelletier et al, 1995). The SMS was conceptualised by McNeil and Wang (2005) from the original concept by Briere, Vallerand, Blais and Pelletier (1995) known as the EMS (Echelle de Motivation dans le Sport). 

Dimensions of Motivation

Intrinsic motivations are guided by innate tendencies to explore the self and the environment, as well as, values and personal commitment (Williams, 2005). Harter (1978) suggests that “to learn from personal attribution is perhaps the single most important phenomenon that reflects the positive potential of human nature” (p 35). Harter (1978) also suggests, from birth, children in their healthiest states are active, inquisitive, curious, and playful, with the absence of specific rewards. The process of intrinsic motivation is a natural inclination toward assimilation, mastery, spontaneous interest and exploration that is essential for cognitive and social development (Csikszentmihalyi and Rathunde, 1993).
In comparison to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation refers to, the performance of an activity in order to attain some separable outcome. This dimension of motivation contrasts with intrinsic motivation, which, refers to participating in an activity for inherent satisfaction (Ryan and Deci, 2000) such as the desire to win the World Cup. As children develop and grow older, external pressures, become factors that influences choice. External pressures affect the freedom to be intrinsically motivated, due to social pressures that incorporate activities that have little value/ or curiosity to a person (Ryan and La Guardia, (1999). As extrinsic motivation, becomes more prevalent in later years; peers, parents, coaches and teachers become greater influences, concerning non-intrinsically motivated practices. 
Amotivation is similar to the concept of learned helplessness (Abramson, Seligman, and Teasdale, 1978), where, if there is no link between action and outcome there is no motivation. People experience feelings that lack of intention and motivation, they are neither intrinsically motivated nor extrinsically motivated (Deci and Ryan, 2008). When athletes are in such a state, they no longer identify any good reasons for why they should continue to train and eventually they may even decide to stop participating in their sport (Pelletier et al, 1995). It is important for the development of research that all three of these factors are taken into account as motivation is formed through self regulated behaviours as well as external regulators (Taylor and Wilson 2005), the importance of this research is to see which type of motivation and occurs in professional rugby players compared to non-professional rugby players; and why they are mentally orientated towards that motivation. 

Individual interpretation

According to the Self Determination Theory, external influences are determined by individual interpretation and the behavioural outcome, which, is mainly reliant on cultural up bringing (Ryan and Deci, 2000). Eccles and Wigfield (2002) expectancy value model uses “value”, which, is similar to Harter’s (1978) intrinsic motivation. The value is determined by, how well, a task relates to current and future goals, such as, career goals. For example, a young athlete may take up a sport to be with their friends or their parents want them to, even if they don’t enjoy it. Their behaviour towards the situation may appear to be extrinsically motivated however; the athlete may naturally be talented in that sport and continue learning it. This would generate a long-term goal within that sport, which, indicates the task has value (intrinsic) to her. But, in order to achieve the outcome goal, consequences, come into effect, such as their friends may quit or parents no longer have an interest in that sport. Based on this example, the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations is not directly controversial to each other, yet, the general definition is that the former derives from feelings of satisfaction and fulfilment, and the latter from factors that involve reward or punishment from outside forces (as cited in Cashmore, 2008. P. 290). 
Deci and Ryan (1985) looked into the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic behaviours, and studied children who were given puzzle-solving tasks. The results of this study showed, that children who received a reward, spent less time working on puzzles, than those who did not receive a reward. This indicates that being compensated for an intrinsically interesting activity decreases intrinsic motivation. This has obvious relevance for professional athletes, all of whom, will have been originally motivated through intrinsic factors but may become extrinsic once they begin to earn money from sports (as cited in, Cashmore, 2008, p, 290).

Individual motivation

Motivation, for its large part, is determined by the individual. Each individual will interpret different situations to others, resulting in different behavioural outcomes. Launder (2001), suggests, feelings of enjoyment associated with confidence of individual ability, serve as a significant source of internal motivation for both purposeful participation and long term commitment and involvement in sport. Whereas, Bernabou and Tirole (2003) suggest, it is common for incentives to promote effort and performance. From research, it is possible to understand why some people are more motivated under intrinsic motives and some are more motivated by extrinsic motives. 
Bandura (1991) suggested, within the social cognitive theory; higher competitive levels are recorded with less intrinsic motivation and more extrinsic and amotivation. This indicates that external motives play an important role for competitive environments, which in turn, becomes a vital part of professionalism. As mentioned earlier, professionalism is based upon a competitive environment, where, achievement is constantly rewarded; therefore, behaviour is directed by goals to achieve the reward (Deci and Ryan 2008). 
It is imperative to understand, that motivation is not just guided by a single motive, be it internal or external, but, there are different regulators that hinder the motivational state of an athlete (Williams, 2005). In relation to this, Bandura (1991) suggests, the social cognitive theory consists of three areas that result in self-regulative behaviour outcomes. Self monitoring, self regulation and self observation, are, all ways that can affect the state of motivation, through, various mood states (Stajkovic and Luthans 1998) and performance in exercise (as cited in Booth et al, 2000). 
An athlete managing self observation/ monitoring, should, be able to track and assess the outcome of their actions, to reach a desired goal. If the athlete manages to do this regularly, they can assess the effectiveness of their actions, and initiate adjustments in behaviour, to respond to, the changing demands of the environment (Osman, 2010). However, it is not always as easy to respond to change, in the correct manner. When an athlete attends to an accomplishment, it can be regulated as an encouragement, and motivate them to achieve more. Contrastingly, if failure occurs it may discourage the athlete, and undermine their sense of efficacy - decreasing motivation. Therefore, the chosen approach adopted by the individual, through self monitoring, will partially depend on, success, or, failure (Gottman and McFall, 1972), as well as, their individual feelings (Mendolia, 2002).
A positive outcome of focusing on failure can be encouraging to an athlete’s development, as it identifies the negatives of a performance. Through, the negatives, the individual may become more motivated towards working and improving their skills/ abilities to avoid future failure. West et al (1997) supports this theory, through the clinical management of heart failure, where, patients who had heart failures, benefited from the knowledge they learnt, changing their behaviours to avoid the situation occurring again (as cited in Bandura, 2005). This can be applied to sport. For example, a rugby player may continually miss-tackle in game situations, through this experience; they can use the negative emotions, to strive towards increasing their positive motivation this can be achieved, through increasing the intensity of their training, effort, and focus on tackling. This adds to the importance for research, in sport psychology, to isolate individual motivational characteristics, and adapt an intervention to an athlete’s specific nature, within their environment.

Summary of motivation

Intrinsic motivation and each type of extrinsic motivation are reflected in different reasons for behaving, and these reasons provide a means, for assessing the types of motivation (Ryan and Connell, 1989). Due to the extent of research, suggesting, extrinsic incentives undermine intrinsic rewards; Kingston et al (2006) proposed an investigation to examine whether levels of, multidimensional intrinsic, multidimensional extrinsic, and amotivation would affect scholarship status amongst college athletes in the America. Participants, for the study, were split into either a scholarship, or, a non-scholarship group. They found, extrinsic motivation was the strongest influence on motivations towards scholarships, which, supports Bandura’s (1991) social cognitive theory. The results, indicating, that intrinsic motivations are undermined by extrinsic motivations, suggest that, professional athletes are extrinsically motivated towards achieving their goal (maintaining the scholarship). These results can be transferred to other professional sports, indicating further reasons to find evidence to support motivational differences.
Research into the affects of feedback, from, teachers (Ryan and Grolnick, 1986), coach’s (Pelletier et al, 1988), and parents (Grolnick, Ryan, and Deci, 1991) have shown that feedback, which, reflects competence and understanding of an activity, form self-determined motivation. Pelletier et al (1995) found similar evidence, suggesting, intrinsic motivational behaviours increased, when athletes were provided with a choice of tasks (choosing one they wanted) relating to an activity. Pelletier et al (1995) also found that, impersonal behaviours, such as, “coach’s who do not care for athlete’s choice”, have been shown to undermine intrinsic motivation, fostering the approach of amotivation. 
From a wide variety of research (see, Pelletier et al 1995, Ryan and Grolnick, 1986, Grolnick, Ryan and Deci, 1991, Booth et al, 2005), suggesting the differences and effects of motivation in sportsmen/ women, there is no research, suggesting, there is a motivational difference between professional and non-professional athletes. Thus, it is important to determine the motivational differences in professional and non-professional athletes. As well as, understanding the motivational differences, it is also important to understand, individual causes of those motivations, to apply an appropriate intervention. This paper will look into the motivational differences and the causes of individual motivations in both professional and non-professional rugby players. The aim is to find evidence to support; that extrinsic incentives undermine intrinsic rewards, more specifically; professional rugby players should show more extrinsic incentives towards their participation in rugby than non-professional rugby players. 

Aim

Based on the above review, and research aims stated at the beginning of the paper, two research questions have been proposed:
RQ1: To explore the motivational differences between professional and non-professional rugby players?
RQ2: What are the causalities of individual motivations in both professional and non-professional rugby players? 
In order to pursue these questions, RQ1 would be found, using the sport-motivation-scale (SMS), indicating, if, individuals are intrinsic, extrinsic or amotivated. RQ2, would be answered, using, the exercise-causality-orientations-scale (Rose, Markland, and Parfitt 2001). The interviews would be conducted by the researcher and completed by, current rugby players, at both professional and non-professional levels. Within sports, a difference between professional and non-professional athletes, can be concluded (although, not directly), as research suggests professionals have similar experiences in the causality of motivations, which contrast to non-professional individuals (Van Yperen, 2009).
The qualitative method of collecting data, should, provide a high level of validity for the questionnaire itself, especially, in relation to, providing sufficient evidence to support the two research questions. This would be done through an interview consisting of questions from two (SMS, ECOS) statistically valid questionnaires.

Methodology

Design

A qualitative multi-structured interview (see appendix) was used. Questions, were generated, to address both research questions; inviting the participants, to explain each answer in as much detail as possible. Data analysis for the transcriptions will be done so through thematic analysis, in IPA format. As mentioned in Braun and Clark (2006), IPA, consists of understanding people’s everyday experience of reality, in great detail, in order to gain an understanding of the phenomenon in question (McLeod, 2001). – having previously participated in rugby at national club level, and offered incentives to continue my career, I will apply the IPA format to my thematic analysis, as I feel I have an understanding of motivation within rugby. 
Thematic analysis was conducted through a line-by-line analysis of the interview transcriptions. It identified recurring themes that continued to emerge as units of meaning. Themes were grouped according to their level of significance to the interviews. Super-ordinate themes, describe the major concepts arising from the interviews content, whilst, sub-ordinate themes present a more detailed view of the content within each super-ordinate theme.  These themes were collated into a diagrammatical representation, to illustrate the interviews.

Interview Development

As mentioned earlier, the self-determination-theory is a valid model to conduct the study on. Markland et al (2005) continue to develop and conceptualise models surrounding SDT. They have constantly aimed to support the SDT, in relation, to motivation interviewing; arguing that “it offers the possibility of providing a useful theoretical framework for understanding motivational differences at different times” (p., 815). Furthermore, they believe that, motivational interviewing (from a SDT perspective) will help reach an understanding of the motivations.
Previous research by Deci and Ryan (1985), on the SDT model, concluded that; “although individuals may have a general tendency to be autonomous, controlled, or, impersonally oriented across most life domains, the strength of their orientations could also differ in different life contexts.” This can be applied to sport, through individual experiences, and can be affected by many variables, such as, cultural upbringing, economic status, and friends (see Fogel et al, 2006).  In relation to this theory, Markland et al (2005), found evidence to support the SDT in motivational interviewing, through the exercise-causality-orientation-scale (ECOS). The ECOS is a modified interpretation of Deci and Ryan’s earlier scale, known as, the general-causality-orientations-scale (GCOS). This scale was designed to measure general motivation orientations throughout various experiences. Which, for this paper would help answer, what the individual motivations are? In order to find the answer to the second question, the SMS (Sport Motivation Scale) is designed to measure different aspects of the self determination, using the model of the continuum. 

Figure. 1: Continuum of Self-determination (Deci and Ryan, 2002, p. 16)
In regards to, why athletes are motivated to participate in sport? Deci and Ryan (1985) describe the EMS as the underlying "why" of behaviour and focuses on, the various reasons for engaging in the sport. Hence, athletes are asked "Why do you practice your sport?" where the answers should represent, possible, different types of motivation. To be more specific, on the validity of causality of motivation, various researchers have incorporated new models for measurement, Such as, the SMS.
The SMS measures amotivation – motivation neither internally nor externally motivated, intrinsic motivation – motivation of highest level of self determination, extrinsic motivation – motivation from an external source. Within extrinsic motivation the continuum suggests, there are four areas of regulation: external, introjected, identified and integrated. However, some areas within the continuum have been problematic to research. Mears, Kilpatrick, Martens, and Webber (2002) suggest, amotivation and external regulation were problematic in their study of American college athletes. It is important to remain aware of flaws within models, although this model is constantly being tested.

Participants

The study will include, professional and non-professional male rugby players, where professional rugby players are described as full-time, paid athletes, of the highest profession. Non-professional rugby players are described as those participating in rugby for recreational purposes, not full-time, and not paid. All participants completed an ethics form, and signed the agreement to use their data within the study, which, was approved by the University of Glamorgan. None of the participants received any compensation for their cooperation. The participants for this study consisted of single sex (male) professional rugby clubs and non-professional rugby clubs. A total of six rugby players participated in the study. Three professional rugby players, all paid, and have represented England U16 up to U21. Two plays, in the professional league and one is studying at Loughborough University, whilst part-time professional at national league level. There were also, three non-professional rugby players, where all three, represent a local club rugby team and do not get paid to play. The age range of the participants was 20-24 years old with a minimum age set at 18.
 
Materials and Procedure

As mentioned earlier, the interview was constructed of two previously validated questionnaires. The questions were used in the same manner for each interview, regardless of the individual’s responses. However, each individual was asked to describe in as much detail as possible, their thoughts on each question. All the questions selected were relative to the study, such as, “why do you participate in your sport?” The interviews took place in different locations, either, the researchers or the participant’s home; they were dependant on individual specifications. 
Participants were fully briefed, before the interview, of the purpose behind the research (see appendix). The participants were made aware that the interview would be recorded and then transcribed, as well as, understanding they can listen back and remove any information they wish. They were also informed that all identifying information would be removed. Each interview lasted 30-35 minutes, and all were transcribed including the interviewers and interviewee responses.  Once transcribed the recording were fully destroyed.

Results

Once the interviews were transcribed, they were, analysed by group. Figure 2, represents the professional rugby players analysis (group 1), where, confidence, commitment and selection, were the super-ordinate themes. The three themes from group 1 influence each other in some manner, where, selection is attainable through commitment, which requires confidence in ability and performance. This is reflective in Van Yperen’s (2009) study of professional football players, which mentions, to reach difficult goals requires higher levels of commitment, which in turn, leads to higher levels of performance and increased confidence. Figure 3, represents the non-professional rugby players (group 2) analysis, where commitment, confidence and enjoyment, were the super-ordinate themes. Through the sub-ordinate themes, it is plausible to suggest, both professional and non-professional rugby players share similar attitudes towards motivation. However, the sub-ordinate and other themes suggest, motives for attitudes to motivation develop through various concepts and rational.

Commitment

Within the professionals theme, commitment, there were two sub-ordinate themes, income and scholarships “the biggest thing for me was getting a scholarship” (Professional A), whereas, the two sub-ordinate themes for the non-professionals was time and age. Baker and Cote (2003) argue that commitment may be the most important attribute to become an elite athlete. This is definitely shown in this study as all three professional rugby players highlighted the importance of being committed to rugby, “there are probably only six or eight playing fulltime in the premiership and 90% are playing first team basis, a lot of my friends put all their will into rugby” (Professional, A). This contrasts with non-professionals, who indicate that due to time constraints and other goals in life, they cannot fully commit to rugby. “yeah I think I got in the gym more and put on some more weight, trained harder but that’s a commitment I can’t really give because of other things I want to achieve.” (Non-Professional, A)
The motives for professional rugby players also differed from non-professional rugby players, indicating more extrinsic motivation towards their commitment in rugby. Professional rugby players highlighted the importance that, through contracts they are committed to the club, and that it is their job to play and train day in, day out. “Well, I have to be, it’s kind of my job, but I don’t mind, it is better than being stuck in an office.” (Professional B). The professionals did not mention (directly) the affects of contracts too their motivations, however one participant suggested that the commitment is too strict, “when I went away with England I was frustrated I couldn’t do anything during the day if we had a game on a Thursday or Friday we couldn’t do anything” (Professional, A).
As for non-professional rugby players, they highlighted commitment as a motivation for rugby, because they believe through other commitments such as education, to still have the urge to play for club every week requires commitment, to remain fit and healthy to. “yeah I think I got in the gym more and put on some more weight, trained harder but that’s a commitment I can’t really give because of other things I want to achieve” (Non-Professional, A).
From the analysis, it is clear that there are differences in motives between professional and non-professionals. As mentioned earlier, professional rugby players suggest that they are motivated through extrinsic rewards, such as, scholarship and contracts, whereas, non-professional rugby players exhibit more intrinsic motivations,), towards their commitment in rugby, due to there being little extrinsic rewards, “I enjoy playing it and it helps to keep fit...” (Non-Professional, B). The results indicate that the professional rugby players moved down the self-determination continuum, towards control, as they grew older. They suggested “you have to love the game and really want it” (Professional, B) to be 100% committed you, this indicates that they are also intrinsically motivated, as well as extrinsically motivated. 
Reed and Cox (2007) hypothesised that, more internalized and self-determined forms of motivation would be strongly associated with motives for participation, from senior athletes. This expectation was based on Deci and Ryan (1991), Losier et al, (1993), and Vallerand and Losier’s (1999), theory of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, which, suggests that internally regulated motivation is more long lasting and predictive of overall motivation. Based on the results, they found that intrinsic and identified regulation, were strongly associated with motives for participation, such as, improved personal fitness, physical appearance, personal competence, personal enjoyment and social interactions. This is further supported by both groups, who indicated that they are motivated to participate in rugby for the same motives, “It’s great to make friends, I live with 3 other guys and we do everything together, but that can get to you sometimes... you know, that pace and lifestyle.” (Professional, B). On the other hand, the non-professionals highlighted more importance of the social benefits “Especially in rugby more goes on off the field than on it” (Non-professional, B).

Confidence

The theme confidence arose from both analyses “it has also made me so confident about myself” (Non-Professional, A). However, the sub-ordinate themes suggested the motives for confidence were different between the two groups. There were three sub-ordinate themes for professional rugby players, appearance “yeah I train to look good” (Professional B), performance I trained hard to be in the best condition I could be” (Professional A), and conflict “feedback from players and coaches, to see what I have been doing well and not so well, otherwise you don’t know where to improve as a player” (Professional A). In contrast, the non-professional sub-ordinate themes were appearance, “a lot of it is to do with appearance I have to look good to feel good” (Non-Professional B) and social life “I feel I can be myself in social situations” (Non-Professional, A). It appeared, again, that through the analysis, both professional and non-professional rugby players, they exhibited confidence, as an important part of their motivation towards playing rugby “A lot of it is to do with appearance I have to look good to feel good, when I look good I feel confident in myself.” (Non-Professional, B).  However, the sub-ordinate themes indicate, again, a difference in the causality of confidence. For professional athletes confidence came from appearance and conflict, where conflict would initiate a behavioural reaction, increasing self-esteem “good atmosphere in the changing rooms, there is good banter, you know it’s a big thing you are playing somewhere you enjoy against somewhere you don’t enjoy so much.” (Professional, A).
Both groups also indicated a relationship between exercise and self-concept/esteem, “keep in shape, look good, secondly if I didn’t do it I would feel bad, about not doing it... I would get bored.” (Professional, A). There are verifications on the definitions of self concept and self esteem. Self concept can be conceptualized as the view we have of ourselves, and represent the core, of our personality, and identity like “who am I”. Self esteem, is the evaluative consequence, of self concept, and can be defined as the aspect of self, that includes affective components like “how do I feel about me?” It has been theorised and supported, that exercise significantly enhances self concept. Shavelson, Hubner, and Stanton (1976), suggest, that general self concept, is conceptualised within a hierarchal model in an educational perspective, which is also affected by physical self concept. The hierarchy, flows from the general, to academic, and non-academic self concept, into sub-areas which generates a behavioural change. The importance of the non-academic self-concept consists of, social, emotional and physical self-concept; all three of these concepts are highlighted in the analysis of both professional and non-professional rugby players. Physical concept can be described as physical ability and physical appearance; this relates to this study as, exercise plays a role in the physical appearance which alters physical self-concept.
	In relation to self-esteem, Sonstroem (1984) evaluated a hierarchal model that was specifically designed to exercise. Tertiary constructs determined secondary constructs and secondary constructs determined perception of primary constructs. The model consisted of a global self-concept, physical self-concept, domain level, sub-domain level and physical self-efficacies. There were four sub domain levels, sport, condition, body attractiveness and strength. The physical measures may affect self efficacy, which in turn, affects physical competence, leading to either: global self-esteem or physical acceptance. This model also relates to the participants at both levels as they indicated rugby, fitness, “I guess I generally exercise because I enjoy it” (Non-Professional, B), appearance “I can also lose weight and tone so I look good” (Non-Professional, B), and ability as areas of importance to their confidence, in motivation, within rugby.
As mentioned earlier, appearance was a huge factor that influences both professional and non-professional rugby players. They felt through looking good, exhibited more self-confidence in social status and rugby performance, through increases in fitness and muscle growth, performance increased, which in turn increased self confidence/ exception, “A, to feel good about myself, B to not in a pompous way – to look good, looking good is part of feeling good and self confident, C, for my sport obviously” (Non-Professional, A).
The participants indicated that “looks”/ body image and its links to exercise, are caused through, various constructs, which have been found in other research, such as, media (Strelan and Hargreaves, 2005), culture and gender (Pickett, Lewis and Cash, 2004), and health (Lawrence, 2002).  Body image is an individual perception of self and how an individual acts towards that perception (Strelan and Hargreaves, 2005). Exercising for weight loss, body tone and attractiveness has, previously been related to, disturbed eating, body dissatisfaction, reduced body self esteem and poor psychological well being, such as, depressive symptoms (Pickett, Lewis and Cash, 2004). In relation to this information, the participants would become less confident in themselves if they were to stop playing rugby, or, exercising.
View on body dissatisfaction, has changed since 1972-1996 from 15% to 43% of the population (as cited in Strelan and Hargreaves, 2005). Previous research has mainly focused on women and body esteem. However, recently, research has looked into the perceptions of men, and men have become increasingly concerned about their appearance. A study by Strelan and Hargreaves (2005) found that self-objectification in men, was significantly related to appearance, as a result of exercise. This newly adopted approach has been induced by the media, and the influx of health magazines, such as Men’s Health and fashion giants Vogue, proposing an “idealised” body. The search for the idealised body is an increasing concern that may affect rates of and reasons for exercise. Men and women, who exercise for appearance as a response to perceived objectification, experience lower body esteem. Reasons for exercise, are most likely to, explain the relationship between self-objectification and body esteem, is individual motivation to exercise to improve appearance. From Strelan and Hargreaves results, it is possible to suggest that the participants within this study, who self objectify, tend to view exercise as a means of responding to perceived socio-cultural pressure, to achieve an “idealized” body. However, Strelan and Hargreaves did not account for other reasons to exercise, where other reasons to exercise, may lead to positive individual motivation, through confidence. The effects of body image in relation to sport participation in rugby, (where physical size is important for increased performance) have not been conducted, as results of this study indicate, participants don’t just exercise for self-objectification, they exercise to increase performance whilst remaining healthy. This could be an important influence in sport psychology and is an area for future research. The results of this study suggest that both professional and non-professional rugby players, also, exercise for health benefits, and more importantly to improve as a rugby player. “I would definitely be bored without it.”  (Professional, B).

Selection/ Enjoyment

For the third, super-ordinate theme, there was a difference, between, professional and non-professional attitudes towards their motivation in rugby. Professional rugby players highlighted the importance of selection, as a key motivator, whereas, non-professionals highlighted enjoyment, as theirs. Within the professional theme, selection, there were two sub-ordinate themes, communication and performance, whereas, friends and communication, were in the non-professional analysis. “I listen to my dad if he says I played well I will feel that I have had a good game, I also have my own kinaesthetic feedback telling me if I had a good game or not, in terms of coaches their opinions are very important as their the guys that pick the team, and team mates as well in that environment, it’s kind of balanced” (Professional, A). Professional rugby players reported that through constant feedback off coaches and peers, the participants understood areas that needed improvement, as well as areas that did not. Through communication, they can assess their performance and increase it in training. All three participants indicated when performance increased, team selection increased, as well as coach communication. 
Short and Short, M (2005) emphasise that the relationship that exists between a coach and an athlete has a tremendous influence on the physical and psychological development of athletes. This can be seen within this study as communication, also, allowed the participants to consider their future in rugby. For example, one of the rugby players wasn’t playing well towards the end of their contract, and then, his coach took him to one side every training session, guiding him in areas for improvement. In the last three games of the season the player came on as a sub and played well, he was praised and full of confidence and started the last two matches and was offered a new contract. “I was thinking of just quitting, but my coach’s faith and help, helped me realise how good I was” (Professional, B). It is important to note that when the participant was not playing well, they became more motivated, yet, if the contract had not been renewed he would have become de-motivated. Selection becomes an important part of professionalism, and external regulator for professional rugby players, as it constantly alters individual behaviour and mentality towards their participation in rugby.
	Within the non-professional rugby player’s analysis, enjoyment for rugby was a key issue in their motivations. They had similar, yet, different incentives to professional rugby players as communication was an important role in their motivation, but most importantly was, friendship, especially from a young age, “it’s just so fantastic meeting so many people especially in rugby” (Non-Professional, A). As mentioned in Coleman, Cox and Roker (2008), the benefits of regularly participating in physical activity, through casual or organized participation seeking social relationships, are well recognized. This is important as the awareness of physical and recreational activities need to be made more available to the population. “I just feel so great inside that nothing can bring me down, it’s a feeling I only get in sport and I get it a lot in rugby”  (Non-Professional, B). Modern society has a decrease in social interaction, within, the youth population. One of the issues rising from de-socialisation is that schools tend to concentrate on providing short term recreational and activity skills, rather than providing young people with the attitudes and social skills that enable them to organise, select and participate in chosen sports or activities, during and after school (Mundy and Odum, 1979). 

Discussion

Through the qualitative analysis, the triangulation of data may have been limited due to the themes only being assessed by the researcher. Within the methodology, the triangulation strategy was used to detect themes within each transcript, throughout the analysis. The analysis consisted of analysing the major themes and others that may have affected individual motivation; however this was only analysed by the researcher and not from an outsider’s perspective. This could have influenced the themes obtained from the transcripts (see, Walkerdine et al, 1998).
As mentioned in Braun and Clark (2006), the ‘key-ness’ of a theme is not necessarily dependent on quantifiable measures - but rather on whether it captures something important in relation to the overall research question. For this study, the practical implications of all themes were relative to both research questions: What motivates professional and non-professional rugby players, as well as, why they are motivated towards their participation in rugby. The study found that professional rugby players exhibited more extrinsic motivations than non-professionals. The incentives for each participant’s motivation came from the sub-ordinate themes, which highlighted the super-ordinate themes. To relate these findings to sport, it is important to understand the motivations of individuals to reach maximum performance. For example, appearance was a reoccurring that induces self confidence, which in turn improved performance. Hollembeak and Amorose (2005) found that athlete perceptions of motivations were used and assessed correctly by coaches, which in turn increased the coach-athlete relationship, as well as the athlete’s performance. In relation to Hollembeak and Amorose (2005), this study can suggest, a coach may incorporate, healthy eating programs and regular gym sessions that increase physical strength as well as body image, for maximum performance. This supports the findings of Muscat and Long (2008), who found that the athletic involvement was associated with greater frequency of self-objectification and negative body image when not training, however, they found no association to behavioural changes such as, eating disorders, compared to non-athletes.
It is important to note that research for this study was done on team based sport. Present research indicates that there is a difference in team sports and individual sports/ exercise. Physical activity ranges in diversity, most research in motivation is designed for physical activity, which focuses on exercise behaviour, and ignores sport participation (Kilpatrick, Hebert, and Bartholomew, 2005). Kilpatrick, Hebert, and Bartholomew (2005) compared motivations for sport participation versus exercise among college students. The results indicated that participants were more likely to report intrinsic motives, such as enjoyment and challenge, for engaging in sport, whereas motivations for exercise were more extrinsic and focused on appearance, weight and stress management. The findings suggest that motives for sport participation are more desirable than those for exercise and may facilitate improved adherence to physical activity recommendations. Future research in the differences of motivation between professional and non-professional athletes may look into the possible differences of motivation, in team and individual sports/ exercises
To further support this, it is possible to suggest that through professional participation, individuals may become more separate from their team-mates due to the competitiveness of the environment, such as team selection. Nicholls and Polman (2007) found that the England U-18 rugby team, indicated a wide range of stressors experienced by individual players, such as, making a physical error, receiving criticism from their coach/ parents, making a mental error, injury, and observing an opponent play well. The latter is representative of competition within a team, and indicates a separation from one another. 
A weakness within this study, did not account for gender differences. However, women’s motivation for rugby may be socially impaired as mentioned in Ezell (2009). Ezell (2009) found that women who were successful athletes at high school, but unable to compete at varsity level, in their chosen sports, turned to rugby. This would have detrimental effects to their motivation of participation in sport as they are not playing a sport in which they initially desired. This can be related to this study as the influence of parents proved to effect the participation of non-professional athletes, causing them to focus on other aspirations, such as, education. Ezell (2009) also mentions that the women’s rugby team found themselves stigmatised by outsiders as “butch lesbians.” Through the social lifestyle of women’s rugby, pressure increases in abundance, relative and not relative to performance. The causality of female motivation in rugby has not been studied, but can relate important information to gender differences between males and females motivation in rugby.
Another area of importance, that may have affected the results of this study, was the levels of professionalism and non-professionalism. The results match the research questions and hypotheses, but this may have been influenced by the extremes of the two groups. Previous research suggests that there is a relationship between income and professionalism, which in turns reflects motivation to participate in sport. Rosen and Sanderson (2002) mention that there is a variation in wages, between starting professionals and experienced professionals, more importantly, new players differentiate themselves by their work ethic and abilities to learn. For instance, sometimes more speed and determination from young players can have large effects on winning. Future research may look into the motivational differences within a single team, be it, professional or non-professional, as motivational differences could differ between a team. An example of this could be age; one of the professional rugby players suggested that, as you get older you become more focused on the contract and income.
This study has indicated that there is an overall conception of motivation to participate in rugby, yet, there are individually different motives, as to why athletes are motivated to play rugby. The obvious fact that the study suggest there is a difference between professional and non-professional rugby players, which, allows further research to look, in more depth, the causality of motivation within other fields of sport, age and gender. It also suggests that coaches of different levels should understand and embrace the abilities and aspirations of the athletes – especially non-athletes if they have other focuses in life. The communication between coach and athlete is representative of the athlete-coach relationship, indicating the importance of trust, respect and support of each other to increase coaching and athlete performance.

References

Baker, J., and Cote, J. (2003). Resources and commitment as critical factors in the development of gifted athletes. High Ability Studies, 14, 139–140.

Bandura, A, 1991. Social Cognitive Theory of self regulated behaviour. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, 50, 248-287.

Bandura, A. (2005). The primacy of self-regulation in health promotion. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 54, 245-254. 

Benabou, R., and Tirole, J. (2003). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Review of Economic Studies, 70, 489-520.

Booth, M. L., Owen, N. Bauman, A., Clavisi, O., and Leslie, E. (2000). Social-Cognitive and perceived environmental influences associated with physical activity in older Australians. Preventive Medicine, 31, 15-22.

Braun, V., and Clark, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology. 3, 77-101.

Coleman, L., Cox, L., and Roker, D. (2008). Girls and young women’s participation in physical activity: Psychological and social influences. Health Education Research, 23, 633-647.

Csikszentmihalyi, M., and Rathunde, K. (1993). The measurement of flow in everyday life: Toward a theory of emergent motivation. In J. E. Jacobs (Ed.), Developmental perspectives on motivation (pp. 57-97). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

Deci, E.L. and Ryan, R.M. (1985). The general causality orientations scale: Self-determination in personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 19, 109-134.
Deci, E. L. and Ryan, R. M. (2002) (Eds.). Handbook on self-determination research. Rochester: University of Rochester Press.
Deci, E. L. and Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macro theory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology, 49, 182-185.

Duda, J.L. (1989). Goal perspectives and behaviour in sport and exercise settings. In C. Ames and M. Maehr (Eds.), Advances in motivation and achievement (Vol. 6, pp. 81-1 15).

Eccles, J. S., and Wigfield, A. (2002). Motivational beliefs, values and goals. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 109-32.

Ezzell, M. (2009). "Barbie Dolls" on the pitch: Identity work, defensive othering, and inequality in women's rugby. Social Problems, 56, 111-131.

Fogel, A., Garvey, A., Hsu, H-C., West-Stroming, D. (2006). Critical analysis – Change processes in relationships – A relational-historical research approach. Cambridge University Press, 13-34.

Grolnick, W. S., Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (1991). The inner resources for school achievement: Motivational mediators of children’s perceptions of their parents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 508-517.

Harter, S. (1978). Effectance motivation reconsidered: Toward a developmental model. Human Development, 21, 91-104.

Hollembeak, J., and Amorose, A. J. (2005). Perceived coaching behaviors and college athletes' intrinsic motivation: A test of self-determination theory. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 17, 20-36. 

Holt, N. L., and Dunn, J. G. H. (2004). Grounded theory of the psychological competencies and environmental conditions associated with soccer success. Journal of Applies Sport Psychology, 16. 199-219.

Kilpatrick, M., Hebert, E., and Bartholomew, J. (2005). College students' motivation for physical activity: differentiating men's and women's motives for sport participation and exercise. Journal of American College Health, 54, 87-94.

Kingston, K., Horrocks, C., and Hanton, S. (2006). Do multidimensional intrinsic and extrinsic motivation profiles discriminate between athlete scholarship status and gender? European Journal of Sport Science, 6, 53-63(11).

Kolt, G.S., Kirby, R. J., and Linder, H. (1995). Coping processes in competitive gymnasts: Gender differences. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 81, 1139-1145.

Launder, A. G. (2001). Play Practice The Games Approach to Teaching and Coaching Sports. Illinois: Human Kinetics.
Lawrence, D. (2002). Exercise is really good for you. The Lancet, 360, 1482.

Lazarus, R. S. (2000). How emotions influence performance in competitive sports. The Sport Psychologist, 14, 229-252.

Losier, G. F., Bourque, P. E., and Vallerand, R. J. (1993). A motivational model of leisure motivation in the elderly. Journal of Psychology, 127, 153-170.

McLeod, J. 2001: Qualitative research in counselling and psychotherapy. Sage. (As mentioned in Braun, V., and Clark, V. 2006).

Mendolia, M. (2002). An index of self-regulation of emotion and the study of repression in social contexts that threaten or do not threaten self-concept. Emotion, 2, 215-232.

Mullen, E. and Markland, D. (1997). Variations in self-determination across the stages of change for exercise in adults. Motivation and Emotion, 21, 349-362.

Muscat, A. C., and Long, B. C. (2008). Critical comments about body shape and weight: disordered eating of female athletes and sport participants. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20, 1-24. 
Mundy, J., and Odum, L. (1979). Leisure education: Theory and practice. John Wiley, New York. 

Nicholls, A. R., and Polman, C. J. (2007). Stressors, coping, and coping effectiveness among players from the England Under-18 Rugby Union team. Journal of Sport Behaviour, 30, 199-218.

Osman, M. (2010). Controlling uncertainty: A review of human behaviour in complex dynamic environments. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 65-86.

Pelletier, L. G., Tuson, K.M., Fortier, M. F., Vallerand, R. J., Briere, N. M., and Blais, M. R., (1995) Developpement et validation d’une mesure de motivation intrinseque, extrinseque et d’amotivation en contexte sportif : l’Echelle de motivation dans les sports (ÉMS). International Journal of Sport Psychology, 26, 465-489. 

Pickett, T. C., Lewis, R. J., and Cash, T. F. (2004). Men, muscles, and body image: comparisons of competitive bodybuilders, weight trainers, and athletically active controls. British Journal of Sport Medicine, 39, 217-222.

Reed, C. E., and Cox, R. H. (2007). Motives and regulatory style underlying senior athletes' participation in sport. Journal of Sport Behaviour, 30, 307-329.

Rosen, S., and Sanderson, A. (2002). Labour markets in professional sports. The Economic Journal, 111, 47-68.
  
Ryan, R. M., and Connell, J. P. (1989). Perceived locus of causality and internalization: Examining reasons for acting in two domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 749-761.

Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being. American Psychologist,. 55, No. 1, 68-78.

Ryan, R.M., and Grolnick, W.S. (1986). Origins and pawns in the classroom: Self-report and projective assessments of individual differences in children’s perceptions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 550-558.

Scanlan, T. K., and Lewthwaite, R. (1984). Social psychological aspects of competition for male youth sport participants: Predictors of competitive stress. Journal of Sport Psychology, 6, 208-226.

Short, S. E., and Short, M. W. (2005). Essay: Role of the coach in the coach-athlete relationship. The Lancet, 366, 29-30.

Smith, R. E., Ptacek, J. T., and Smoll, F. L. (1992). Sensation seeking, stress, and adolescent injuries: A test of stress-buffering, risk-taking, and coping skills hypotheses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 1016-1024.

Sonstroem, R. J. (1984). Exercise and self-esteem. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 12, 123-156.

Stajkovic, A. D., and Luthans, F. (1998). Social cognitive theory and self-efficacy: Going beyond traditional motivational and behavioural approaches. Organizational Dynamics, 26, 62-74.
Strelan, P., and Hargreaves, D. (2005). Reasons for exercise and body esteem: Men’s responses to self-objectification. Sex Roles, 53, 495-503.

Taylor, J., and Wilson, G. S. (2005). Applying sport psychology: Four perspectives. Human Kinetics, U.S.A. p., 18.

Vallerand, R. J., and Losier, G. F. (1999). An integrative analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in sport. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 11, 51-64.

Van Yperen, N. W. (2009). Why some make it and others do not: Identifying psychological factors that predict career success in profession adult soccer. The Sport Psychologist, 23, 317-319.

Walkerdine, V., Henriques, J., Hollway, W., Urwin, C., and Venn, C. (1998). Changing the subject: Psychology, social regulation and subjectivity. Routledge; New edition edition.

West, J.A., Miller, N.H., Parker, K.M., Senneca, D., Ghandour, G., Clark, M., Greenwald, G., Heller, R., Fowler, M., and DeBusk, R. (1997). A comprehensive management system for heart failure improves clinical outcomes and reduces medical resource utilization. American Journal of Cardiology, 79, 58–63.

Appendix

Interview Questions

1.	Hi, my name is Sam Booth and I am conducting this interview as part of my qualitative research into the motivational differences between professional athletes and non professional athletes. Can you confirm for me that you have signed the ethics form confirming permission to use your data as part of this research?
2.	Could you tell me of your sporting achievements so far?
3.	If you were beginning a training program how would you view it?
4.	If were told to keep an exercise diary how would you view keeping one?
5.	If you were participating in a new routine, how would you know, if you’re doing well? 
6.	If you were performing badly and started to miss a couple of training sessions and started to lose motivation what would you do to re-motivate yourself?
7.	How would you go about improving, would you goal set?
8.	If a health councillor came to you and gave you a load of options over fitness. What would your approach be to it?
9.	What would motivate you to work harder at it?
10.	Why do you exercise?
11.	Why else might you exercise, like exercise outside of rugby if you didn’t play rugby?
12.	Has sport and exercise been a large influence in your life?
13.	Why do you practice your rugby? 
14.	Are you interested in learning more about the rugby?
15.	Have you ever had any doubts about playing rugby?
16.	Do you think you can succeed further?
17.	Did your opinion change?
18.	Is your sport a social influence for you?
19.	Would you say it has helped, develop you, as a person?
20.	Have you ever felt pressured into playing rugby?
21.	What would make you consider staying at a professional/ non-professional level?

Transcripts 

Interview – non-professional 1
I: Hi my name is Sam Booth, and we are here to conduct an interview as part of my dissertation on motivational differences between professional and non professional rugby players. Can you just confirm you have signed all your ethics form for me please?
P: Yes, signed done, done. (Laughs)
I: lovely, could you please tell me of your sporting achievements so far?
P: achievements… err. One of my earliest achievements was U19 south east colleges, I was put through to the trails to represent south east colleges, and then erm I got sought west trials but basically I was quite fortunate, because some of the guys were bigger stronger and better than me on the day, but one of the players got injured so I got to go to Wolverhampton, and trial out for England colleges. And managed to score a try , and played well over the two days, but I think because of my size I didn’t get into the England colleges team which was a bit gutting, but that was one of my achievements. Erm I also rate quite highly of playing for the Uni rugby team, I really enjoy it it’s a good standard. I get a lot of the ball which you don’t really see a lot of in club rugby as a winger, so yeah they two of my biggest achievements.
I: cool, nice, going into a training program like erm if you were beginning one how would you view beginning it
P: erm, what in terms of my motivation towards a training program?
I: erm yeah, like how would you view it and what would your take be, on it?
P: right erm… if I was starting a new one, just like the gym, if I am on my own accord I’m like right where will this take me how will it affect my future because I know from experiences and other peoples experiences erm getting involved in a new training program is hard because you don’t see much change very quickly, and after a few weeks I lose all motivation and stop. (Laughs) so you know that’s one of those things I need to get on, like maybe get a training partner.
I: would you consider getting an exercise/ training diary?
P: erm... if I were to play at a higher level say maybe national division I think I would as I would be ridiculously motivated to be the best, striving to keep my position, so I definitely would keep a day to day diary of what I eat and how much I train.
I: during a new routine how do you know if you’re doing well? 
P: well I definitely get support from my parents, they would tell me if I’m doing well, encourage me and motivate me to do a lot, encourage me with lifts and stuff, my own personal feelings about it I would be very intrinsically motivated to talk to myself and use that as a guide to how I’m doing.
I: say you play rugby, and in training and games you begin to perform badly, so you start to miss training sessions, how would you re-motivate yourself?
P: I think I would take apart my performance and see what I did well and what I did badly and focus on the negative areas and work on them like maybe go to the gym, I wouldn’t want to let my team mates down or my family so that would motivate me as well make sure I get in the gym training field and work on the mistakes, but if the mistakes didn’t go away and I wasn’t improving then I think I would definitely become de-motivated and stop playing.
I: right. Ok. You mention if you didn’t improve; how would you go about trying to improve.
P: as I said before you know, going to the gym, getting stronger and faster, training harder, basically some goal setting here and there in terms of setting myself standards for games, and making sure I complete so many tackles in a game, just ways to improve my performance other than that I’m not really sure.
I: right, no other techniques?
P: erm… no not really.
I: cool fair enough. Erm… say if a health councillor came to you to give you loads of different options towards fitness, how would you take on an approach to that?
P: I would be very welcoming with it, because I’m not great at all that just because I know that I’m not all there in terms of my health and it would be awesome to have some kind of health intervention, to improve my daily intake of foods and stuff like that and that might in turn improve my performance as my body would be of optimum condition.
I: would you say then that’s all down to you being a non-professional?
P: definitely, at professional you have guidelines on what to eat when to train. Everywhere and I would definitely stick to one if someone gave me one, but I’m not that much into the sport as I could be its hard to stick to a routine and daily diet, so yeah I would welcome it.
I: great what would motivate you to work harder? Especially in a competitive environment.
P: definitely a one to one meeting where someone would sit down with me telling me what I can achieve, where I could play and how well I’m doing or where I need to improve, I would feel as though there is a goal to strive for and hopefully achieve more.
I:  we are going into some really simple questions now but please give as much detail as possible. Why do you exercise?
P: a number of reasons really. A, to feel good about myself, B to not in a pompous way – to look good, looking good is part of feeling good and self confident, C, for my sport obviously. But like when I come out of the gym on a big session I feel really good.
I: so you exercise to be a better player?
P: yeah definitely, it enables me to make bigger hits and hit bigger players you know, being my size I don’t hit as hard as I could.
I: what about outside of sport, say if you got injured and couldn’t compete in sport again?
P: I definitely would exercise for the feel good factor and to look good; if I couldn’t compete it would be a big blow to me.
I: right ok, so has sport and exercise been a large influence in your life? Go from when you were young and explain.
P: yeah definitely it started off when I was young and playing lots of sports it’s just so much fun, even more so socially. You know you meet all these new people, well players and they become your friends and you meet them all the time, and as you get older it really becomes a large part of your life, you know like the whole team would go out, not always getting on it, but like team bonding, and some people can be lifelong friends. It has also made me so confident about myself, I feel I can be myself in social situations and I think if I didn’t have sport I wouldn’t be able to do that.
I: so why do you practice your sport? Pleasure or because you have to?
P:  it used to be all for pleasure, from like just before college, all I did it for was for the fun, banter and have a great laugh, but at college it got more serious and performance analysis comes into play and now I really have to practice my skills, and at university I have to get a lot bigger so train more, so it went from playing for fun with friends to being serious and it meant I concentrated more on my performance, practicing kicking and stuff. Now I have to strive for more.
I: just generally when you’re a professional it’s in your contract to perform well as you’re not earning what motivates you to perform well?
P: a bit of both in a sense that sometimes there is a lot of pressure to perform but I don’t really know that, I just know that when I perform I feel great about myself and it makes me want to move on and improve. It’s all internal I am just happy to play well, and it’s nice to get told you do well.
I:  are you interested in learning more about the sport
P: yeah in terms of my rugby brain, to be more aware of the game and situations, and execute the right skills, so I could possible achieve a state of flow, to reduce my mistakes.
I: have you ever had any doubts about playing rugby?
P: yeah definitely, especially when I was 15-16 I found everyone was growing and I was too small to play rugby so I decided to take up tennis, and give my body a chance to grow, so yeah I doubted it because of that, I also thought about it through injuries, should I carry on playing it is it worth it?
I: great, so do you reckon you could achieve more in rugby?
P: yeah I think I got in the gym more and put on some more weight, trained harder but that’s a commitment I can’t really give because of other things I want to achieve.
I: do you ever feel before you wanted to do other things?
P: yeah I did, when I was younger though everyone wants to play for country, but I never really concentrated on rugby that much because of the way I was brought up, and focusing on academics more so than sport. But maybe I could see myself in a couple of years when I have more free time to train, playing for a team I never thought I would.
I: cool, I wanted to say a really rubbish rugby team but went brain dead (laugh). So how is your sport for your social influence, I know you mentioned it earlier, just say a bit more.
P: it’s just so fantastic meeting so many people especially rugby, I don’t really know about other sports like tennis is very much an individual sport and didn’t meet that many people.
I: and it has helped you to become who you are?
P: yeah it really has it gives me the self confidence to be who I want to be and that’s all I want to do.
I: have you ever felt pressured into participating into sport?
P: not really although my day did pressure me to play tennis, but he never pushed me to do it he just says like I wish you carried on your tennis, but both my brothers played rugby I didn’t want to break the rugby trend.
I: ok so like would you just be happy to stay at an academic question or pursue rugby
P: that’s a hard question, obviously I finish Uni soon and I would have to go out of my way to join a rugby team and high level rugby teams are quite away from my home, so it’s a question of if I want to do that.
I: do you want to do that?
P: that’s the thing I’m still young I want to go travelling somewhere do things with my life, find myself a little bit, it just depends on where my heads at, I’m 22 now and running out of time to go into it I think, so I would be happy to settle playing for a local team for social needs.
I: what’s your opinion of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of people and amotivation, do you know amotivation?
P: nope!
I: right well you have intrinsic motivation which is for yourself, internal guidance, then extrinsic motivation which are rewards externally, and amotivation which is a state where you lose motivation as you don’t improve and believe what your doing has no outcome. Erm what are your opinions of those in sport from a non-professional and your view in professional.
P: well that’s hard for rugby, because the players I play with it’s a motivation in yourself and perform for the team, there is no real grasp for rewards, whereas professional you have some players who just want money for example Olli Barkly who goes from club to club, to get the most money possible and the players going to France, they must do it for the money and reward which is a bit gutting for those who want to play for the love of the sport, but I bet there are so many opinions about it.
I: yeah like in professional you are constantly in a competitive environment, most professional athletes are externally motivated in a sense that there is always competition to achieve, if achieving doesn’t happen then you would get dropped, do you think age is an issue here?
P: yeah definitely you can see in the new young rugby players are who really perform well to get into the team showing burst and passion for the country, whereas the older players have become complacent within their roles, it’s the same in non-professional where some of the older players just play for money and don’t give it their all thinking their too good for the club. But then again everyone must have that inner desire to participate in sport otherwise they wouldn’t do it.
I: all done, cheers bud, thanks for taking part
P: it’s alright.

Interview – non-professional, B.
I: ok hi, my name is Sam Booth and we are about to conduct and interview for my dissertation on the motivational differences between professional and non-professional athletes. Can I just ask you to confirm that you have signed the ethics form?
P: yeah… done it.
I: cool let’s start, could you tell me your sporting achievements so far?
P: yeah sure, is that just in rugby or other sports? 
I: everything really, but focus on your rugby, the more information the better. (Laughs)
P: right… well for rugby I play canter for my local club, I have also represented my county, and north midlands u20. In regards to other sports I have played, County, for badminton and football.
I: that’s good.
P: yeah.
I: so if you were to begin a training program what would your thoughts be of it?
P: well it depends on the program, in the sense of it being in training I would be enthusiastic to get stuck into it, especially to please the coaches as I want to keep my place in the 1st team line up. But if it was a program that affected me outside of rugby, I don’t know like if it took too much time then I wouldn’t be able to focus on my academics, and I probably wouldn’t participate in it.
I: right so if you were to keep an exercise diary how would you view that?
P: well… I think it would be a way of monitoring myself, it would be interesting to see if it shows me I improve, I don’t really know as I have never kept one for rugby. I have one at the gym I go to and I am guided by a trainer all the time and in that sense its really good because I get a lot of encouragement when I do well and when I keep going, and if I stop going for a bit then he rings to see why (laughs), it is a good way to keep on track I’m sure that it would do the same in a rugby sense.
I: ok so you kind of mentioned this a little just, but how would you know if you were doing well in a new routine or training program?
P: what do you mean, like trainer and coach wise?
I: well generally how do you know if you’re doing well do people tell you or do you feel it?
P: ahhh… ok. Well as I said my trainer at the gym helps a lot with encouragement and when I do well he praises me, but then again that is his job, but also my coaches and manager are really good at the club, they are constantly talking to all the players which is really good for us. They tell us if we’re doing good, and what we can improve on,, not just individually but as a team, so in that sense they help a lot, in letting me know how I’m getting on.
I: ok, so now the opposite, if you were performing badly and started to lose the motivation to train how would you go about trying to reverse that and become more motivated?
P: hmmm. I suppose if that was the case I wouldn’t have my 1st team place and would be benched, so that would re-motivate me to get out there. I don’t like the training part that much but I love games, so I think if that happened I don’t know what I would do, because I don’t like the full on physical contact in training and that sounds quite bad from a rugby guys perspective but, I don’t want to get injured for no reason, at least in a game there is a need to win. So I would try and train harder but I’m sure my coaches would take me to one side and ask me loads of questions like what’s up? And is everything alright outside of rugby, they would try and help me get back no matter what the problem would be.
I: ok then so in more detail how would you go about improving?
P: well, of course I would talk to the coaches and they know I don’t like the physical contact in training so much, but they would want me to get stuck in more, and depending on what they want I would have to do to get my shirt back. As for myself I’m sure I would train extra hard in fitness terms, get a little stronger, a little faster and try to improve on what I’m good at to get myself going again and once I have done that then I could focus on the harder tasks, but of course I would need the help of others like my team mates and coaches.
I: nice, so let’s say a health councillor came along and introduced a load of new fitness options what would your take on that be?
P: erm… would it affect me outside of rugby?
I: well yeah for example a new diet that you would have to stick by which would help improve your overall fitness and stamina.
P: ah ok, well it would depend again on if it was something the coaches set up or I would have to do myself. I am generally a healthy person I don’t like to get fat but I do like a lot of junk food, and if I was told to do it individually I don’t think I would, but if it was part of a team thing then maybe I would, but I don’t know if I could stick with it because rugby isn’t everything to me. I enjoy playing it and it helps to keep fit, but I think a health councillor would be a little too far.
I: what would motivate you to work harder at it?
P: probably, erm… id say if it was for a serious occasion, like if I received a trial for the England squad (laughs) or my team wanted to really go for promotion and become a well recognised national team, then maybe I would do it because it would have an outcome, there would be something that we are all striving for, and want to achieve. It would also make me look and feel a lot better, so there would be some good benefits from it, but as I said it would take a lot to get me motivated to change my personal life.
I: ok so now some simple questions, but please give as much information as possible.
P: cool
I: why do you exercise?
P: well it is a simple question that will get a big answer. I guess I generally exercise because I enjoy it, I enjoy the benefits from it, like if I want to I can get big and strong, I can also lose weight and tone so I look good. There is so much to do with exercise that I just enjoy knowing how it can affect me, like now I don’t want all the muscle so I exercise a lot more to lose size and slim down. A lot of it is to do with appearance I have to look good to feel good, when I look good I feel confident in myself. I also think it’s good for my health, I don’t smoke and don’t drink much and when I drink I feel as though I’m cheating on my exercise do you get me?
I: yeah.
P: well, I enjoy being able to run for miles, it gets me away from a lot of things, it’s the same in rugby, I build up a lot of aggression outside of rugby, and when it comes to a game I can release it all in tackles and everything, it allows me to run faster and stronger and in that sense it is also makes me feel great on a rugby field as that’s when you get a lot of praise from others.
I: interesting, so has sport and exercise always been a large part of your life?
P: definitely, sport has always been my biggest love, I’m not that great academically but that’s an area I need to work on to get a job and money. But I always loved playing sport, any type, I would play from a young age all sports at private school as it was part of our daily activities, and the older I got the better I got, I found myself to excel in a lot of sports and it was really a choice of what to pursue, I was offered great places for athletics, football, badminton and rugby, but at about 13 I chose football, I played really well, I was approached by a professional team but then I broke my ankles at 15/16 when the contracts were offered, and they took them away. 
I: ouch that’s bad.
P: yeah it affected me a lot because I thought I would become a professional footballer and never have to worry about my education so I didn’t focus too much on it, but through the injury I stopped playing sport until I was 17/18 and I didn’t want to play football anymore and went into rugby, it was here where I really enjoyed the lifestyle, the social side, the people are a lot nicer and kinder to you, and my club is great and I have played ever since. It is because of my injuries that I don’t like full on contact in training, as I know at anytime I could do some real damage and because of that I won’t take it further. 
I: that’s a shame. So why do you practice your rugby?
P: I enjoy it, I enjoy the feeling of hitting someone hard in a game, I enjoy that feeling when you get a try, I just feel so great inside that nothing can bring me down, it’s a feeling I only get in sport and I get it a lot in rugby. But that is different in training ha-ha, as I don’t want to hit my own team mates as hard as I hit others. You see I am renowned for my big hits, I think because I’m so scared that if I go in half at it I would get injured so I go into every tackle with everything I have. I have knocked 3 people out so far in 4 years, only in games of course, I don’t want to do that in training. But when you get a hit like that it feels good.
I: are you interested in learning more about the sport?
P: erm… well it’s hard to say as I would love to take it on further and become a professional but I have it in my head that it’s not stable, especially because of the injury, and through this I want to learn more academically. However it does help in training and it is nice to hear the points and tips of the coaches, to improve our skills and the execution of them. But we mostly do fitness (laughs)
I: (laughs) so this question may sound silly now, but have you ever had doubts to play sport?
P: yeah, ha-ha. I really considered not participating in any sport after my injury, when I broke my ankles, I did it one after the other, so I broke my left one, and in my first week back in training I broke my other ankle and I was thinking why me, perhaps this is a sign to stop playing sport and concentrate on other things like academics, but through my time out of sport and rehabilitation I missed it, I missed being fit and healthy and confident in myself and my abilities, and realised that sport gives me all those. So I went into rugby thinking at least there isn’t much chance of my ankles breaking here (laughs)
I: (laughs back). So when did you change your mind? And do you think you could achieve more?
P: well, easy really I was so bored from being out of sport through my injuries that I wanted to start again. It just feels right to play sport and when I do I’m always happier more so when I play rugby because it’s just so much fun. And yeah I reckon I could do more in rugby, I have been told by my coaches that I have the potential if I put the timing in. The problem is, is that I want to study and start a career, in a stable job so there are the 2 reasons I won’t.
I: has your sport been a significant part of your social life?
P: definitely yes. Especially in rugby more goes on off the field than on it, and it’s just great to have that fun with others. Me and my team mates always go out together, we train together and some of us study together, so through rugby I have made some great friends. I think it would be fair to say it has given the opportunity to meet new people and do lots more things. But I do have friends outside of rugby.
I: nice, and do you think it has helped you develop as a person?
P: well yeah I think I have a weird situation where my problems changed my path, and through my problems I am who I am now, and I wouldn’t be playing rugby, I wouldn’t be studying so it’s definitely helped me in that sense. I also think that rugby is a sport that allows you to build respect, and honour. So there are skills that can be transferable, definitely sport in general and rugby for me.
I: cool, so have you ever felt or been pressured into doing sport, or rugby?
P: as in my pressure or by other people?
I: both really.
P: ok… erm… I have no pressure by my parents, for them I do as I wish, they don’t really play a part in the sport side of me as they are both academics and don’t see it as worthwhile, so from them it’s always been the other way round (ha-ha). I think that’s partially why I’m doing academics too. For myself I do apply a bit of pressure, I like playing rugby as it allows me to blow off steam, if I have a bad week then come Sunday I will feel a lot better, so I pressure myself to make the team to keep this up.
I: ok then, generally though I have been asking a question out of curiosity, what is your opinion on the motivational differences between professional and non professional rugby players?
P: that’s hard to say really as I don’t know from a professional prospective, I can imagine that being paid to play rugby would be like an extra bonus for doing what you love, but I can also see it as a career choice and the only way of an income due to the time it takes up. It is also very risky as professionals could take a big blow and be forced to quit so I really don’t know what to say I think professionals would have a lot more to lose if they started to do badly, which would increase the amount of pressure on them. As for non-professionals I know that to some of the players, they do it for fun and some just do it because they don’t know any different. Rugby was their life, like a player on our team he was a professional and got injured and doesn’t know anything else so now he plays here to try and keep it up, but he always says he wished he had a backup plan.
I: wise words I think, well thank you for taking part.
P: no problem, anytime.

Interview – Professional, A. 
I: ok were recording. Hi, my name is Sam Booth and we are conducting this interview as part of my qualitative research into the motivational differences between professional athletes and non professional athletes, can you confirm for me that you have signed the ethics form confirming permission to use your data as part of this research?
P: err... yeah I signed it, it’s cool to use it.
I: could you please tell me of your sporting achievements so far?
P:er… playing rugby, in terms of who I play for and who I play, I would say my best representations would be England u18, south west u18, Colstons 1st for 2 years with my scholarship, playing at Twickenham, currently playing with Leicester, part time during Uni, training 3 times a week and a game.
I: so... if you were beginning a training program how would you view it?
P: I think it would depend on what type of training program I was doing say if I was doing a gym program where I was trying to improve my strength and power I have been doing it for quite some time so I would be confident to set up my own program. Erm if it was something slightly more technical in terms of speed work, maybe my flexibility or recovery from injury then I would seek professional advice, for example: err I pulled my hamstrings a couple of years ago, erm that’s something I haven’t any expertise in, and in terms of setting up a program in rehab that is somewhere where I went to an expert to sort an exercise program out. I am confident really in setting up my own sort of programs.
I: good, good, if were told to keep an exercise diary how would you view keeping one?
P: I think my perspective of exercise diaries I think they can be used well, for example when in a gym it helps to show improvement over time, however in other things rugby training is a lot more generic and harder to measure and don’t really have a plan, if you have made improvement you document what you do and its very subjective, I think my opinion overall is very mixed, depending on activity.
I: if you were doing a new routine how do you know if you’re doing well, do you have support from your family or others or do you take your own personal accounts.
P: I think I will use another example in rugby my family are there for every game and I listen to my dad if he says I played well I will feel that I have had a good game, I also have my own kinaesthetic feedback telling me if I had a good game or not, in terms of coaches their opinions are very important as their the guys that pick the team, and team mates as well in that environment, it’s kind of balanced, my parents have always come to watch and support me, and when there not there I find it odd. Using a different example when I’m in the gym I like having someone with me analysing my technique professionals, brother and of course myself opinion.
I: if you were performing badly and started to miss a couple of training sessions and started to lose motivation what would you do to re-motivate yourself,
P: ok, I would always say I have always been motivated, unless it’s a good reason I don’t miss training, I don’t usually miss them if I do feel  I am performing badly if I had a bad game, unfit, coming back from injury I will work harder to get back to where I should be playing. If there is feedback from players and coaches to see what I have been doing well and not so well otherwise you don’t know where to improve as a player.
I: how would you go about improving, would you goal set?
P: I don’t  think , I think this it is something I need  to look at, rugby wise I have never done goal setting, in terms of what I wanted to achieve very generic goals, when I was a school boy I wanted to get capped by England, which I did, before that I wanted to get a scholarship to Colstons I did that, there are other things I wanted to do, I wanted to play professionally, but my outlook on that has changed a bit I am a bit happy to be playing how I am now, erm… but I think I do need to goal set more I have targets of where I want to play, where I want us to be in the league, how many times I’m starting, how fit I am, how many reps I do in a gym, but I think in actual specific terms making them more measurable realistic and specific time scales that is something I need to look at and introduce more goal setting myself.
I: that’s good, erm. If a health counsellor came to you and gave you a load of options over fitness.
P: that very much depends in what field their from?
I: erm... let’s say health psychology. And your club has hired them to come in and discuss with the players their health outside of the club and the benefits it would have on them if they were to change their routines, how would that affect you and what would your initial thoughts be?
P:  erm... I think I would definitely be interested in what they would have to say, on a personal scale I think I am pretty healthy I eat well I don’t go out drinking that much I train cardio and weights for an overall benefit. Err...If someone came to me offering advice personally, I think an important thing is they have to kind of gain your trust. First of this is the same if someone is a physio or weight trainer, or a health adviser, using a physio as an example, I think players from my experiences, always lean towards people they have used before because they trust them and the same goes with a health advisor you want to see someone who has benefitted from them before, you want to see some benefits and see how they will help you improve, and if you improve then they have your trust and what they say will be more valid.
I: erm, what would motivate you to work harder at it?
P:  properly if I was going on holiday in the summer (laughs), in terms of sport if I have a big game coming up; I am from Loughborough University, in the events leading to that I trained hard to be in the best condition I could be. Erm... in the slightly longer term that is something I need to work on and maybe look at how I can prepare myself to those sorts of events.
I: moving to some more simple questions, why do you exercise?
P: I exercise, to keep fit, good muscle tone and to keep fit, and I guess also rugby is a very social event so you do make good friends with a good atmosphere in the changing rooms there is good banter, you know it’s a big thing you are playing somewhere you enjoy against somewhere you don’t enjoy so much.
I: err. Ok. Why else might you exercise, like exercise outside of sports if you didn’t play rugby?
P: yeah I definitely would, like to keep in shape and look good, secondly if I didn’t do it I would feel bad, about not doing it, and thirdly I think I would get bored, I think I would hate to be sitting in the house and as I say it’s good social whether it’s at the gym swimming or wherever its good socially for you and I would definitely be bored without it. 
I: has sport and exercise been a large influence in your life?
P: I have been lucky I have been paid (professional) since I was 17, erm. As I said before I played for England that meant travelling abroad playing Italy and France, I was capped, and I think this has definitely influenced me and the biggest thing for me was getting a scholarship to a school where I could never really afford and it was good for my rugby and academic development. The results I got there I could never have got anywhere else, the results got me into University where I am doing very well. Some of the skills you bring from the pitch can be transferred to a working environment like leadership motivation skill communication how well you work in a team self drive how mentally tough you are, I think these are all skills you can adapt in to any environment. Are we about half way through?
I: uh huh. Right then, ok so why do you practice your sport? Would it be for pleasure?
P: yeah I play for fun, to keep fit, I also get paid well, and it gives me something to do?
I: are you interested in learning anything more about the sport?
P: I think to get better at any sport you have to learn more by listening to people who know more and yeah I’m interested in that.
I: have you ever had any doubts about playing sport?
P: yeah I did I was doing a lot of travelling over the country and not enjoying my time in the team, I was working at Uni and I wasn’t sure I had time to do it but now I play for a team closer to Uni I’m happier there, and I think if I had left the sport I would miss it and come back to it later.
I: that’s how I feel, do you think you can erm succeed further
P: erm... that’s a hard question for me to say, the best way to look at it people I know who I have played with from my year alone are full time from Colstons and England team there are properly only 6 or 8 playing full time in the premiership and 90% are playing 1st team basis, a lot of my friends put all their will into rugby, so if it was something that came up again I’m not sure if I would,
I: when did your opinion change?
P: (laughs) good question, I thought you might say that. Erm… when I went away with England I was frustrated I couldn’t do anything during the day if we had a game on a Thursday or Friday we couldn’t do anything, I wasn’t sure that was what rugby was going to be like full time, I guess you could compare it to an office job and the hours and life style is better but It wasn’t for me, also when I was offered my first full time contract the money wasn’t as good as I thought it would be when you get offered full time. The money wasn’t really there so I thought University was the best option and playing part time is best for me now allowing me to go back into it if I want knowing I have a back up.
I: very wise man, how about your sport do you think of it as a social influence, say for example, meeting new people, going out?
P: I think rugby is the best example for social atmosphere, I think people who support rugby are different too like there all different to football, we have nights out together, sometimes fancy dress, we always go for food together outside of training on the Thursday, and it gives you more options allowing you to meet new people.
I: would you say it’s helped you develop as a person?
P: I have always been quite confident, but when I got offered my scholarship to Bristol it changed me u had to go move out of home at 15, so you have to grow up pretty quick, I think some of the things I learnt there changed me, living with the rugby boys you have to build good relationships which is good for later in life, team work, getting on and sticking to strategies, and work round things.
I: have you ever felt pressured into doing your sport?
P: not really no, I think if I didn’t play my parents would miss watching me, but never pressured, I mean once I went to school and I got my scholarship, if I didn’t play it would have been taken away, the coaches did pressure me into playing when I had an England trial on a Sunday, they made me play on the Saturday and I wasn’t fit for the trial although I was lucky enough to have been put through. I don’t think it is anything I would have done differently as I wanted to play too.
I: when you were at school, what were your motives for playing rugby?
P: high school or college?
I: start young.
P: I was actually a swimmer, I played all sports and tried things I enjoyed the most and played what I was best at, as I grew up I chose rugby as I felt comfortable playing it and had talent for it, when I was 16 – 17 I thought I was good enough to make it, I thought it would be a good earner too, for longer and more intensity, also to keep fit.
I: what would make you consider staying at a professional level?
P: I think it is what other people think of you, and how you play, juniors play every year and maybe 1 from each age group will make it, it is very difficult, you have to be massively motivated and put everything second, in the short term it may not make much money, but people have had lucky breaks through persistence, but it’s down to other people.
I: I think we’ve covered everything now, thank you.
P: that’s alright did you get everything you needed?
I: yep were good thanks for taking part.
P: anytime. 

Figure 2: Professional analysis.
Super-ordinate theme	Sub-ordinate them	
Confidence	Conflict, Performance and Appearance	
Selection	Communication and Performance	
Commitment	Income and Scholarship	

Figure 3: Non-Professional analysis
.
Super-ordinate theme	Sub-ordinate them	
Confidence	Appearance and Social Life	
Enjoyment	Friendship and Communication	
Commitment	Time and Age	

				University of Glamorgan
Observer: Ross Hall/ Peter Mayer

Subject: Undergraduate Dissertation

Study title: The motivational differences between professional and non-professional rugby players.

Background Literature: 

Many athletes experience physical and psychological pressures during the course of a season, as a result of; training, rehabilitation, injuries, possible defeat (Gould 1982), and competitive stress and anxiety (Nicholls and Polman, 2007). These, external pressures require great endurance from the athletes, both; physically and mentally, season after season. Constant pressures, which fall upon athletes, may affect their motivation towards their sport. From this, both, coaches and athletes underestimate the importance of motivation within their sport (Gould, 1982). Through research in professional practice, it is plausible to assume that professional athletes face stressors more often than non-professionals (Taylor and Wilson, 2005).

Purpose of Participation:

	You give consent that information provided by yourself is accurate and correct. You also acknowledge the information provided is to the best of your knowledge, and the data is allowed to be presented within the paper. Your identity will remain anonymous, but your profession level will be discussed.

Researcher Signature:	................................

Participant Signature:	................................