The Motivational Level of Performance Swimmers and Its Impact on the Risk of Sports Dropout

Motivation is a crucial factor in maintaining athletic performance and preventing dropout among competitive athletes. This process is influenced by both physical and psychosocial factors, which interact and shape decision-making regarding continued participation or withdrawal from sports.

This study examines the motivational level of competitive swimmers in Romania, related to the dropout perspective.

In order to conduct the research, the AMI (Achievement Motivation Inventory)-a validated psychometric tool was used in two distinct phases, conducted six months apart. The study included N = 20 swimmers, finalists and medalists in national swimming competitions. The intervention consisted of motivational coaching, personalized training plans, and the development of mental skills.

The results highlighted significant improvements in dimensions such as success confidence, compensatory effort, and goal-setting, indicating the positive effects of the intervention on athletes' motivation. Inferential analysis using Student t-test confirmed significant differences between the initial and final assessments, for eagerness to learn (p = 0.035), status orientation (p = 0.03) and the Wilcoxon test revealed significant difference for general motivational index (p = 0.020).

The findings underscore the importance of psychological approaches in training high-performance athletes, showing that maintaining motivation and clarifying goals are essential factors in preventing sports dropout. The conclusions of this research can serve as a foundation for developing coaching strategies aimed at supporting continuity in performance swimming and reducing the dropout rate among competitive swimmers. Our findings confirm similar studies emphasizing the role of the training patterns and coach influence not just on the performing athlete, but also on his psychosocial individual development.