Influence of coaches' autonomy support on athletes' motivation and sport performance: A test of the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Objectives: Based on the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation [Vallerand, R. J. (1997). Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 271-360). New York: Academic Press], the purpose of this study was to propose and test a model which posits that coaches' autonomy support facilitates athletes' self-determined motivation toward a sport activity (i.e., judo). Self-determined motivation promotes athletes' situational self-determined motivation before a competition, that in turn, predicts their sport performance. Method: A total of 101 judokas completed questionnaires after the weighting session (i.e., between one and two hours before the beginning of the competitive event). Athletes' objective performance during the competition was obtained via the French judo Federation. Results: Results from structural equation modeling analyses provided support for the hypothesized model. These results are in accordance with self-determination theory and the hierarchical model. Conclusions: By showing that coaches' autonomy support facilitates self-determined motivation and sport performance, the present findings have important implications for a better understanding of the determinants of athletes' performance. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.