Does criticism motivate or annoy players?

Criticism is the practice of judging the merits and faults of something or someone in a sometimes negative, sometimes intelligible, (or articulate) way.

It (criticism) can be directed toward a player or coach; at a team; at a specific behaviour; personal (delivered directly from one person to another, in a personal capacity), or impersonal (expressing the view of a team and not aimed at anyone personally).

More so, it can be highly specific and detailed, or very abstract and general; verbal (expressed in language) or non-verbal (expressed symbolically, or expressed through an action or a way of behaving).

To criticise does not necessarily imply “to find fault”, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.

Often criticism involves active disagreement, but it may only mean “taking sides”.

It could just be an exploration of the different sides of an issue. Fighting is not necessarily involved.

In an exclusive interview with Andy Mitten of FourFourTwo magazine in 2006, the then Best player in the world, Ronaldinho said: “There is criticism that does not achieve anything and criticism that is useful and can be motivating. You can learn from constructive criticism.”

This quote from Ronaldinho triggers this question, “Does criticism motivate or annoy players?”

According to a psychological research, football supporters are wrong to criticise opposition stars they do not like because it (criticism) really does inspire them to play better.

The study also highlighted, “The chants (criticism) from the crowds spur players to perform better but criticism from teammates can have the opposite effect, sending them in a downward spiral.”

The study results also show that players react badly to criticism within their team.

Criticism from teammates sends individual players in to downward performance spiral and this is not good for the team.

The researchers noted: “The study shows that people can recover from poor performance when rivals comment on their failures.

“While criticism from team members sends individuals in to downward performance spirals, external criticism can be a trigger that boosts performance as people try to prove the outsiders wrong.”

Of encouraging note is the fact that careful management of performance following failure is of key importance in a range of areas such as sport and business.

Unlike general criticism that is negative, a constructive analysis, as the title implies, builds someone up.

It identifies at least one problem and gets a person to think about what caused the issue.

Accordingly, constructive criticism invites sports personalities to find possible solutions to whatever is going wrong.

By promoting problem solving and self-improvement, it advances a person to the next level of behavior or achievement.

More so, constructive criticism teaches players what others see in them and other people make a tremendous difference in players’ lives.

The way critics see players and the way players relate to critics can truly change their destiny.

Therefore, people like sports coaches need to think carefully about the way they deliver performance related feedback.

Furthermore, players, coaches and administrators should not let their foolish pride get in the way of making positive changes.