Status of the Relationship between Motivation for Activities and Satisfaction Level as Seen from the Implementation of Online Psychological Tests in Sports Teams: A Case Study of Sports Teams Targeting Junior High School Children

The purpose of this study was to conduct an online psychological test for sports teams targeting junior high school children and to clarify the relationship between players' motivation for activities and satisfaction level. An online psychological test was conducted for two sports teams (A, B) in Japan. Team A (n=32, all girls) was a secondary school lacrosse club. Team B (n=46, all boys) was a private junior high school baseball team. The relationship between the players' motivation for activities and their satisfaction with their surrounding relationships and life outside of their activities was analyzed. In addition, we selected players with low motivation and examined the characteristics of their satisfaction level. The results showed that satisfaction with teammates or coaches and a sense of personal growth were clearly related to motivation for activities in both teams. On the other hand, it was observed that satisfaction with home life, school, and one's own time tended to have different degrees of relationship with motivation for activities depending on each team. Satisfaction with home life, school, and one's own time showed a significant relationship with motivation only in Team B. Characteristics of players with low motivation for activities included players with no issues in terms of satisfaction, players with low satisfaction with interpersonal relationships within their team, players with low satisfaction with family and home life, and players who had low satisfaction in all aspects. This suggests that support tailored to the player's psychological state is necessary to increase motivation for activities. In the future, it will be necessary to investigate changes in players' psychological states through regular testing, and to verify the effectiveness of psychological support based on these changes.