Perceived Motivational Climate's Influence on Goal Orientations, Perceived Competence, and Practice Strategies across the Athletic Season

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of middle school student-athletes’ goal orientations, practice strategies, and perceived competence over time as a function of their perceptions of the motivational climate. One hundred twenty-four student-athletes completed a series of surveys three times over the course of their athletic seasons related to goal orientations, practice strategies, perceived athletic competence, and perceived motivational climate. Results indicated that when the perceived motivational climate was incompatible with their goal orientation, there was a significant shift in student-athletes’ goal orientation over time. Findings also indicated that perceptions of a task-involving climate positively predicted perceived competence and practice strategies at the end of the season after controlling for preseason values. These findings provide further evidence for the importance of developing a task-involving climate in the sport setting.