Becoming The Best Version Of Myself

Self-determination theory holds that, like physiological needs, all humans innately seek out the satisfaction of their three psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The more that individuals perceive these three psychological needs to be satisfied by important social figures/climates in a specific context, the better their quantity and quality of motivation will be to engage in the specific behavior or activity. In terms of quality of motivation, a mini-theory within self-determination theory called organismic integration theory details how individuals' motivations can range in how intrinsic or extrinsic they are. While intrinsic motivation is conceived as being pure love or inherent value one attributes to a certain behavior/activity, extrinsic motivation can be further broken down into categories based on the extent one's motivation is internalized/externalized. When individuals attribute their motivation to engage in certain activities to external (money, removal of pain) and internal rewards (receiving more attention), they are typically considered to be more extrinsically motivated, and may not experience as strong persistence or positive well-being as individuals who are more intrinsically motivated (internalizing an activity as being important, or part of one's identity). Using a self-determination theory lens to analyze the Ted Lasso series, one can clearly see the influence of psychological needs on Ted's motivation, as well as how Ted's behaviors influence the satisfaction of psychological needs and motivations of his athletes.

Although sport psychology research has incorporated self-determination theory to explore psychological needs and motivation regulation of athletes, recent research has indicated the importance of coaches' perceptions of psychological need satisfaction and motivation. In terms of Ted's motivation for coaching, I would suggest that Ted's is quite intrinsic, or at least identified/integrated. The fact that Ted's ultimate goals have nothing to do with extrinsic rewards, such as fame, money, or winning games, and instead predominantly relate to his strong belief in creating an environment to help him and others reach their potential strongly indicate Ted's motivation is intrinsic. Ted simply values being a coach and has internalized and arguably even transfers his coaching identity to other areas of life. Making sense of Ted's intrinsic motivation by analyzing how he may perceive his needs as satisfied further backs up that Ted would most likely have high quality motivation. Ted's satisfaction of the need for autonomy would presumably be quite high, as he is the head coach and the owner of the team gives him ample opportunity to lead the team the way he sees fit. His competence satisfaction would also presumably be quite high as a coach, as he had just led his previous team in America to a NCAA title, and his detractors in the UK grow quieter throughout the series as the team improves. Last, Ted's need for relatedness also appears to be satisfied through his relationships with Coach Beard, club's personnel, and the his athletes, despite aspects of his personal life most likely contributing to some relatedness frustration. Thus, it is logical to assume that Ted's motivation to coach is mostly intrinsic.

Sport psychology research has also indicated the importance of the climate that coaches create and the behaviors that they display, which can influence their athletes' sense of psychological need satisfaction and, in turn, their motivation. In Ted Lasso, the salience of the coach's motivational climate and behaviors is best exemplified through the change in Jamie Tartt's motivations to play soccer at such a high level. In the beginning of the series, Jamie Tartt is Richmond's lone star athlete, and he certainly plays the part of an egotistical Primadona who only cares about winning, his image, and being recognized for being more talented than his teammates. Ted immediately picks up on and tries to address these cognitions and behaviors. He begins to emphasize teamwork, shared leadership, and teamwide trust in the process rather than reliance on one individual to win. Although it takes Jamie a fairly lengthy period of time and some tough love, he begins to experience autonomy and competence satisfaction through Ted's disregard for winning and emphasis on teamwide improvement. This led to Jamie's enhanced intrinsic enjoyment for participating and feeling less externally controlled by his high performance-oriented expectations (which came from his controlling father). Ted also facilitates a level of teamwide relatedness satisfaction, and forms an especially close, father-like bond with Jamie. The climate created by Ted helps to form bonds between Jamie and his teammates and coaches, resulting in Jamie's clear transition from extrinsic motivation to an identified motivation. Jamie increasingly values the mutual support he gives and receives from his teammates through his participation in soccer, thus enhancing his quality of motivation. His high level of relatedness satisfaction is best exemplified in a turning point in Jamie's behavior: his support and joining of his teammate Sam's protest, which the whole team then follows.