It is relatively undisputed that college students often suffer from what one might call "acute amotivational syndrome." We don't feel like doing homework, we don't feel like going to the gym, we don't feel like doing the variety of other activities to which we have pledged our time.
But if you are a division one athlete, a lack of motivation, however understandable, is just not acceptable.
For the Virginia men's soccer team, motivation seems to be turned on and off with a switch, or rather a number of switches.
In the first half of last night's game, the Cavaliers came out looking sluggish, discombobulated and completely unmotivated. The first real signs of life from the Virginia squad came about 20 minutes into the game, when the Cavaliers finally started putting a little pressure on the Manhattan Jaspers. While Virginia no doubt expected to win the game fairly easily, the starters came out looking like they expected to crawl their way to victory
Throughout the first half, little spurts of enthusiasm cropped up among the lackadaisical group, usually triggered by one of the following: close shots on goal (ours or theirs), blatant fouls that the referee just happened to "miss," personal frustration or outbursts from the crowd.
Of course there are exceptions to this endemic amotivational syndrome. Several players manage to escape its Tuesday night grasp, notably, the freshmen. Maybe it's just the thrill of playing college soccer or the fear of being ripped out of the lineup -- which happens easily and often on a team as deep as this year's Cavaliers -- but for some reason this youngsters just don't seem to slow down. Freshmen midfielders Nico Colaluca, Chris Tierney and Jeremy Barlow outworked their older teammates by far in the first half.
More important than all the little switches that temporarily pump up the team is the man I like to call "The Great Motivator."
Whatever it is that coach George Gelnovatch says to his team at halftime, it just switches on something inside of them. In both of the last two games, the Cavaliers have come roaring out of the break, looking like a completely different team. Against Wake Forest last Friday the Cavaliers went into the half down one but came back and won the game 2-1. Yesterday Virginia was tied at the break but ended up crushing the Jaspers 4-1.
Gelnovatch understands that in certain circumstances, it is just hard for his team to get pumped up for a given game. In the case of last night's match the stage was set for minimal enthusiasm. The team was coming of a huge win on the road against an ACC rival. It was a Tuesday night (not an easy night for anyone to get motivated to do anything). And it was against a less-than-feared opponent. Despite his understanding, the "Great Motivator" knew what to do in this situation -- yell. And it worked.
After the game Gelnovatch acknowledged that as hard as it is, it is crucial for the Cavaliers to get up for every game. In order to be a top team, athletes need to come through with enthusiasm even against less than top tier challengers.
The Virginia football team has learned this and it has paid off so far -- Cavalier fans can only hope that the soccer team will follow suit.
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