Communication, Self-Reflection and Training Context in Competitive Running Environments
Kia ora koutou, Hiro here.
In my previous article, I discussed how discipline can sometimes become harmful in team settings. This highlights a real coaching challenge: the same words can be interpreted differently depending on the athlete and the environment. (If you missed the previous blog article, click here to read.)
That is why both coaches and athletes need to practise self-reflection and stay aware of their training context. In competitive sport, it is common for athletes to complete the same training programme yet experience very different race outcomes. Some athletes perform well, which strengthens their commitment to the coach, the team, and the sport. While others feel disappointed, frustrated, or confused without any expected achievements, despite following the plan just as closely as a team member.
What often happens next is subtle but important. Coaches and
teammates naturally direct more attention and encouragement toward the athletes
who performed well. Meanwhile, those who struggled may quietly lose confidence,
motivation, and their sense of belonging within the team without any follow-up
or encouragement.
This is not about blaming coaches or teams. It is about
understanding how motivation is shaped by context, and how communication,
environment, and social dynamics can either protect or threaten an athlete’s well-being.
To explore this, I reflect on two contrasting situations:
- Training
within a squad
- Self-training
without a squad
In such environments, there may be fewer opportunities for quiet self-reflection during a run.
Perspective #1: Training in a Squad
Psychologically: Within a team, performance
differences often intensify social comparison. Athletes who underperform may
experience reduced confidence, diminished self-efficacy, and doubts about
whether they truly belong. Results are no longer just information. They can
become personal judgments and evaluations.
Physically: When disappointment is followed by
rumination or emotional suppression, physiological stress responses may
increase. Elevated tension, fatigue, and stress can emerge. That is not because
the athlete is unfit, but because their body is responding to a perceived
psychological threat.
Social: Supportive words from coaches and teammates
can feel encouraging, but they can also carry implicit stigma. Comments
such as “Don’t worry about it” or “You did well” may unintentionally reinforce
a sense of deficit after a tough race, especially when contrasted with successful athletes.
Managing this ambiguity requires sustained psychological resilience, which
comes at a mental cost.
Meaning and identity: Over time, team norms and
visible performance metrics can override an athlete’s original values and
reasons for participating in the sport. When identity becomes tied primarily to
ranking and comparison, long-term well-being, motivation, and the value of the
sport may erode.
Environment: Competitive environments often fix value
to external measures such as time, rank, or selection. These measures are
efficient, but they rarely capture learning, effort, or bodily experience.
Teams provide structure, opportunity, and belonging.
However, depending on norms and coaching practices, they can also amplify
psychological risk.
Communication, Silence, and Stigma in Team Coaching
Communication within a team is often more complex than it
appears. Some coaches and teammates choose to remain quiet toward athletes who
are struggling after a race, intending to avoid sending a stigmatic message.
Silence, in this case, is meant to be protective of their pride and competency.
However, from the athlete’s perspective, this absence of
communication can feel very different. Rather than feeling respected, the
athlete may feel overlooked or marginalised within the team. What is intended
as care can be interpreted as withdrawal.
On the other hand, more classic or authoritarian coaching
styles may deliver blunt, performance-focused messages to all athletes without
explicit encouragement. While these messages can feel harsh or stigmatic, they
may be intended to foster shared accountability, resilience, and team
toughness.
These contrasting approaches highlight a key challenge in
coaching. Communication is not only about intention, but interpretation.
Silence can stigmatise, just as words can. Communication style and team
management play a central role in shaping whether athletes experience challenge
as motivating or as marginalising. This is immensely challenging in group
coaching or team sports. This requires care, trust, and ongoing rapport between
coaches and athletes
Perspective #2: Self-Training (Outside a Squad)
Psychologically: When training independently,
athletes often experience greater emotional clarity. Racing becomes an
extension of training rather than a public evaluation. Meaning and satisfaction
are drawn from the act of running itself, not solely from outcomes.
Physically: Without external noise, athletes can
listen more closely to bodily sensations, which include fatigue, rhythm,
breathing, and effort. The body becomes the primary point of communication,
shifting attention toward internal sensations rather than comparison.
Social: Although social support is reduced, so too is
stigma. Feedback is largely informational (for example, data from a pace or HR
as external information and effort as internal information), not evaluative.
Results become an entry point for reflection rather than judgment, supporting
mindfulness and acceptance instead of rumination or suppression.
Meaning and identity: Autonomy, values-based action,
self-determination, and self-efficacy are often strengthened through reciprocal
processes. Motivation becomes internally organised and more stable over time.
Environment: The athletics field and running location
itself become a meaningful place. That reinforces commitment, presence, and
enjoyment rather than comparison.
This does not mean self-training is “better,” but it can
protect certain psychological processes that are easily disrupted in group
environments.
A Familiar Example: Strava, Stigma, and Motivation
A small but familiar example of these dynamics appears on Strava.
Many athletes notice that they:
- quietly
upload disappointing workouts with minimal comment, or
- enthusiastically
decorate strong sessions with positive language, emojis, or motivational
captions.
This behaviour is not vanity. It is stigma management.
By downplaying poor performances, athletes attempt to mute perceived judgment.
By amplifying strong performances, they seek validation and external
motivation. Over time, motivation can subtly shift outward, becoming
increasingly dependent on visibility and approval rather than internal value.
Recognising this pattern allows athletes and coaches to
reflect on why some performances feel safer to share than others.
Choosing - Creating the Right Training Context
Many athletes grow up believing that team training always
offers more benefits, while self-training provides fewer opportunities. In
reality, both environments involve trade-offs.
Rather than assuming one context is superior, it is more
useful to begin with self-analysis to understand what you currently need.
For example, when it is challenging to keep up your training quality and
intensity yourself, joining a team will solve your physical barrier. If you begin to wonder, “Why am I lacking motivation in this team?” Once you are away from the
team, it will regain your internal motivation and commitment to the sport.
This can be framed through three lenses:
- Capability:
physical readiness and psychological capacity
- Opportunity:
social and environmental conditions
- Motivation:
automatic emotional responses and reflective values
These elements are not fixed. They change across different
stages of an athlete’s career. The most adaptive approach is not committing
permanently to one context but learning how to “choose or create” the
environment that best supports you at a given time.
Potential Benefits of Team Training
- Mutual
encouragement and shared effort
- Higher-quality
training opportunities (e.g., pacing, company)
- Social
connection and belonging
- Access
to information, feedback, and discussion
- External
observation and perspective
Potential Benefits of Individual Training
- Flexibility
and adaptability
- Self-centred
pacing and decision-making
- Greater
autonomy and ownership
- Reduced
stress related to evaluation
- Stronger
connection to personal values and beliefs
In Conclusion
Neither team training nor self-training is inherently
superior. What matters is how each environment shapes motivation, identity, and
well-being over time.
For some athletes, remaining in a group may require skills
such as mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal, and values-based action. For
others, stepping away from the group may be a valid and healthy decision that
restores autonomy and self-efficacy.
Motivation is not something to be controlled from the
outside. It is something to be consciously protected
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