Mounir Hamoud ¹ Stig Arve Sæther ² Gunnar Bjørnebekk ^3*

• ¹ Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Oslo, Norway
• ² Department of Sociology and Political Science, Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
• ³ Department of Special Needs Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

This study aimed to investigate the motivational processes behind self-regulated learning and performance among 192 soccer players (82 girls) for three age groups (14-16 years old) eligible for the Norwegian national football team. A conditional process model was proposed and tested with achievement goals as mediators between achievement motives on one hand and coach reported performance and self-regulated learning on the other. Probability of success were examined as a potential moderator in the motivational process. As predicted, motives to achieve success directly influenced planning and reflection/evaluation, whereas the influence of the success motive on regulation of effort was explained partly by task-and self-based approach goals. The motive to achieve success was, however, particularly crucial for maintaining these beneficial regulatory processes when the probability of success was found to be from moderate to low. Concerning the avoidance paths, the data supported only some of our original hypotheses. The motive to avoid failure predicted all three types of avoidance based (task, self, and other)-and other-based approach goals, but did not contribute to explaining planning, reflection/evaluation, regulation of effort or performance. There were no significant correlations between motivation variables and coach-reported performance. Moreover, girls were more motivated to avoid failure than boys, while both sexes achieved similar scores for football-specific self-regulated learning, probability of success, achievement goals, and motive to achieve success. Results are discussed considering a Hierarchical Motivation Model.