Quality performance and achieving outstanding results is most often considered to be the main goal of every professional athlete. Motivation is a key element that determines, directs and drives sports performance, work and success. Therefore, the central theme of this paper is the research of motives for one’s involvement in sports. Using the example of water polo, this research aims to pinpoint the reasons why Croatian water polo players choose to build their professional career in this sport. In addition to that, the objectives of this research are to explain what their daily motivation for training and playing this sport is and to discover if it changes throughout the course of their career. In connection with sports, the role of the coach and their task to motivate athletes is often emphasized. Therefore, the paper intends to investigate the level of influence that the coach and the club have on the motivation of water polo players. Eight narrators, who have been playing water polo professionally for many years, have participated in this research. Ethnographic material was collected primarily through the method of semi-structured interview and participant observation. This material was then analyzed and on the basis of this analysis and synthesis and critical interpretation of relevant sources, the various questions and goals of this thesis were addressed.