Sport Psychology – Concentration

Have you ever noticed your mind wandering during a sports performance?
Have you ever wanted to be in more control of your mind while competing?
Have you ever wanted to experience less worry or doubt and be more confident while competing?

I think we can all remember times in our lives when a teacher, a parent, a boss or a sports coach has told us to “pay attention”, “concentrate” or “focus”.

Imagine a sports coach instructing you to “pay attention”. This instruction might help to bring you into the present moment, however it does not help you as an athlete to know what the coach specifically wants you to focus on. Although this instruction by the coach is helpful, it would be more helpful if the instruction to “focus”  or “pay attention” was specifically defined. The instruction is more helpful when it is specific rather than general.

Now imagine as an athlete you tell yourself to “concentrate” or “focus”. The same problem exists. It can help to bring you into the present moment in a general sense, however it does not direct you to focus or concentrate on anything specific.

Why is concentrating on something specific more helpful than concentrating in general?

Because different sport situations will place different attentional demands on an athlete. Therefore, an athlete must be able to shift to the appropriate type of attention to match changing attentional demands. For example, in Australian Rules Football, listening to a coach at a quarter time break will require a different type of attention compared to a footballer mentally rehearsing a goal kicking routine before a set shot at goal.

Types of attention:
Firstly, an athlete needs to control the width of their attention. Is their attention broad (taking in several different kinds of information) or narrow (taking in limited and specific information)?

Secondly, an athlete needs to control the direction of their attention. Is their attention external (outside the body) or internal (inside the body)?

If your attention is not where it needs to be, it is likely to negatively impact performance. For example, imagine you are a footballer and you miss a set shot for goal and for the next 1 minute your attention is directed internally. You might be thinking “How could I miss such an easy shot?” or “what will the coach think of me?” Instead of critical and self-conscious internalised thoughts, shifting your attention more externally to the opposition will improve your ability to now defend the opposition and attempt to regain possession of the ball. Therefore, having the right type of attention will lead to improved performance.

Key Thought: 
In any situation of a sports performance, what type of attention do I need to have? 

A psychologist can help to improve an athlete’s ability to pay attention in a way that meets the demands of the sport and ultimately improve performance.