Concentration Level

Cole Poter knew that concentration is prepotent. Tiger Woods knows it. Most athletes wish to have that kind of potency, that ability to concentrate so intensely that nothing ca distract them. Few work at it. I have heard a sport psychologist refer to concentration as a fortress. I prefer to use “weapon” as a metaphor for effective concentration. A fortress, it seems to me, protects; a weapon challenges. One is reactive, the other active. The more aggressive a performer is, the more likely he is focused on the appropriate aspects of is performance. The stronger and more sustained an athlete’s ability to concentrate, the better he’ll consistently execute his task aggressively and effectively. Athletes know what they should focus on, but don’t always know how to maintain that focus. It takes practice. Being prepotent, concentration is the first and, arguably, the most essential skill of a performance. Because of that skill, no circumstance, no problem, no possible distraction comes into to an athlete’s highest level of awareness during his competition. Even words that wise men might have said. The athlete’s concentration leaves no room in his mind for any irrelevant, intrusive thought. That may seem to be an ideal, but it is an ideal truth – and attainable. So the development of concentration skills should be at the top of the list of goals for every performer. And it require regular attention. The most skillful athletes can still improve. The more skilled an athlete is, the more likely he is to take his concentration for granted – until he begins to struggle, when his focus becomes broad and undisciplined. A struggling athlete will think of all matters except the task at hand while he’s competing. That’s a loss of focus, due to a weakened mental discipline. Anyone who has ever sat through a boring lecture or read a dull book understand this perfectly. If it’s important to listen to the lecture, you must discipline yourself to concentrate. If it’s important to read and understand the book, you must discipline your eyes and mind to be attentive to the material. It can be a daunting task. But those who persist in attending to task can develop and intensity of concentration that has “a hunger to it.” It’s very common for athletes to have several thoughts before and during their preparation to perform. But when they get to the “moment of truth,” they must limit their thoughts and change their focus to a narrow, external one. This is a habit to cultivate. It should be an important behavior goal. The better an athlete is performing, the more naturally his concentration skills are able to serve him. And athlete who is “going good” will say to me, “My mind clear; I’m not thinking about concentrating.” And that’s why he ‘s going good. He shouldn’t concentrate on concentrating; he should concentrate on task, which is simple and immediate. Hence the clear mid. (“Uncomplicated, “ he might have said.) His highly effective behavior is more often that not rewarded by desired results. But when athletes begin to get poor results, they tend to change their approach. Their head fills with distracting thoughts. Their attention becomes divided. Their thinking becomes too braod, very often thinking about results – consequences. The future, rather than the moment. Too complicated. When a child is behaving well, a parent doesn’t have to discipline that child. The discipline must be applied when the behavior is unacceptable. The same is true with an athlete. His “parent” – his rational mind – must step in and assert itself, disciplining the hitter, so as to stop him from operating out of his feelings (frustration, self-doubt, etc.) and get him back to focusing on the execution of task. How the performer responds to adversity – whether it’s the boos of a crowd or the burden of his responsibility – will say a lot about his concentration skills. The more disciplined an athlete is, meaning the more able he is to focus on the task exclusively the more successful he’ll be over time. This doesn’t always come “naturally.” A persistent effort must be made. A concentrated effort, so to speak. An athlete must understand a few basic things if he’s going to improve his concentration skills. First, he should understand what is possible to control one’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior. We can’t control external events. Other people’s thoughts and deeds, and consequences beyond our behavior. The athlete can tell himself what to do in positive terms. The athlete can focus on the immediate, rather than past or future. (The next task – “the now” – is all that can be acted upon.) The athlete can focus on his approach, instead of results – past or future. These simple understandings should be reiterated regularly, so they become a working philosophy for concentration. Athletes practice physical skills on a daily basis, but they usually just expect mental skills to develop themselves. They don’t. The athlete must practice effectively to perform effectively – physically and mentally. It’s often easier for an athlete to practice mental skills than physical. He doesn’t need a physical environment. He can work on some concentration skills away from the field or arena, sometimes just by sitting in a chair at home. A few suggestion and practice activities will help the athlete to develop hi ability to concentrate effectively and consistently. They can be varied or improve upon as the athlete becomes a more skilled practitioner. But first consider this: mental toughness is the term uses as an ultimate compliment to an athlete. The degree to which you are able to fully and intensely concentrate on your task is a major component of that “toughness .” If it’s worth having, it’s worth the effort it takes to develop it. The persistent effort to improve is also part of the toughness. It will enhance the athlete’s ability to concentrate on the task during the toughest of time. The coach can address the mental game by addressing with the athlete the material discussed above. The coach should also encourage the athlete to do work on his own enhance hi ability to concentrate effectively. Following are some concentration exercise. The athlete should: Be an observe. Notice everything, especially detail. This will bring him to be attentive to things he’d never paid attention to before. It is constant exercise in disciplining your mind and his eyes. Look at picture hanging on the wall (or advertisement billboards at the ballpark). Start by talking in the entire image, then keep narrowing his focus until he’s centered on a very particular part of the picture/ad. See it completely, noticing every detail. Stay on it with his eyes until he has committed the detail to memory. Play the old kid’s game (abbreviated version) of concentration, using just a few cards from a deck of playing cards. Include one card for each number from two or ten. Have someone place the nine cards face down in random order. Then turn them up and view them quickly. Turn then face down again. Distract himself for one minute. Then attempt to turn the cards over in order, starting with the deuce. As he becomes better able to this – and decrease the time required to do it – add numbers from different suites, so he then has to turn two number 2s over, and so on. Be patient with himself. He’ll get better if his discipline it stronger than his frustration. (And that should be one of his goals during competition, as well!) Make up a grid of 100 squares on a sheet of paper. (Make a bunch of photocopies.) Have someone else fill in the blanks of a grid randomly with number 00, 01, 02 . . . through 99. The athlete takes the grid and goes through it, using pen or pencil to cross out the number in consecutive order. When he becomes stuck – seemingly unable to “find” the next number, he stays wit it. No quitting ! He works through to completion. He repeats this exercise as many time as he wishes, having the person fill in the numbers in different spaces, of course. He will see improvement. Using the same exercise, he times himself, keeping a record of his times. He doesn’t expect a continuous improvement. He’ll have good days, and not-so-good days, just as he will on the field. The key is to be persistent, rather than giving in to bad attempt. To stay the course. To focus on task, not on difficulty. (A terrific exercise, because it serves many purposes.) Using the same exercise, the athlete turns on a talk radio program while he’s working on the grid. He raises the volume as he becomes more skillful. This provides still another possible intrusion and distraction. The athlete or the coach can invent his own exercise. Diligence is always a requirement.