Train your Brain to Concentrate!

Do you find yourself losing concentration at times during competition? Maybe you become distracted by a fan in the crowd, a mistake you previously made, or begin thinking about an assignment that is due later on in the week. It is common for our attention to shift to other things at times, but during an important match or game, we want to be able to bring our attention back to the competition! One way that you can train your brain to enhance your concentration and focus is through the practice of meditation.

When practicing meditation, follow these simple steps:

     1.     Find a quiet and comfortable environment to meditate in (e.g., empty                     locker room or quiet study room) 

     2.     Select something to focus your mind on

                  a.     This could be an object from your sport (e.g., tennis ball, lacrosse                              stick). In this case, have the object present for you to look at                                      during meditation

                  b.     This could also be a mantra or a short saying that you repeat to                                yourself (e.g., I am strong, I am confident, I am prepared)

     3.      For one minute, focus your thoughts on only  what you have chosen in                    step 2

     4.      Anytime you notice your mind beginning to drift away from your object                  or mantra, bring your thoughts back 

     5.      Repeat this about three times a day, if possible 

If you notice that a minute is too long for you to concentrate, start with 30 or 15 second sessions. As you become better at meditation and maintaining your focus for the entire time, you can begin to increase the length to 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes and so on as needed.

 

The goal of meditation is to discipline your mind to concentrate at any given moment on one thing and one thing only. Eventually, with practice you will be able to help maintain your focus when you notice your mind begin to wander during performance. For example, you may use meditation to help focus your attention to shoot a penalty kick or to sink an important putt. You may also incorporate a quick meditation exercise into your pre-game routine to focus and narrow your attention. This way you will be able to focus on your execution and performance and play to the best of your ability!

Kristine Walker

Bowling Green State University

Hanton, S., Mellalieu, S., & Williams, J. M. (2015). Understanding and managing           stress in sport. In J. M. Williams & V. Krane (Eds.), Applied sport                                 psychology: Personal growth to peak performance (7th ed.; pp. 207-239).             New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Competence and Trust

Competence and Trust

Do you know what is being asked of you and are you able to do it? Competence is a self-perceived measure of a person’s ability to understand the objective of a task and her/his ability to complete the given task. Intensity and competition in sports increase as athletes continuously test out their perceived competence with each other. When an athlete succeeds over the opponent, the belief in her/his level of competence increases. However, it is not uncommon for an athlete’s belief in her/his level of competence to decrease when she/he feels that he/shehas “failed” against their competition. So, what is needed for an athlete to continue to perform with enthusiasm even after the perceived “failure”? Trust!

Trust differs from belief because it offers reliability and stability, while belief offers hope on a spectrum that fluctuates from high to low. Trust provides the reliability to know that one will consistently produce results and it allows the freedom to continue on in spite of any disappointments. Trusting in one’s ability allows the athlete to understand that even in disappointing times, there is purpose and opportunity to get better. In other words, the disappointment can be perceived as an increase of knowledge and understanding that will lead the athlete to increase competence. It is a redirection to the path he/she needs to be on in order to accomplish her/his goals. Trusting offers a sense of reliabilityt and stability, while believing offers hope on a spectrum that has potential to be high or low. When you can trust yourself, you no longer have to second guess yourself, over- analyzing technique, take a long time to make a decision, hesitate when taking healthy risks, or dwelling on past mistakes. 

You have come this far in athletics and have been able to excel in athletics because you are competent in the following skills (name three skills related to your sport that you are good at).

1.

2.

3.

Exercises to help increase your ability to trust yourself and your skills

Becoming Comfortably Uncomfortable

Do a drill that you know you will succeed and as your success becomes consistent, progressively modify the drill so that it becomes more challenging. If you are able to do the more challenging versions of the drill without hesitation, you are trusting yourself and your abilities.
By Jeanette Pettigrew

Self-talk Affirmations

Come up with cue words or phrases that remind you of how good you are, whenever you feel uncomfortable about a task (work ethic, speed, strategy, power, problem solving, technique, etc….).

Controlling the Controllables

Sport is an unpredictable, constantly changing environment. You may find yourself on top one day, and at the bottom the next. It may be appealing for athletes to minimize those shifts in performance by trying to control everything about the game. However, it is impossible to control everything and doing so may cause increased anxiety and pull your focus away from the important elements of performance. For example, a softball player may focus on the bad calls of the umpire instead of her swing technique.

A common phrase used in sport psychology is “control the controllables.” Basically, as an athlete, it is important to focus on elements of the game you can control and not give attention to those you cannot control. Elements that are out of an athlete’s control include:

• Past and future events
• Weather (e.g., temperature, rain, snow) 
• Field conditions
• Opponents
• Officials
• Spectators

Elements that athletes have control over include:

• Amount of effort 
• Response to a situation
• Motivation
• Energy
• Focus

However, knowing what aspects require your focus and what aspects you can ignore can be lost in the heat of competition. During competition, athletes have a limited amount of psychological and emotional energy that they can spend. It is unproductive to waste that energy on things in the competitive environment that you are unable to control. For example, if you focus on the heckling of the fans, you will not have full focus on performing. Because sport requires physical and mental demands in competition, it is important to consider ahead of time what cues will require your focus and what cues you can ignore. Below is a worksheet to help you recognize aspects of your sport you can and cannot control.

Control the Controllables Worksheet

1. Imagine the circle below is the ball you use in your sport. If you do not use a ball, feel free to draw a diagram that matches your sport. 
2. Take a moment to think about the following:
• What parts of being an athlete do you have complete control over (e.g., effort, response)
• Consider what may occur during a competition that you cannot control (e.g., official’s calls, fans) 
3. Write down these aspects in your diagram. Items you can control go in the circle, and elements you cannot control go outside the circle.
4. Below are some tips to use the information you just learned in practice and competition
• Identify a “go to” controllable element in your sport such as a technique cue (e.g., strong start, stick to the game plan). Then repeat this cue to yourself often.
• Pick something in your sport that is in your control and that you can shift your focus to when you notice yourself thinking about something uncontrollable. For example, a softball pitcher may shift her focus to hitting her target at the plate instead of the call of the umpire. 
• Use a thought stoppage technique. Use of thought stoppage can be found here. 

Additional Readings:
Abrahams, D. (2014). Coaching the controllables. Danabrahams.com. Retrieved from http://danabrahams.com/blog/2014/coaching-the-controllables/

Bernadette Compton
Bowling Green State University