Increase Your Concentration Under Pressure

Increase Your Concentration Under Pressure

Imagine this: You’re playing your cross-town rival and you step back to the base line. The volleyball rests easy in your hands as you look to your coach for what zone to serve. The crowd is rowdy and loud; you can hear the opposing team’s fans calling your number and reading your name from the media guide. You know how important it is for you to serve this zone. The referee blows the whistle and you toss the ball up…

Why is serving a volleyball at this moment suddenly the most difficult thing on the planet? Do you ever wonder why you can make serve after serve during practice, yet you miss critical, even game point serves during competition? This struggle with seemingly easy tasks (especially for trained individuals) can be improved through the use and practice of mental skills.

This decrement in performance may be due to the increase in attentional demands that exist during competitive play which may not be present in practice. Not only do you have to focus on successfully completing the action, but there may be additional factors such as noise from the crowd or serving to a specific target that demand your attention. Attentional focus is the ability to tune into only the information that is relevant for a particular moment. In this example the relevant information is the target location of the serve, not the loud crowd or importance of the match.

The ability to switch your attentional focus from irrelevant to relevant information is a learned task that takes time and practice. To increase your ability to control your attentional focus, increase concentration, and increase the consistency of the task you are performing, you can start by following these four steps:

1. Assess- Begin by assessing the situation and all of the important cues around you. 

E.g., See the zone or player you want to serve, feel the volleyball in your hands.

2. Analyze- Determine your strategy.

E.g., Think about the target or the movement of your toss and swing. Imagine how you will strike the ball. This may be obvious in some situations; in others you may need to think about the play you are going to execute next.

3. Rehearse- Go through the motion or play in your head (if you are familiar with the mental skill of imagery, this would be a good time to implement it).

E.g., Imagine yourself tossing an accurate ball and striking it with good form. The ball effortlessly goes to your desired target.

4. Execute- Follow through with the action; execute the shot.

E.g., Perform the movement.

With practice, you will learn that you do not need to go through these four steps every time you need to refocus or concentrate on a particular task. Eventually, you will be able to skip right to the step that is most relevant for your situation.

What is a task in your sport that you struggle with when there are many things to occupy your attention, especially while under pressure? Are there moments when you need to increase concentration on a particular task although it may be something you easily perform day after day during practice? By implementing the steps of assess, analyze, rehearse, and execute, you may be able to help increase your focus and concentration on your desired task and ultimately become more successful in your sport!

Adapted from: Voight, M. (2005). Integrating mental-skills training into everyday coaching. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 76, 38-47.

Kristine Walker

Bowling Green State University

Game Day Routine

A routine is as simple as it sounds, a set of behaviors and thoughts a person engages in. For athletes, this could be at the free throw line, before going up to bat, and kicking a field goal. But what about the day of the game? Do you have a routine that you follow every game day? More importantly, do you know what to include in your routine, and when to include it?

As a college athlete, you probably already engage in certain behaviors before the game, such as putting your uniform on the same way and eating the same meals. You might also run through certain thoughts to calm yourself down or energize yourself in preparation for a game. These routines help prepare your mind and body for your game or task. Routines tell your mind and body that you are comfortable and ready to play the game. They allow you to be in control of your equipment, body, and mind so that you are fully prepared for performance. Below are steps and tips on developing an effective routine.

Creating a Game Day Routine

1. Create a list of everything you must do before competition
• Some elements to consider: meals, competitive tactics, equipment, physical and technical warm up, mental preparation (imagery, self talk, relaxation, increase arousal), and going to the bathroom.
2. Create a timeline of the above elements in preparation of competition. 
• Take into consideration travel time to the gym, locations in the gym, etc. 
• Consider where you need to be to complete your routine. For example, if you need to relax, is there a quiet place you can be alone?
3. Finally create a schedule for completing your routine. 
• Include time it take to prepare. 

Tips for Game Day Routines

1. Be open to changes. 
• Being able to develop and fine-tune your routine will take practice. If part of your routine isn’t working for you, figure out why and consider making changes to your routine. 
2. Repetition 
• Making sure you run through your routine before every game is important. By running through your routine before every game, you are making sure your mind and body is ready to go regardless of the competition.
3. Time
• When creating or fine tuning a pre-game routine, it is important to know how much time will be needed for you to prepare. This is extremely important when you are playing on the road. 
4. Personal 
• Your routine should be personal to you. Just like mental skills, one routine might work for you but not for your teammate. 

The above tips will be helpful in creating or fine tuning a game day routine. It is important to remember to use these routines at every single competition to train your body and mind to be prepared in all situations that may arise. By going through your routines for every single game or task, you will be prepared to use it in stressful situation.

Bernadette Compton 

Bowling Green State University 

Hate icing? Try this!

Hate icing? Try this!

Have you ever felt the excruciating cold of an ice bath or slush bucket? The temperature can be chilling right down to the bone. This can be seen as a type of pain. Other types of pain may exist during rehabilitation from an injury or during another uncomfortable modality or exercise. Managing pain can be beneficial in many different ways and distraction techniques are an example of one way to keep pain at bay.

Pain management techniques have been used throughout athletic training rooms to make the rehabilitation process more enjoyable for athletes, because who likes pain anyway? There are many benefits to finding a technique that works for you to manage your pain. Keeping pain under control may make you feel more in control of your injury, make rehabilitation more enjoyable, and make you want to show up for rehabilitation and ultimately get you back to playing the sport you love!

Distraction is a pain management technique that focuses attention on a stimulus not associated with the source of the pain. It is supposed to take your mind off of the problem and focus it on something else for the time-being. There are two different types of distraction techniques for managing pain: active distraction and passive distraction.

Active distraction involves a stimulus that requires a lot of attention. Examples of this include:

·      Completing a number grid - find the numbers 00-99 in numerical order (attached)

·      Solving a puzzle

·      Reading a book

·      Doing homework

To make the active distraction technique more enjoyable or difficult, you could see how fast you can complete a distraction task. Another idea for the number grid could be to compete with another athlete who is rehabilitating and see who can complete the grid the fastest! Adding a timer can add as another distraction from the pain and allow the competitiveness in you show a little bit while you cannot compete in your sport.

Passive techniques require less brain power, but allow your mind to drift away from the stimulus inflicting the pain. If you are familiar with relaxation or breathing techniques, those can be incorporated into passive distraction to help take your mind off of the pain even more. Examples of passive techniques include:

·      Listening to music

·      Looking at different pictures of landscapes (some examples are attached)

·      Watching the people around you

When looking at landscapes you may also try to notice details about different pictures. Pretend as if you would have to describe the view to someone who has never seen it before. If you are practiced with imagery techniques they may be incorporated to help here as well!

You might notice that you already do some of these distraction techniques! If that is the case, now that you recognize it as a skill to reduce the sensation of pain, you can incorporate the distraction technique to use it at your leisure. If you are not familiar with any of these techniques, it may take a few trials in order to really find the distraction that works for you. Some people may find looking at pictures of the beach to be helpful, where others might really need to distract their brain with a number grid. Everyone is different.

      

Adapted from: Fernandez, E. (1986). A classification system of cognitive coping strategies for pain. Pain, 26, 141-151.

Kristine Walker
Bowling Green State University

Mind Control is Real: Learn how with Mindfulness

Are you feeling held hostage by your own thoughts?  Are you fighting with the little voice in your head that says you CAN’T do it when you know you CAN?  Are your own thoughts making you feel frustrated, demotivated or stressed?

If you answered yes to any of these questions don’t worry, because you are in good company.  Many people struggle with this exact problem, but the good news is that you don’t have struggle anymore!  Give yourself the GIFT of Mindfulness just in time for the Holidays! Ho Ho Ho your way to a healthier and happier you!

Mindfulness is a mental (cognitive) relaxation technique that separates you from your own thoughts, allows you to view them in a nonjudgmental way and simply choose not to listen to them.  Mindfulness allows you to focus on the mind instead of the body. It is shown to reduce emotional distress by modulating and control thoughts of negativity, pain, and emotions.  A relaxed mind will lead to a relaxed body and ultimately improved attention on the task at hand and away from the stress of the injury or the exercise. 

Mindfulness, as defined by Cottraux (2007), is a mental state resulting from voluntarily focusing one’s attention on the present experience in its sensorial, mental, cognitive and emotional aspects, in a non-judgmental way.  This is to say that you can detach yourself from your own thoughts and accept or not accept that thought as truth.  Mindfulness can be used at any time, but is most effective if practiced.

Instructions for the Successful use of Mindfulness

• Give yourself time to complete the exercise. (Take a slow breath in between prompts).
• Remind yourself that your thoughts are your own and you can choose to ignore them, believe them, or discard them as you wish.
• Look at your thoughts without judgement.  They are just thoughts, nothing more and nothing else.
• Maintain a passive attitude, permit relaxation to occur. When distracting thoughts occur, remember to return your concentration to your mindfulness and exercise at hand.  
• Practice mindfulness in any situation.

Purpose:

Mindfulness is useful in drawing one’s focus to the sport or rehabilitation exercise to ensure correct execution of movements and to gain maximum benefits. Mindfulness can be used to allow emotions such as frustration, anger, and boredom to occur and pass on since they are viewed in a non-judgmental way. Mindfulness is allows you to remain focused on the present and achieve a relaxed state of mind and body while becoming more aware of the situation.

Exercise:  Use this exercise on yourself or an athlete that you might be working with.

Step 1: Isolate and confront the negative thought you are having.  Say the thought aloud.  A common thought during rehabilitation of an injury, for example is: “I am horrible at this exercise”.  You can distance yourself from that thought and choose not to believe it.

Step 2: Focus your attention on the present experience.  Take a deep breath.  On the inhale, pull in all the stress and negativity of the exercise and the day.  On the exhale release all of the tension and stress leaving only the task at hand.  – Repeat as necessary throughout the exercise to retain or regain focus.

Step 3: Say the original negative thought aloud. “I am horrible at this exercise,” say the thought slowly and focus only on this thought in this moment. Repeat three times.

Step 4: Add the phrase “I am having a thought” in front of the original thought so that it is said aloud with a pause in between the phrases.

“I am having a thought ….. that I am horrible at this exercise.”  Repeat three times.

Step 5: Distance yourself even further from the negative thought by adding the phrase. “I realize that in front of the first two phrases.

“I realize that .... I am having a thought ….. that I am horrible at this exercise”.  Repeat three times.  

Step 6: Now you can look at the thought in a nonjudgmental way, choose not to believe the thought, simply let it go, and refocus on the exercise.  You CAN do this!

How does it work?

By adding these two phrases, you have effectively detached yourself from the thought and have made it less personal.  You have effectively viewed the thought in a non-judgmental way and can simply choose not to believe the thought or to stop the thought and replace it with another aiding in your stress management and relaxation. 

Remember that we can control our own thoughts by acknowledging that they are just that, thoughts and NOT always truths.

For more information:

Arvinen-Barrow, M., & Walker, N. (2013). The psychology of sport injury and rehabilitation. In M. Arvinen-Barrow, & N. Walker (Eds.), The Psychology of Sport Injury and Rehabilitation (pp. 87-99). New York, New York: Routledge.

McCanny, C. (2015). The application of mindfulness practice in sport. Retrieved from http://www.thesportinmind.com/articles/the-application-of-mindfulness-practice-to-sport/

Captain Whitney Cissell

Bowling Green State University

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Have you ever noticed the feeling of your body being tense and tight after a hard practice, grueling game, or a long day of classes with homework ahead? What do you do?! Understanding relaxation can help to alleviate the tension and stress felt during situations such as those.

Relaxation is the “temporary deliberate withdrawal from everyday activity that aims to moderate the functions of the sympathetic nervous system which is usually activated under stress” (Hill, 2001, p. #). Whenever an athlete experiences any amount of pain, their pain typically will inhibit their breathing, which then reduces blood flow, which can cause muscle tension and muscle spasms. Relaxation also can act as an internal distraction. When you do PMR, you focus on the task of PMR and not on your pain or injury.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is one the most commonly techniques for relaxation. This technique involves the tensing followed by relaxing of all major muscle groups to allow the athlete to physically feel and become aware of the different sensations between tension and relaxation. It teaches athletes how to relax their muscles through a two-step process. Step 1) Tense particular muscle groups in your body, working from the top down, starting at your head then moving down to your shoulders, through your whole body. Step 2) Relax the muscle and release the tension and notice how your muscles feel when they are being relaxed.  It is important for the individuals to know what the absence of tension feels like, which can be done through relaxation.

PMR is beneficial because it can help to reduce overall tension as well as well as reduce stress levels. It can also help reduce physical problems such as headaches and stomachaches that can result from tension. Often you don’t realize how tense and stressed you are and fail to recognize what being relaxed truly feels like. Through practice with PRM, you learn how to distinguish the feelings of a tense muscle and a completely relaxed muscle. Once it becomes learned, an athlete can begin to “cue” this relaxed state when they first notice the feeling of muscle tension.  By learning and practicing tensing and releasing, not only does the individual get to feel what relaxation is like, but they are also able to recognize the first onset of tension within their muscles.

• Try to set aside roughly 15-20 minutes to complete PRM exercises.
• Find a place where you can be undisturbed to perform the exercises.
• Make sure you are in a comfortable area where there is little noise to distract.
• You don’t necessarily need to be feeling tense or anxious to do these exercises. In   fact, it is better to learn when you are calm and relaxed that way it can be easier to do when feeling anxious.
• Do not try to push your body beyond its limit. If you are experiencing pain or discomfort at any time, back off or stop all together!

Here are some helpful videos that are guided PMR exercises that can be done anywhere at any time.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86HUcX8ZtAk
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqJ2OMwP2n4

 

PRM Script

Begin with finding a comfortable position either lying down or sitting, where there will be no interruptions.

Allow your attention to focus only on your body right now. If you notice your thoughts start to drift away, bring your thoughts back to the muscle you are working on.

Let’s focus on our breathing…take a deep breath through your abdomen, close your mouth and inhale through your nose, counting to 4, holding for a few seconds, and then exhale. Noticing your stomach rising and your lungs filling with air as you inhale, and as you exhale, imagine the tension in your body being released and flowing out of your body. Slowly feeling your body to relax.

As we go through each step, remember to keep breathing. Now lets begin.

Tighten the muscles in your forehead. First, raise your eyebrows, raising them as high as you can, and hold for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, not abruptly release, feeling your muscles in your forehead relax and feeling the tension release.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Now working down, smile as wide as you can, feeling your cheeks and your mouth tense. Hold for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, now release, feeling the tension leaving and feeling the softness in your face.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Now, shrug your shoulders, tensing them up close to your ears, holding for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, now release, feeling the tension in your shoulders melt away and you release.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Now, tightly, without straining, clench your fists and hold for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, now release, opening up your palms, feeling more relaxed than ever.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Now, flex your bicep. Feeling the tension building up in your arms, squeezing and tensing those biceps. Holding for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, now release, feeling the limpness of your arms and feeling the relaxation of your muscles as your release.

Now, tighten the muscles in your stomach by sucking in. Holding for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, and release.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Feeling the limpness in your upper body letting go of all of the stress that has been built up.

Now tighten your buttocks. Hold for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, release, and image your hips falling lose.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Next tighten your thighs by pressing and squeezing your knees together as if you are holding a dollar in between them and you want to flatten that dollar. Hold for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, good and now release, feeling the tension in your thighs releasing.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Now flex your feet, pulling your toes all the way towards your head and feeling the tension in your calves, holding for 5 seconds…1….2….3….4….5, and relax, feeling the weight of your legs sinking down and the tension in your calves release as your relax.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Now imagine a big wave of relaxation spreading through your body, start up at your head and moving all the way down to your feet. Feel the weight of your body relaxed.

And now breathe in…inhaling slowly…and out exhaling slowly…

Feeling your body relax.

And breathe in again…and out….in….out…in…and out.

(script from: Bourne, E. (2010). Progressive Muscle Relaxation Script. Retrieved 2015, from https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/Progressive_Muscle_Relaxation.pdf)

For additional information:

     Barrow, M., & Walker, N. (2013). The psychology of sport injury and rehabilitation. New York, New York: Routledge.

    Hill, K.L. (2001) Frameworks for Sport Psychologists. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Caroline Berger, ATC

Bowling Green State University