concentration within Sports coaches and athletes often use the words concentration attention and focus interchangeably to effectively utilize these tools it may be helpful to Define each term concentration is typically defined as the ability to perform with a clear and present Focus what then is focus focus has been defined as the central point of one's attention attention is simply what an individual is observing when put together an individual who is concentrating is said to have their attention focused clearly and presently on the task at hand once an athlete has developed the skills necessary for competition their ability to control one's attention in order to concentrate on the demands of the task is essential to consistently executing these skills we will often find as athletic trainers that when our athletes lose their concentration injuries can occur so it's important to be aware of these factors as we're sitting on the sidelines in The Dugout or observing any sport participation concentration is also important in Rehabilitation our athletes must be focused in order to have successful Rehabilitation our athletes must concentrate which means their attention must be focused on Rehabilitation exercise so that they are present to complete the task at hand we hear the word focus more and more when athletes and coaches discuss getting ready to play and when they evaluate actual performance staying focused for an entire game or competition is often the key to Victory or losing that focus is the ticket to failure even a brief loss of concentration can result in a decrease in performance and may affect the overall outcome so what is concentration concentration is commonly called attention for the purposes of this lecture concentration and attention will be used interchangeably concentration or attention can be either internal or external and Broad or narrow when athletes are focused inwards focusing on things such as their thoughts emotions and physical Sensations they are said to have an internal Focus athletes who are focused on the environment outside of themselves paying attention to things such as weather conditions are using external Focus in terms of width a broad focus is when athletes are paying attention to many things at once for example examining an opponent's alignment whereas focusing on a specific point such as the spot on the ball where a kicker wants to hit it is considered narrow during competitions athletes are often called upon to shift across these dimensions in order to meet the required attentional demands of the situation concentration or attention in the most basic sense concentration is the ability to maintain focus on relevant cues this is the ability to take possession by the mind in clear and Vivid form or one out of what seems several simultaneous possible objects or trains of thoughts vocalization concentration of Consciousness are the essence it implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others concentration is the ability to maintain focus on relevant environmental cues when the environment changes rapidly attentional Focus must also change rapidly thinking of the past or the future raises irrelevant cues that often lead to Performance errors there are three components to concentration or attention number one focus on relevant environmental cues also called selective attention there are different ways to focus external Focus centers on things outside of the body while internal focus is centered on the body an external focus of attention is more beneficial to Performance in a variety of tasks including balance accuracy speed endurance and maximum Force production all important aspects of sport participation number two maintain attentional focus focus may be required to be maintained for the duration of competition research has suggested that the median length of time during which the thought content remains On Target is approximately 5 Seconds and have situational awareness this requires that we understand what is going on around us this ability allows players to size up game situations opponents and competitions to make appropriate decisions based on the situation frequently under pressure and within short periods of time concentration and Optimal Performance we see better concentration and Optimal Performance in Elite athletes in Elite athletes Peak Performance is associated with an attitude or demeanor of being absorbed in the present they are mentally relaxed with high concentration and control they are also in a state of extraordinary awareness they are aware of their body and the external environment at the same time there are several key points to attentional focus that we should touch on there are several types of focus that are used concentration occurs along the continuum various types of attentional focus are appropriate for specific Sports and activities attentional focus is viewed along different dimensions with either broad or narrow and Direction either external or internal we also should be able to shift our attentional Focus shifting attention during a task is important especially during athletic activity the athletic environment changes very rapidly when the environment changes so must our Focus when time pressures are added such as being on a shot clock the difficulty of completing tasks is enhanced the following is the attentional focus practice which can be used at training and athletic events there are four types of attentional focus number one assess this is external and Broad attention this is used to evaluate the environment and allows players to read the game such as anticipating an opponent's movement ball direction or other visual cues shifts the focus of the general external environment that is often changing rapidly throughout a performance for example a quarterback scanning the defense prior to the beginning of a play the second one is perform we can act or react this is external and narrow attention this is effective for focusing on objects when performing a movement or action such as the visual cueing of the ball prior to hitting this is a shift in the focus towards outward executions of a given skill for example a tennis player focusing on her toss as she begins to serve the third one is Analyze This is internal and Broad attention this assists us with analyzing or reviewing past information in decision-making skills for example analyzing a point or evaluating match strategies this shifts our Focus to reviewing one's General thoughts and emotions throughout our performance for example a golfer considering shot selection prior to addressing the ball the last one is rehearse this is internal and narrow attention this permits mental rehearsal for example using imagery to simulate a positive emotional state this is a shift in focus to ready oneself to execute a given skill for example mental rehearsal an example of this would be a basketball player reviewing their self-talk prior to shooting a free throw a broad attentional Focus allows a person to perceive several occurrences simultaneously a narrow attentional Focus occurs when you respond to only one or two cues an external intentional Focus directs attention outward towards an object and an internal intentional focus is directed inward to thoughts and feelings these are pictorial examples of the four types of attentional focus we'll start with narrow and external this is used to focus exclusively on one or two external cues such as a golf ball Broad and external this is used to rapidly assess a situation such as a football quarterback rapidly assessing the position of the defensive backs narrow and internal this is used to mentally rehearse an upcoming performance or control an emotional state such as mentally rehearsing a golf putt or taking a breath to relax and finally Broad and internal this is used to analyze and plan such as developing a game plan or strategy unfortunately attention and concentration can be difficult to maintain so what is the problem unfortunately many people do not have the ability to shift their focus quickly and or effectively concentration problems are frequently caused by inappropriate attentional Focus at any given point during a performance athletes are faced with a number of potential distractors just as one's Focus can be both internal and external so too are distractors external distractors could be visual or auditory and may include other competitors Spectators and the media internal distractors may include negative self-talk fatigue and emotional arousal a change in one's thoughts and emotions can lead to physiological changes as well coaches and competitors often refer to this process as choking although many individuals have different definitions of choking it is most often associated with a rapid deterioration in performance during an important competitive situation the choking process involves physiological and psychological changes that may affect performance usually negatively for example an athlete who is competing in an important game May develop an increased muscle tension and increased anxiety which causes an overly narrow focus and inability to identify relevant environmental cues effectively helping the athlete to manage their thoughts and emotions may allow them to regain the attentional control one of my most favorite examples of somebody losing attention one of my favorite examples of someone losing concentration is Doug the dog from the movie Up he made me this caller so that I may talk squirrel I think most of us can probably identify with Doug at some point during our lives we've lost attention and we've all had those squirrel moments so why do people have attentional issues one issue could be from distractions distractions can alter our ability to adapt to changes and also the speed at which we do so some distractions are internal distractions meaning that they come from within ourselves these are our thoughts worries and concerns some examples of internal distractions include past events some individuals cannot forget about what has just happened especially if it was a bad mistake future events when we worry about what may happen in the future we tend to lose focus on what is going on at the moment also choking under pressure emotional factors such as the pressure of competition can affect an individual's performance this tends to focus on bad performance at critical points in a game or competition over analysis of body mechanics once you have learned a skill the movement should be fairly automatic your attention should be primarily on what you're doing with minimal amount of thinking also fatigue since concentration requires mental effort it can be affected through fatigue fatigue reduces the amount of processing resources that are available to the athlete to meet the demands of the situation external distractors come from stimuli in the environment that divert people's attention from the cues relevant to their performance some examples are visual distractions there are many visual distractions in an environment that can compete for our attention Spectators can cause a visual distraction as well as scoreboards and also television camera Crews auditory distractions noise may also detract from an individual's attention or concentration gamesmanship you may receive auditory visual or physical interruptions from your opponents as well and then physical interruptions so let's examine choking a little further choking occurs when intentional processes lead to impaired performance and an inability to regain control over performance without outside assistance it is associated with thinking too much it's not necessarily the same as panicking though panicking is associated with thinking too little we revert to instincts and quit thinking logically how we lose in sports really doesn't matter either way we've missed the mark it can matter a lot in some situations so we need to pay attention to this the choking process is shown here choking is an intentional problem there are some conditions that may lead to choking such as important competitions critical events in the competition or even evaluations by coaches peers parents and maybe even teachers sensing pressure can cause your muscles to tighten your heart rate and breathing increase and your mouth gets dry and your palms get damp the key breakdown occurs at the attention level instead of focusing externally on the relevant cues in your environment you focus on your own worries and fears of losing and failing as your attention becomes narrow and internal the increase in pressure reduces your flexibility to shift your attentional focus you may have problems changing your focus as the situation dictates impaired timing and coordination fatigue muscle tension and poor decision making soon follow here is a real life example of choking in sports we may have a condition such as a softball player choking when they're trying to hit with someone on base the resulting physical changes may include increased neck and shoulder tension gripping the bat Tighter and breathing may become more rapid attentional changes can occur the individual May begin to talk to themselves and shift their attention they may talk to themselves using phrases such as don't blow it you can do it relax or watch the ball stupid these are examples of negative self-talk performance impairments may result such as reacting too slowly because you are thinking too much or getting angry and rushing your swing or jumping at the ball self-talk occurs when you think about something in a sense you're talking to yourself self-talk has many potential uses besides enhancing concentration such as Breaking Bad Habits initiating action sustaining effort and acquiring skills self-talk includes any statement or thought either overt or covert dialogue self-talk helps to focus on the present and to keep the Mind from wandering if it's appropriate at the time positive self-talk will improve performance and confidence it aids in cognitive restructuring and it's an excellent coping mechanism some techniques for self-talk include thought stopping we first need to identify negative thoughts then we stop the thought it helps to focus on task relevant thoughts negative self-talk may sound like he robbed me on the line that ball was in positive self-talk on the other hand may sound a little different something like there's nothing I can do about it I'm not going to worry about it if I play well I'll win anyway self-talk is typically done by using q words or phrases self-talk is probably better if it is instructional in nature rather than General self-talk is categorized in three ways and they focus on something that is Task specific or relating to the technique it can also focus on encouragement and effort or self-talk may focus on mood words self-talk should be brief and simple it should be logically associated with this skill and it should be compatible with this sequence and the timing of the skill there are tons of evidence and research for the usefulness of self-talk in athletics and even in academics so it might be worth being kinder to ourselves using positive self-talk can help you on exams can help you with assignments and may also increase your physical performance if you're into exercise or sporting events or athletic events individuals who practice self-talk should develop a competition plan practice eye contact work on staying focused in the present over learn skills so that they know the details of all the skills run through dress rehearsals and practice mental rehearsals as well athletes recognize that maintaining concentration is critical to performing their best yet figuring out what to focus on and maintaining the correct attentional Focus during performance is not easy there are however exercises that may be helpful to improving one's ability to concentrate during competition so since concentration can be trained how do we improve it especially in the athletic environment we can use simulations in practice it can help if distractions are present this helps us to create a game-like simulation and allows the participant to practice decision making simulation training is placing the athlete in real life scenarios during practice in order to simulate possible distractions and additional areas of focus that could occur during competition we can use q words to focus focusing on instructional and motivational words can help our participants as well our concentration cues we can develop a list of positive Focus cues such as self-talk or visual reminders to quickly shift one's attention to appropriate points throughout a performance try to employ non-judgmental thinking self-talk is helpful if you can establish a routine and use it both before and during an event focus on controllables versus uncontrollables and make two lists one list should be the controllables which are those factors the athlete can do something about such as the response to a mistake or a bad play the other list should be the uncontrollables which are the elements of performance that the athlete cannot do anything about such as the crowd's response to an athlete's mistake we can also try to practice distraction drills before an event distraction drills identify distractors and deliberate attempts to shift one's attention away from the areas of required focus in order to practice shifting back to relevant cues during a performance there are some individual differences between concentration and intention as arousal increases Beyond optimal we rely most heavily on our best developed attentional ability you don't have to memorize this but research has been conducted in this area and explains how different people have different capabilities for developing broad internal attention other research explains why some individuals are better at sorting large amounts of information and also why those with more experience have less pressure and perform better in critical situations some people appear to be more sensitive to environmental or external information than do others these individuals react more to the environment and to other people more effectively some people are more capable of narrow non-distractable attention this is common with top performers and these individuals can follow through more effectively on the tasks and often take to the highest levels and often take it to the highest levels in the end we have to figure out how to play to people's strengths including our own while thoughts can be overwhelming we do have the ability to control our thinking the ability to habitually control thinking depends on the appropriateness of the situation or Style the level of confidence in that situation and alterations and physiological arousal what are some strategies that can keep attention we can utilize a dress rehearsal we might actually have players put on their uniforms and come out to their walk-up song or pretend like they're starting a game we can try the rehearsal of simulated competition experiences we can participate in mental rehearsals we can also focus on our technique and we tend to move slowly through these skills