MAINTAINING COMPETITIVE FOCUS, Part 3

Switching Allegiances

IN A PREVIOUS POST ON THIS TOPIC, I talked outlined a number of problems that often take us out of competitive focus, providing the example of Jay, the team captain.  It is the exceptional athlete who doesn’t find that he loses his focus at least some of the time. As with Jay, so with most athletes – a closer examination reveals that it isn’t so much a matter of losing focus as it is of our focus being re-directed.  In Jay’s case, he found his focus being directed to concerns with his coach, or with pro scouts in the stands, or with what he worried his teammates might be thinking about him.

There are a number of ways to get back on task when this happens, and you might have found some ways that work for you.  In general, successful ways to re-focus involve not only directing your thoughts away from something (the distraction), but directing them towards something else (the task at hand).

To be successful, the (positive) thing you want to direct your thoughts towards has to be more compelling than the distracting thing that is commanding your attention at the moment.

The captain of another team reported experiencing problems in refocusing after finding herself frustrated during games in which her team was losing. She reported wanting to have more control over situations relating to her role as an experienced player on an otherwise rookie team. Seeing her teammates make errors which would cost them the game was getting under her skin.  After dealing with this problem for some time, she came upon a creative solution.

I am rather proud of my re-focusing strategy, primarily because I found it all on my own, and also because it works. One night as we were lined up by our bench, standing facing the scoreboard while the national anthem was being played, it came to me.  I focused on the scoreboard, and below where the scores are indicated, I noticed an “Enjoy Coca Cola” sign. That’s when I said, “Ah-hah, that will be my cue.  Since I’m always looking up to the scoreboard during the game, why not benefit from it!

So each time I felt frustrated (or more like swearing, and losing my cool) I’d look up and see “ENJOY” printed there as a reminder to – above all – enjoy myself.  Even if the score indicated a trouncing, there would be the rest of the board telling me … just enjoy the game! Much to my delight, this strategy, to this very day, is most effective.”

Human emotions are such that we cannot experience joy and frustration at the same time (just as one cannot be relaxed and anxious at the same time) so the decision to focus on enjoying the game has the consequence of blocking frustration as an alternate response to the same situation.  So once you have found a compelling focal thought which is positive and energizing, it will more or less take over your mind, leaving no room for the worrisome thoughts that were previously de-railing your focus.

And THAT is the thought to which you want to maintain allegiance.    

© 2008 by Dr. Mitchell Smith.  All Rights Reserved.

WHAT DO YOU KEEP SCORE OF WHEN YOU'RE KEEPING SCORE?

I Should … I Must … I Gotta

  Jeremy, a post player I was working with, was frustrated that he was unable to play in competition the way he knew he could. As his team’s starting center, he was getting plenty of playing time, but he was going through a stretch where he was playing well below his potential. In particular, whenever he would miss a shot, he would stress about it – typically saying to himself something like “I SHOULD have had that shot.” This would lead to the next thought: “I MUST make the next shot.”  This was especially the case when it came to missed dunks and the thought that he had missed the one shot that was a sure thing –  the one with the most dramatic flair attached to it – and missed it in front of a LOT of people to boot! “I’m 7’2!” he thought to himself.  “I’m SUPPOSED to make that shot.  How embarrassing! Goodness only knows what people think of me now!!”

  He had more or less found himself in a mindset where a made shot gave him a sense of relief for not having missed. The idea of missing a shot weighed more heavily on him than the satisfaction of a shot he made.

  When we feel we MUST do something (and we consider failure to do it as a blow to our self-esteem) we add to the PRESSURE involved in the task.

  Try finishing the sentence starting with “I MUST ___________”  (like… “I MUST dunk the ball to show everyone I am a ‘player’ ”), and ask yourself how that makes you feel as you hear yourself saying this sentence.  As you become aware of this, you may notice a tightening of the muscles somewhere in your body (core? shoulders? arms?). That stress and physical tightening that occurs when you feel the extra pressure is obviously going to get in the way of your performance.

  Now try saying to yourself:  “I CAN ____________”,  (completing the sentence the exact same way as before – the same task). What feelings/sensations does THAT induce? For most athletes, changing your thought from “I MUST ___” to “I CAN ___ ” is likely to result in the tension giving way to feelings of muscular relaxation, a feeling of readiness and positive energy.  WHAT DO YOU NOTICE?

  Jeremy felt that a contributing factor in his situation was that he was very competitive, and if he didn’t have a good game or do a good job he felt like he had failed to come up with the goods (play to his potential).  So I issued Jeremy the following challenge: I asked him to think about which player on his team seemed to have the most fun in practice and games.  I challenged him to compete with that player in the task of having fun, and after a week to report back to me as to how he was doing. At least in part, the focus was removed from finishing shots to having fun.  THE RESULTS: JEREMY STARTED TO MAKE MORE OF HIS SHOTS.

   Another post player, Carl, was a reserve post player who didn’t get much playing time. This was, of course, a source of great frustration, and as often happens in such cases, started to have an impact on Carl’s level of motivation. It was hard for Carl to put forth his best effort in practice when it seemed like nothing he did made any difference.

   It was as if Carl was saying to himself, “I SHOULD be playing more; I MUST get into games.” Not actually getting to play, Carl was become more and more frustrated, and it showed.

                                                                                                        

   To Carl I issued the following challenge: to think about which player on his team hustled the most in practice, and to set for himself the goal of reaching at least 90% of the hustle level shown by that teammate – and to rate himself on this at the end of every practice.

   While there was no change in Carl’s minutes, and this continued to frustrate him – his motivation level improved, and he brought more intensity to practice. This happened because Carl shifted his focus from something he couldn’t control but tied his hopes to (“I MUST get playing time”) to something over which he had complete control (giving total commitment in practice) and which – if he thought about it enough – DID matter (“I am giving 100% and can feel proud of that – I’m not a slacker”). And even though Carl’s minutes didn’t improve much (there are a number of reasons why this might have been the case – not all of them necessarily having to do with Carl directly), his attitude about his situation did improve. THE RESULT: CARL STARTED ENJOYING PRACTICE AGAIN.

   Jeremy had the talent to be a big-time player, but his stress was getting in the way of playing his best. Carl was losing his motivation because of his frustrations with not getting playing time.  In both cases, a shift in focus and mindset – coupled with a challenge which asked them to keep score on some aspect of their play which was different from what they usually focused on, was helpful in altering their situation for the better.

   IN BOTH CASES, the athletes were able to step up their game when they learned to stop worrying so much about things that were outside of their control by shifting their focus to other matters over which they COULD exercise control. Once they did, they addressed themselves to mastering THOSE areas, which left them feeling MORE EMPOWERED – and ultimately MORE CONFIDENT in their ability to play at their highest level of proficiency (and to have a lot more FUN in the process!!)

© 2010 by Dr. Mitchell Smith.  All Rights Reserved.