Focus and Concentration: Some Tips For Getting Your Players Back  

Into the Match 

 

By. Lauren Tashman, David W. Eccles, and Gershon Tenenbaum 

 

It’s the second half of the match and you look out on the pitch only to see that 

your players just don’t seem to be able to focus: They are missing important 

opportunities to attack and getting mentally and physically beaten by the 

opposing team.  Their ability to concentrate on the important aspects of the 

match has plummeted and doesn’t seem to be recoverable.  Unfortunately, loss 

of focus and concentration are common occurrences in sport - especially in a 

sport like football that requires constant attention throughout the course of the 

match.  Due to this inevitable aspect of the match, it is important to understand 

the nature of focus and concentration as well as to incorporate exercises into 

practice that will help your players avoid and overcome these undesirable 

situations in matches. 

 

Researchers in sport psychology have suggested that there are two aspects of 

attention. The first is width, ranging from broad to narrow, and, the second, 

direction, ranging from external (focussing on things going on in the environment 

outside of the body) to internal (focussing on things going on inside the body).  

The combinations of these dimensions result in four “styles” of focus.  

•  A broad-external focus involves the player being able to pay attention to a 

large range of things in the environment.  This style is important in football 

because players need to be able to take in a wide variety of cues from 

many different sources.  For example, football players need to be able to 

concentrate on their location on the field, the locations of team-mates, the 

locations of opponents, and the movement of the ball between players. 

•  A broad-internal focus involves processing and analysing general 

information from inside the body.  This focus may be helpful when a player 

has to assess his or her energy level in order to decide whether to go after 

an opponent with the ball or stay back and play in defence. 

•  A narrow-external focus involves the direction of attention to a few specific 

pieces of information in the environment.  This may be beneficial for 

goalkeepers, for example, when they are attempting to stop a penalty kick.  

In this instance the goalkeeper needs to block out irrelevant information 

(i.e., avoid a broad-external focus) and only focus on a few specific pieces 

of information, such as the hip and shoulder angle of the opponent kicking 

the ball. 

•  Lastly, a narrow-internal focus involves the ability to block out irrelevant 

external information from the environment and only attend to a few, 

specific internal cues.  For example, a player taking a penalty kick may 

need to focus his or her attention away from distractions such as the 

crowd and opponents, and focus only on positive thoughts that will 

produce an effective shot on goal.   

 

With the internal-external distinction in mind, we can consider the various 

distractions present during a match that can make it difficult for players to 

maintain optimal focus and concentration.  Distractions can be internal to the 

player (e.g., irrelevant thoughts, such as an upcoming exam) or external to the 

player (e.g., loud noises from the crowd).  External distractions are particularly 

common in football. For example, sudden movements, loud noises from the 

crowd, arguments, and distractions from the sidelines can divert players’ 

attention and focus away from the match.  These distractions can also be caused 

as a result of specific strategies used by the opposition.  For example, crowds at 

away matches can 

be intentionally 

disruptive and 

opposing players 

can use intentional 

distraction 

techniques such as 

visual blocking, 

diving, shirt-pulling, 

verbal distractions, 

and provocation. 

 

The following techniques mentally prepare players for potential distractions and 

allow them to practice gaining more control over their focus and concentration.  

An important point to note is that these exercises need to be practiced frequently 

in order for players to reap the benefits from them in competition. 

 

Cue Words 

 

This exercise can be applied to individual players or to the entire team.  The idea 

is to choose a word or phrase that triggers a response for focus and 

concentration.  Individual cues can be task-general (i.e., motivational or 

emotional words) such as “relax” or “power”.  They can also be task-specific (i.e., 

words relating to the techniques involved in football) such as “eye on the ball” or 

“head up”.  Team cue words can be used as motivational triggers during the 

competition to get players back into the match (e.g., “get focussed”) or they can 

be used as signals to team-mates about important environmental cues (e.g., 

“close up” to signal to defenders to mark their opponents).  Cue words are most 

beneficial when used consistently, phrased in positive terms, and are meaningful 

to the players.   

 

Simulations in Practice 

 

Using simulations in practice can be extremely effective for improving players’ 

focus and concentration.  The simulations involve practicing with distractions that 

are expected during competition.  This technique is most effective when the 

distracters that are expected to be presented during a specific upcoming 

competition are recreated during practice sessions undertaken prior to that 

competition. This approach may be thought of as distracter “inoculation”.  For 

example, potential distractions for an away match with a rival team may include 

rowdy fans, a different climate, and opponents using specific strategies for 

distractions.  Practice simulations for this match should try to mimic as best as 

possible these specific potential distractions. 

 

Pre-performance Routines 

 

One of the best ways to avoid loss of focus and concentration during competition 

is to have specific pre-performance routines outlined prior to the match that 

remain consistent throughout the season.  Broad routines should be developed 

(i.e., routines that begin the night before competition and end at the start of 

competition) to prepare players for the match.  For example, a player may start 

his routine the night before by packing his bag for the match, getting a good 

night’s sleep, eating a healthy breakfast, being on time for the match, and doing a 

breathing and imagery session immediately prior to the match.  Narrower 

routines should be developed (i.e., a specific routine for a penalty kick) to 

improve focus on a specific task.  For example, a task-specific routine may 

involve placing the ball, taking a set number of steps back, taking a deep breath, 

looking at the target, and then kicking the ball.  

 

Contingency Planning 

 

This exercise is closely related to pre-performance routines and practice 

simulation.  It is an effective method for reducing loss of focus during matches.  

The idea of contingency planning is to prepare prior to a competition for possible 

distracting situations that may arise during a competition.  This exercise is best 

carried out in a team meeting in which players and coaches brainstorm various 

possible distracting situations that may or are likely to occur during a specific 

upcoming competition and then develop and discuss potential courses of action 

for dealing with each of these situations.  For example, if the weather forecast 

includes snow and the opposing team tends to be very physical and 

confrontational, it is beneficial to discuss strategies for dealing with these 

situations so that, if they arise, players have at their disposal ways to deal with 

these situations and, as a consequence, are not “thrown off” by them. 

 

Can/Cannot Control 

 

This is a simple exercise to demonstrate to players that they should try to recover 

from distractions that they cannot control (e.g., a fellow player being injured out of 

the match).  It helps them understand that they can’t do anything to change the 

things they cannot control and need to keep focussed on those that they can 

control (e.g., the effort they are putting into the match) because they can always 

do something to change the things they can control. Players should be asked first 

to identify situations or circumstances related to an upcoming match that they 

think they will and will not be able to control.  For example, the opposing team 

may contain some very talented players, which might make the home team’s 

players spend a lot of time thinking they can’t beat them. However, pointing out 

that there is no point wasting time thinking about this aspect of the match 

because there is nothing that can be done about it, and redirecting players’ 

attention to those aspects of the match they can control, such as their motivation, 

communication, and attitude, will be beneficial.  This process can be undertaken 

as a written exercise wherein players write in columns the things that they can 

and cannot control. As a great way to confirm to players how they should focus 

their attention to those aspects of the match that they can control is to then ask 

them to tear off the “cannot control” portion of the list and throw it away.  This 

activity can be done on an individual or team basis. 

 

Table 1. A brief example list of what can and cannot be controlled. 

 

CAN CONTROL 

CANNOT CONTROL 

Effort Opponent 

ability 

Motivation Opponent 

effort 

Communication Weather 

Attitude Referee 

 

Summary 

 

In this article, we have outlined various techniques designed to help improve the 

focus and concentration abilities of your players. As always, there is no such 

thing as a ‘free lunch’, and the effectiveness of these techniques will only be fully 

understood following a commitment to consistent practice and use of the 

techniques. However, we are confident they will prove to be an effective resource 

in helping your players obtain a focussed state prior to matches and regain this 

state following the distractions that are part and parcel of the thrilling world of 

football matches.  

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Further Reading 

Moran, A. (2003). Improving concentration skills in team-sport performers: 

Focusing techniques for football players. In R. Lidor & K.P. Henschen 
(Eds.), The Psychology of Team Sports (pp.161-189). Morgantown, 
WV: Fitness Information Technology, Inc. 

 
Stratton, R.K., Cusimano, K., Hartman, C., & DeBoom, N. (2005). Focus. In J. 

Taylor & G. Wilson (Eds.), Applying Sport Psychology: Four 
Perspectives (pp. 51-63). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 

 
Weinberg, R.S., & Gould, D. (2003). Foundations of sport and exercise 

psychology (3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Lauren Tashman

 is completing a Ph.D in sport psychology at Florida State 

University as well as working towards certification as a sport psychology 

consultant with the North American Association for the Advancement for Applied 

Sport Psychology. She is currently a consultant to athletes in a variety of sports 

including swimming and diving. 

 

Dr. David Eccles

 is an Assistant Professor at the Learning Systems Institute and 

the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Florida State 

University. He has published in the areas of expertise and skill acquisition. He is 

an Accredited Sport Psychologist with the British Association of Sport and 

Exercise Sciences and served as the sport psychologist to the Welsh Canoeing 

Association from 1998 to 2001. 

 

Professor Gershon Tenenbaum

 is Benjamin S. Bloom Professor of Sport and 

Exercise Psychology at the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning 

Systems, Florida State University. He is a past President of the International 

Society of Sport Psychology and currently Editor of the International Journal of 

Sport and Exercise Psychology. He has published extensively in the areas of 

emotion, cognition, and expertise.