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.