THE KEY TO MENTAL TOUGHNESS: The ability to Concentrate and Focus (Part 2)
By Enio Sacilotto, President, International Hockey Camps and Director of Player Development, Victoria Royals, WHL
In our last newsletter we looked deeper and defined what both concentration and focus are. This month we will look at three exercises that will help you improve your focus. Athletes who understand how to focus have the ability to have peak performances regardless of pressure.
Exercise #1 – In our last newsletter we discussed the importance of identifying the key parts of your game that need to be focused on. We also looked at identifying the distractions that prevent you from being your best. This exercise will help you determine what a focus point is and what a distraction is. You will quickly learn that you can basically draw a line right in the middle and clearly define both. This exercise will make it cut and dry for you.
Our first task is to identity the “important stuff” (within your control) and the “unimportant stuff” (out of your control). Examples of the “important stuff” to focus on are; getting enough rest, eating well, having the right attitude, your job on the ice (if you are a defensemen making the first pass and if you are a forward going to the net after your shot). Examples of “unimportant stuff” can be your reaction when you make a mistake, the referee making a bad call or the coach yelling at you.
Write your thoughts in the column below, if there is not enough space take another sheet of paper and draw your line down the middle.
| Important stuff (I can control) | Unimportant stuff (uncontrollable) |
Exercise #2 – Creating Concentration Cues or Statements – Train the mind and the body will follow. Concentration cues are important because when you lose focus they can help bring you back to the present and help you re-focus on the task at hand. These “cues” or “statements” can be action words such as “move my feet” or instructional words such as “play the body” or “stick on puck.” They can also help you maintain emotional control, for example, you made a mistake or the ref made a bad call; “forget it and focus” they can also be position specific. It is very important that you create your own concentration cue words and stay consistent with them. Here are a few guidelines:What this exercise shows you is that your main concern needs to be focusing on the things you can control. Put your time and energy into the “stuff” where you can impact change through effort.
1) The cue words need to be specific to your needs –Picture yourself in your mind’s eye performing your absolute best, what comes to mind? Write the words down. Take the time to do this exercise as the more believable and specific the cue words are the more effective they will be.
2) Be positive. Focus on the behavior you want rather than what you don’t want. If you need to use your cue words after a mistake, focusing on the negative behavior is something you don’t want. Always think positive!
3) Keep your phrases short. Your word or statement is needed to re-focus and in sports refocusing needs to happen quickly.
4) Once you have established your key words you need to use them every time you are on the ice, including practice, games and even shinny with the boys.
5) Visualize yourself in one of your “unimportant stuff” situations, feel the emotion of upset, anger or whatever it is. Then use your cue words to bring yourself back, calm, focused and ready. Practice is so important in these situations.
Use this chart as a guide to come up with your own cue words or phrases:
|
Cue Word | I will use this when: | |
| Quick Feet | Move it | When racing for the puck | |
| Control temper & stay quiet | Easy does it | When ref makes a bad call | |
Exercise #3 – When you are in the heat of the battle it is important to be in the present. You need not worry about the past (your last mistake, last game…) or the future (result of the game). You need to focus what you are doing now. This, of course, is easier said than done.
Keeping concentration is a two part process:
1) RECOGNIZE when your concentration drifts away
2) RETURN – quickly bring your focus back to the now.
Everyone loses their focus and concentration at one time or another, the key is to come back to the now quickly. The following is an exercise to develop your mental muscle:
1) Get yourself in a quiet room, relax, take a puck, sit about three feet away, pick a spot on the puck and focus on it.
2) Put all your attention on the puck. Use your breathing, inhale (feeling your breath) and exhale, as you exhale, use a cue word such as “puck”, “now” or “breath”. It doesn’t matter which word you use. Again, inhale feel your breath and exhale repeating your cue word, focusing on the spot on the puck.
3) Maintain your concentration and focus for as long as possible…. This is very boring activity. You are inevitably going to drift off!
4) When you are aware that you are drifting off, bring yourself back to the now, refocusing on the puck. RECOGNIZE & RETURN – this is the key. Remember to breath and say your cue word.
5) Do this about two minutes every day, your concentration will increase as you keep practicing. You will then be able to transfer this skill to game situations.
Remember this is a skill. You take the time to practice your sport skills, you will work on your fitness and nutrition, and now make sure you work on your mental skills as well.
These three exercises done on a regular basis will help you to be mentally strong when peak performances are needed under all different types of pressure.
If you have any questions, you reach me by email at enio@coachenio.com, phone 604 255 4747 or visit my website at www.coachenio.com for free player, parent and coaching resources. You can also learn about our specialized personal hockey camps.