“The more you lose, the more positive you have to become. When you’re winning, you can ride players harder because their self-esteem is high. If you are losing and you try to be tough, you’re asking for dissension.” Rick Pitino
The ability to maintain focus is the difference between success and defeat. Learning to focus requires the athlete to Recognize,
Regroup, and Refocus purposefully to attain a strong mental game, and reach optimal performance.
Focus and good performance go hand in hand.
Research on sports psychology for basketball have discovered ideas about how athlete’s focus and concentration can be improved.
Learning how to recognize negative thoughts, regroup when those thoughts occur and refocus on the task at hand are ways to improve your focus.
The 3-R’s of Focus
The concept of the 3-R’s was first introduced by Dr. Ken Ravizz; a professor of Applied Sports Psychology at the California State University at Fullerton. Dr. Ravizza has worked with the United States Olympic Softball, Field Hockey, Equestrian, Water Polo, Baseball and Figure Skating Associations for over 20 years.
The 3R’s are – Recognized, Regroup and Refocus.
Recognize
The first step to eliminating negative thoughts and disruptions from your mindset by recognizing their existence.
It is impossible to create a plan to overcome a destructive thought process without first acknowledging what the causes are. Consider the following:
• Does a teammate’s negativity feed into the thought process?
• Is there fear of repercussion of failure from a coach?
• Do parents yell from the stand act as an attention sponge?
All of these are examples of possible negative distractors that limit an athlete’s ability to maintain focus on their performance.
It is imperative to monitor the self-talk, and evaluate if it is positive & encouraging, or negative & weakening.
Once the athlete recognizes the state of the mental focus, then they can take measures to either maintain the positive focus or work to improve it.
Regroup
When the mind is not focused on goals and performance within an athlete’s control, energy is wasted in areas that do nothing to support or improved your performance.
It is important for athletes to leave the thoughts of distractors consciously, and choose to come back to a designated plan for thoughts.
A short mantra is a great way to regroup your thoughts into a positive, focused mindset.
Simplicity is key. Keep your goals, concise and encouraging. It should never be “Don’t drop the ball,” but rather a positive thought like “Always hold on to the ball.”
Refocus
Once your thoughts return to the positive self-talk needed for success, it becomes imperative to maintain that focus to the maximum intensity.
Choose small, attainable short-term goals to keep your focus in the present.
Allow your thoughts to move in the smallest of increments.
Do not concentrate on the end of the race when you’re in the starting blocks.
Do not concern yourself with the play you will run before you run the current play.
Keep your goals in mind, but broken down into small milestones so that you are hyper-focused on one or two thoughts clearly in the present.
It is critical to the overall mindset to eliminate fearful thoughts of failure.
Energy wasted on the “what ifs” of failure deplete cerebral energy from the power of positive focus.
Clearing your mind of negative clutter frees your thoughts, and the energy is spent on attaining the goal.
Regain your Focus
The more you practice the concept of focus and not dwell on the mistakes you perform better against your competition.
Focus is one of the most critical aspects of your performance. It is a mindset skill that doesn’t just happen by chance; you must work at it.
It requires specific strategies; and you can find these strategies in my workbook – An Athlete’s Guide to Peak Performance Series– Focus Like A Champion. Forward by Dallas Cowboy Legend – Eugene Lockhart – The Hitting Machine.
*Go to www.sportspsychologybasketball.com. Click products and get started improving your Mental Game.
