Written by Yesterday, Bryce Strecker wrote about “The ability to focus can become your secret weapon“. It was an extremely informative article that dove deep into understanding focus and assisting athletes to better focus. If you have not read Bryce’s article yet, you must take a few minutes to not only read about focus. If coaches continuously take the time to help athletes focus, that is another sign of positive leadership and culture within the team.
As an athlete, I had trouble focusing from time to time, especially in hours-long endurance races. I am a believer that focus is essential for any athlete and team, and the coach has to provide a safe enough environment, show that the athlete can trust you, a quality culture, and effective communication. Focus is built over time but not all athletes have the same focus resilience experience and ability turn on the focus. Almost all coaches are not trained to provide psychological support like this to athletes but it is an every day part of the job…and supporting athletes to focus during practice, competition, or both is one of the many things a coach has to do. And one of these tasks of a coach is not to simplify things for the athlete so they do not have an opportunity to focus through stress, but to help equip them for future success on focusing through practices and competition.
Bryce’s techniques for athlete focus include: Controlling the controllables, breathing, creating a mental zone, and not screaming at the athletes or team. Bryce uses this approach with athletes, and even coaches, to help keep their focus during practices and competition. This ensures that coaches and athletes can easily grasp the fundamentals of focus and improve their focus.
I leave you with this question: What can coaches, athlete, and teams do to help with their focus? At the end of his article, Bryce provides great ideas to help athletes begin learning how to focus. If you have not read Bryce’s article yet, it is a great opportunity to learn something new to get your athletes performing at their highest levels and better the culture within your team