Week 5 improving self focus

Hi Performer M today we are going to tr and improve your self focus. Last week we looked at self belief which I hope has benefitted you. Congratulations on getting to the play offs and it is important you have high self focus.

The reason for this is because of the position you play within the team. As a defender you have to maintain a straight line with your defence, this is because you want to keep strikers offside. 

Without self focus you will not pay attention on instructions from teammates.  This can lead to opportunities for opponents during the game to capitalise on your mistakes.

Also self focus is important because without it your performance levels can drop dramatically.  This is because the moment you 'switch off' can cause the mind to lose concentration. 

The relation here consists of arousal levels as the diagram showed low arousal low performance. This is the same and also continuity of losing concentration during competition can be hard to retrieve. 

Your self focus is what keeps you mentally targeted on aims and objectives. The performer who therefore has greater self focus can achieve more. 

Long term you can improve your self focus through selective attention. Selective attention is where your mind only pays attention to what is important for the performer. The mind successfully blanks out additional parts of the environment which is not needed. 

To improve your selective attention you should start with training. The sessions should consist of brighter equipment such as the footballs and the jersey you play in. 

This helps the mind focus on these parts of the environment. The focus for the player would then be on the bright blue ball, not the trees behind the net.  

The selective attention can continue and this will allow an increase on how you focus. As the competitor you would then get use to all environments, without having to take everything into consideration. 

Short term programme to improve your self focus is more simple.  What you need to do is focus more on the present rather than the past and future. 

By doing so the performer will be blocking any negative thoughts. These thoughts will start disappear and the mind will be more focused on accomplishing the task ahead. 

For your next match day competition I want you to complete the above. Once you have step foot onto the pitch you must remember what has been presented on the blog. 

After doing so all thoughts about what has happened before leaves. I do not want you to reminisce on memories of the past but focus on the future. 

Also what is to happen in the future will take place wait for the game to end before being concerned. 

All the best with the play offs

Sign off

Mohammed Yahyah Patel