The Investment of Paying Attention

The investment of paying attention

Within sport we have all probably heard at some point someone shouting at us, whether that was a coach or sideline parent to ‘pay attention’. As a kid, we are probably standing there wondering what that even means! This article aims to look specifically at the concept of attention.

Attention has been described as an ability to focus on a relevant task. Having the capacity to ignore irrelevant distractions is also regarded as essential to sporting success (Moran & Toner, 2018). In contrast, potentially focusing on something too narrowly can create a paradox known as ‘paralysis by analysis’. As a personal example, if I focus too much on the small details of catching a ‘shrimp flip’ this overanalysing can be what causes me to miss – which can be regarded as ‘choking’ in sport. So, how do we get the balance right?

Nideffer (1976) created a model of attention that suggests our focus can be taken in four different directions. I will explain this better in a second, just stay with me for the first part!

These all relate to the different directions in which our attention can be placed during performance.

Broad – Internal

This can relate to an athlete viewing something within the competition and now that has taken up their thoughts. As a calisthenics example, think about competing and the person before you catching an amazing routine and you are internalising that and become anxious. We have had an internal reaction (emotional response) to the situation.

 Broad – External

Our attention can be taken by the environment we are in. This can be the crowd, judges or other athletes. As an example, when we see the crowd we can become daunted by the amount of people and then this takes us away from task-relevant thoughts or spirals to potentially negative thinking.

Narrow – Internal

A narrow internal focus occurs when we potentially have a random thought (which happens throughout competition) that spirals and takes over. ‘What if I miss?’.

If I entertain this thought, it can lead to a ‘threat state,’ which can have a physiological response (butterflies, anxiety, body feeling heavy), and we begin to visualise missing rather than catching the bar.

Narrow – External

Narrow external, in a positive sense can be a deliberate cue we use to place ourselves in a present moment. For example, in rugby, a lot of players will slap their leg to bring their attention back to what’s relevant. The slap on the leg takes you out of the irrelevant thought and your attention turns to the sensation in the leg. Then you can redirect your thoughts to the relevant task. In calisthenics, this could be putting chalk on or getting ‘slap city’ (a slap on the back from a team in case you don’t know!). In a potential negative sense, an external distraction could be a niggle somewhere taking your attention. Or if you are on the verge of ripping your hand, this will definitely take your attention!

Are you placing your attention on the ‘right target’?

How do we bring ourselves back on track?

When there are so many different emotions or thoughts that potentially are looking for our attention, we as a species are very easily distracted (think of your phone!) and without being able to bring ourselves back we can allow a thought to divert us off track.

Within sport psychology, there are a variety of strategies people can use when we have become distracted. If you consider our sport for a second, we are waiting around all day to perform in short bursts, potentially a max of two minutes or forty-five second rounds. This means there is a huge amount of waiting time in our own head before we perform. Therefore, it is essential that we have strategies in place to help us keep task-relevant thoughts. Distraction; Re-action

These can be:

Internal Cues

-          Some people call these affirmations, but an internal cue is a self-talk strategy we use that helps us return to a positive state. These should be personal to the athlete.

External Resets

-          Examples were given above, such as slapping the leg and allowing that sensation to bring you back to the present. Not everyone wants to slap themselves on the leg though!

-          Other examples can be breathwork, honing in deep breaths in and out. Choosing to focus on the breath can bring you back to the present and then allow you to return to task-relevant thoughts.

-          Visualisation. If we become aware of our thoughts no longer being around the task, we can use visualisation to return our thoughts to what is relevant at that time. Visualisation is creating a ‘forward memory’ and when you begin to recreate your routine internally, we refocus on what we want to achieve during our performance and what that will feel like.  

Understanding these steps can help you create a pre-performance routine that can enable you to redirect your thoughts once you realise that distraction has crept in. Utilising these psychological skills can then help you bring out you’re ‘A-game’ during performance. If physical skills are the ‘hardware’, think of psychological skills as the ‘software’ that enables you to deliver and perform to the level you are capable of.

This was a guest post from Our Education Partners at the Irish Calisthenics Institution who are running a Coaches Communication Programme Wednesday January 29th. To find out more information click the link below