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 issue
four ...
CONCENTRATION
In the latest of a series of articles from
International Squash Magazine,
England Squash High Performance Coach David Campion (and
newly-crowned British Open O35 Champion) looks at
the importance of concentration ... |
“Concentrate!”
“Come on, concentrate …
you’ve lost your focus … get it back.”
I must have heard this type of
communication from coach to player on every balcony and corridor of
every club I have ever been in! It has recently got me thinking.
What exactly is concentration?
Once the simple piece of advice of “just concentrate” has been
passionately offered what exactly is the player to do?
My guess is that unless the player has something specific to think
about then they spend the rest of the match concentrating on
concentrating.
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International
Squash Magazine |
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The ability to have both absence and
presence of mind while performing is crucial to high level
performance in all sports. In simple terms, concentration is simply
a matter of where someone puts their attention. At this moment you
are putting your attention to these words. If the phone was to ring
now or you were to start daydreaming then your focus point of
attention will have moved off my scintillating article! During a
match it is crucial that players focus their attention on the things
they need to and at the right times in order to perform at their
optimum.
Former World No.2 Peter Marshall is one of the players most
renowned for his abilities in how to concentrate. Any aspiring young
(or experienced come to think of it) player would benefit greatly if
they ever get a chance to watch him play at the Masters events
around England. Peter has the ability to stay very relaxed but
extremely driven by the outcome that he wants to achieve. There are
no excuses, no obvious signs from his body language on how he is
feeling. He looks insular, in his own world, yet is equally aware of
his opponent and the environment he is playing in.
He knows want he wants and therefore he will concentrate fully on
the things that are absolutely necessary to achieve his outcome and
there is not one thing that will distract him. I asked Peter to give
me his thoughts on concentration and here is what he had to say:
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 "It
is a misconception that concentration and mental strength are innate
qualities. Like all aspects of the game, these areas can be improved
upon. If you get into the habit of concentrating 100% on every
training session, this high level of focus will transfer into your
game.
"I find it helps to have a couple of specific areas I target during
the session, for example trying to keep the ball running tight down
the wall. If my mental intensity has been high during training, I
actually find it easier to concentrate during a match than not
concentrate. If I do find it difficult to concentrate during a
match, I go back to focusing on a specific area of my game.
"Similarly, mental strength arises from preparation. If you get into
the routine of hitting every ball with purpose and meaning, even
when you are tired, you’ll find the amount of `freebies’ you’ll give
away during the match reduces. If you build up a reputation for
being mentally strong, more talented players can be beaten before a
ball has been struck. Surprisingly, this can happen at the highest
level of the professional game." |
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Attention Control:
“Attention is the cognitive process of
selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while
ignoring other things.”
Nideffer, 1976
“Concentration is simply the maintenance of attention.”
Magill, 1989
Basically our attention can be
divided into two areas: Internal Attention and External Attention.
Internal Attention is where we focus on stuff within ourselves: our
own feelings, thoughts and emotions. Squash examples include: our
techniques (i.e. grip, movement), our body condition (i.e. heavy
legs, breathing) and our thinking (i.e. I am playing really well,
what shot do I need to play).
External Attention is where we engage with the environment which we
are in. Some examples are: other people such as markers, referees,
parents, coaches or opponents, court conditions, noises and playing
conditions.
So during a squash rally we need to be skilled at holding our
attention to the things we need to. Squash is an open interactive
game so there will need to be a nice balance between internal and
external attention going on for the player. I notice losers paying
attention to the wrong things at the wrong times and I notice
winners focusing (usually internally) on exactly the right things.
This is exactly what Peter Marshall explains when he says:
“I know I won’t be able to control external factors such as the
state of the court, the crowd, opponents’ antics, referee etc,
therefore I do my best not to worry about them. Over time these
external factors will never stop a player reaching their potential
(unless they let it do so). However, I can control aspects of my own
performance like tactics, ball control and fitness levels; therefore
these are areas I will give full attention in preparation and match
play”. |
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I notice many players who do not have
the mental strength to do this. To me, they haven’t worked on being
able to maintain a focus on one thing for more than 20 seconds.
Marshall explained to me that he could hold his focus easily due to
years of focussed solo practice, training routines and conditioned
games where he trained his brain to hold its attention on one or two
things for long periods.
Problems arise when we become too broad in our focus. We think of
too many things internally and get involved with too many external
things. Players argue with markers, look outside the court too much,
and think about who’s watching, think too technically about things,
look up at parents or coaches too often or notice problems with the
court.
The best players really do keep it simple. They are aware,
especially of how the opponent is playing tactically or of how they
are holding up physically, yet they do not dwell on it. It is a bit
like driving a car through a busy area: you know of all the
potential dangers, signs, pedestrians, noises, other cars etc. but
you just get on with focussing only on what is relevant to you. If
you had to take in and compute everything, you would never move!
Selective attention refers to the ability to separate the important
information without being overloaded. So my message is aimed at
improving your selective attention.
Is it easy? How does pressure affect our attention skills?
Many things affect our ability to hold focus on the things we need
to. We can presume that we only have so much attention to use in any
one moment. If our squash skills are well learned and easy to
perform, we will perform them on autopilot and we will not need to
use up any attention. This means we will have lots of spare
attention left to focus on other things like how the game is going
or how your opponent is moving. |
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Key points:
• The more you practise your skills the more natural they will
become. This will give you more spare attention to focus on tactical
play and what you need to do in the game.
• The higher the level you play you will not find it so easy to
attend to tactics because of the extra pressure you will be under.
This is another reason why playing people who play at a fast pace is
so difficult.
• The more you waste your attention on the wrong things, the less
chance you have of focussing on the things you need to.
• In between games keep it simple. Too much information will only
act as a distraction and confuse the player.
• Avoid creating pressure for yourself by being nervous! Nervousness
will eat up your attention like nothing else. Nerves love getting
attention from you!
• Do not shout too much encouragement from the balcony if you want a
player to do well. You will simply take more of their attention
away.
• Practise under pressure conditions and whilst performing try to
hold your thoughts on only one or two thoughts.
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Use this knowledge to your advantage; take their attention. Try and
distract your opponent occasionally; variation will disrupt their
rhythm.
Improvement arises through hard work and application; consider how
much better your performance could be by learning how to manage your
concentration.
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