Extra Inning Softball has partnered with former DI softball coach Julie Jones (Akron, Cleveland State) and current Mental Performance and Mindset Coach to help give athletes, coaches and others in the softball world the “Mental Edge.”
Julie spent 26 years leading Division I softball programs with her mission being simple: to build smarter students, stronger athletes and better people.
Today, she also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Ursuline College teaching well-being and performance, mindset training, athletic coaching and career development courses in both the undergraduate and graduate studies programs.
Continuing her work of helping student-athletes reach their goals on and off the field, Julie regularly sends Mindset Made Simple Tips to players and coaches across the country as well as posting them on her site, SSB Performance.
Today, she talks about the importance of FOCUS and how you can work to be better at at!
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Focus while driving…
As I was driving my family from Ohio to Florida to visit my sister last year (during the pandemic), it made me think about how our focus – how we control our attention or where we are focused – affects our performances.
When driving a 12-hour trip (that turned into 16 because of construction!), you play all kinds of games in your head to make the time pass.
To keep my mind occupied, I started to notice my own focus and made some mental notes on my driving performance in different attentional states.
When I looked directly in front of the car or too far ahead, I wasn’t my best behind the wheel. Other times I went with the flow of traffic and found myself allowing the traffic to determine my pace and path.
When we are performing, whether in practice, competition or any type of event that requires our attention and focus, if we look down at the road right in front of us – or think about each tenth of a mile as we are driving it – we won’t function well.
Thinking about every move without trusting that we can advance without hashing out every step will make us slow, and ultimately ineffective. We will be choppy and unable to adjust to what is ahead.
Similarly, looking too far ahead can be just as detrimental.
Looking too far down the road does not allow us to notice the brake lights in front of us or the cars to our side which may become an issue if we need to change lanes! Anticipating the outcome before we get there takes us away from the process and keeps us in a perpetual state of “what-ifs.”
Finally, when our mind wanders, we don’t realize that we have gotten away from our game plan and are inadvertently driving 55 miles per hour with the flow of traffic…or going 95 with the flow (I’d rather this happen than the 55 mph situation!).
We may even end up driving in someone’s blind spot (this used to drive my assistant crazy on recruiting trips) or driving in the middle of a pack of cars and trucks, which increases your chance for accidents.
… & Focus in Life
To be at our best we must have a plan to keep our attention where it needs to be to finish our task most efficiently and effectively.
According to research, our mind wanders AT LEAST 47% of the time.
If this is the case, your attention probably wandered while reading this at least 3 times (maybe more!).
Looking at our next step, looking at the end game, losing focus at any time will happen.
The question is, how do we get back on track when we fail to trust our preparation, look three plays ahead, worry about the outcome or just wander off to la-la land?
Exercises to Improve Focus
Fortunately, our focus is like a muscle. We can train it.
The more we train it, the better we get. It’s called neuroplasticity. New pathways are formed and we get faster and faster at reeling in our focus.
I am sure you have used these before, but concentration girds are a great way to help us build those new neuropathways.
Click HERE to download a concentration grid or HERE to complete a few online.
Do these exercises to improve your FOCUS!
- Search for 00 – 100 and see how long it takes.
- Set a timer for a short period of time and see how many you can get in 7, 15, 30 seconds (you choose).
- Or add in distractions and make it a competition.
- At some point as you work through, make a little checkmark on the side of your grid each time you notice your focus moving from the task at hand.
As you practice more, are there fewer checkmarks?
How many times did you look for a number that wasn’t the next one? (Planning ahead may benefit you, but taking your attention away may end in passing up what you are searching for next).
How often did you think back to what you did and allow it to affect what you are doing right now?
All these things happen as we perform. If we become more aware of them and practice getting back to business, we get better at it. Plain and simple!
We can also make a plan on how to avoid pitfalls once we are aware of when we tend to wander too far ahead, to close to our nose or too much in our own head.
Training our attention makes us better, just like training our bodies does. In fact, failing to train our focus may keep us from reaping the benefits of all our physical training.
I may need to throw in a concentration grid before we head home so I can be where I need to be when I need to be there on the road…and as often as possible!
These grids can be used for anyone…no matter what age or goals. My son and I do them to extend his attention span past the millisecond that it is!
Training our focus can benefit us in so many ways. It is proven to save time and money.
It helps us be more effective with our P’s of peak performance!
We will be more present and more positive since we are living in the now. It keeps us working through our process (that has been practiced in our preparation). And if we are controlling the other P’s, we are more confident which is portrayed in our posture!
Staying focused isn’t easy, but a bit of training can make for a smoother drive!
Have a great week!
Julie
P.S. Want your team to build tools to help your team’s mindset grow? I would love to design a program to fit your team’s needs. Let’s set up a time to talk about how we can build your team’s mental toughness.
To learn more from Julie check out her social media sites below; to contact her personally, she can be reached via email at: juliej@ssbperformance.com
SSB Performance
Website: www.ssbperformance.com
Facebook: /ssbperformance
Twitter: @SSBMindset
Instagram: /ssbperformance
