Are you Focused?
(Adapted from an article written by David Pilchman)

Recently, a player walked into my office and repeated a familiar story. In reviewing a game she declared, "My coach told me that I was not ready. He told me that I was not focused."

As we began to examine this, it became apparent that she, like many other athletes, was actually unaware of what it meant to be ready, what it meant to be focused, and of course, how to get there.

In any athletic performance, concentration is the key to excellence. Hundreds of hours of training in the gym, as well as in the weight room, can be wasted if the player does not systematically include a commitment to developing championship focusing skills. The power of one-pointed focus on the challenge at hand helps synthesize all of the athlete's hard work, and enables him to achieve a peak performance.

In point of fact, players, like all of us, are always focused. But the relevant question is, "On what, and where?" At any moment, our attention can be in one of three time zones; the past, the future, or of course, the present. While eating a meal, how many bites do we most often taste? Every bite, every-other, one? For most of us, the answer is two-the first and last. The reason is simple. As we eat, our mind wanders, to "distraction" as it is known, perhaps moving to thought about what occurred during our day, or what is to come. In order to taste our meal, we need to have our attention in the present time zone, in the "Here and Now."

To play at your best, you must be in the "Here and Now" during warm-ups as well as throughout every moment of the game. Controlling your eyes and ears before and during competition is the key! Athletes need to learn how to direct their attention to what readies them for peak performance and helps them feel confident and secure. Focusing on your opponent's superior record, what happened to you in this game last year, or the fact that you can not find your favorite good luck charm only increases the chance of failure. Instead, while stretching, focus on how comfortable your muscles feel, and how well prepared you are. And as you walk onto the court you might repeat a personal cue such "this is my game." In this way, your mind and body are in the same place, the same time zone, as you remain focused, calm, and in control.

As Phil Jackson professed in Sacred Hoops, "Of course, it's no accident that things are more likely to go your way when you stop worrying about whether you're going to win or lose and focus your attention on what's happening right in this moment."

Athletes will consistently accomplish more when they learn to turn down the chattering in their heads and simply trust their body's innate wisdom. It seems like a paradox, but in actuality, an athlete's effectiveness will increase by "letting go" and not getting lost in thought. This does not mean being stupid; it means becoming completely immersed in the moment and allowing your body to do instinctively what it has been trained to do with the mind getting in the way. Players who are focused, do not get distracted by their opponent's extra hard box out, the fans yelling at the team, or the foul that wasn't called. When you are successfully "in the zone," the mind and body are completely in sync, freeing you up to hit the next shot or get the next rebound.

Mental toughness skills, like basketball fundamentals, are learned. For best results, the athlete must work to develop them during the off-season, and then implement them on a daily basis at practices and games during the season.

Excellence is earned!