ose things that are critical to their performance, to the exclusion of everything else. In a very real sense an athlete and his or her performance becomes one, and nothing else in the world exists for that period of time. In individual sports, best performances occur when athletes are totally connected or riveted to their performance, often to the point of performing on autopilot and letting their bodies lead, without interference. In team sports best performances likewise occur when players are totally focused and absorbed in the crucial aspects of their performance (Barrington, J.1987). They are totally aware of the flow of relevant play around them, completely trusting in their capacity to automatically read and react to that awareness, and totally connected to the execution of their own moves. Their focus must be readily adaptable like the zoom lens on a camera, capable of zooming in and out. For example, a point guard in basketball or a quarterback in football needs a wide-angle perspective when focused on reading the field for an open receiver, then a zooming in on the open player and an inner awareness of making a crisp and accurate pass. The ideal performance focus is total connection to performance even though the demands may be constantly changing. (Barrington, J.1987pg.34) It is important for an athlete to discover what focus works best for you and under what specific circumstances. Initially they may experience it for only short periods, but hard work on allowing this focus to become a natural part of all performances will pay off (Orlick,T.1990,pg.18). A lot of focusing practice in sport involves learning to stay connected to what is being done, to the body and its feelings; not letting irrelevant or distracting thoughts interfere with the natural performance program in the mind and body; trusting the body to do what it’s been trained to do without forcing: and directing your body when it begins to tire or deviate fro...
