Attention is King

Tapping into real motivation (see: Find Your Motivator) is critical because it unlocks the neurological underpinning of all athletic performance: Attention.

As my friend Al Coleman says:

“Focus is great — that’s what happens in a moment. But attention is the organizing force.”

I’ve had the chance to review his upcoming book Behavioral Approach, and one of the lines that hit me:

“The problem is not that people fail to try. The problem is that trying hard in ten directions simultaneously is not the same as trying hard in one direction.”

Proper attention gets all that effort moving in the same direction, thus improving performance.

Fortunately, attention is a trainable skill. The way to strengthen it is surprisingly simple: repeatedly return your attention to an external object (the ball, the target, etc.).

When the athlete’s attention drifts — and it will — we don’t shame it. We train the return. The goal is to get faster at noticing the drift and quicker at bringing attention back to the right external cue.

Ironically, the moment you start thinking “I’m paying attention right now,” you’ve already lost it. That’s why we train it through action, not overthinking. See the drift, accept the drift, take action by returning attention to the external object.

This is why I’m so adamant about letting kids play without constant sideline coaching (see: Let Your Kid Play). Every time a parent or coach overrides the player’s attention with instructions, they rob the child of the reps needed to build this critical skill.

Real attention can’t be shouted in from the outside. It must be grown from within.

I’ll update this post with a direct link to Al’s book Behavioral Approach when it drops.