The Most Likely Reason Practice is NOT Helping an Athlete Get Better
Scientifically, research suggest that athletes who practice more will be better than athletes who practice less. Pop-culture sums this up as the 10,000-hour rule of thumb. But you don’t need scientific research to understand this do you? It seems rather obvious that an athlete who practices more will be better than an athlete who practices less, right?
Well, although this seems right, it’s wrong. If it wasn’t wrong how could an athlete who starts playing a sport in 9th grade be better by the 12th grade than another 12th grade athlete who has been practicing and competing since kindergarten?
If practice time was the only factor, then mathematically this would be impossible. However, this scenario happens in nearly every high school in America routinely. The reason for this is that the old 10,000-hour rule of thumb has been so oversimplified that the original research has practically been forgotten. Subsequently, time is the only factor that most people consider when it comes to practice. Yet, practice time is just one of many factors. Moreover, it’s not even the most important factor. That would be focus!
Focus is the Foundation of Practice
Focus is the most likely reason why practice is not helping an athlete get better at the same rate of another athlete. In fact, focus is the foundation of practice as well as the foundation of mental skills training.
Athletes must understand that the mind and body are not automatically in sync. What’s more, when the mind and body are not in sync an athlete can’t be at their best.
The mind carries out your intentions and the body carries out your attention. If your intentions are on one thing and your attention is on another you’re distracted. When you’re distracted you’re not as effective. On the other hand, when your intentions and attention are on the same thing you’re mind and body is in harmony. When you’re mind and body is in harmony, you have focus.
So, if an athlete is at practice but their mind is on food, that practice time won’t be very effective until they either satisfy their hunger or mentally reprioritize practice. This simple concept applies to nearly every meaningful act the mind and body carries out.
Work will never be as productive when you are thinking about play, and your play will never be as relaxing when you’re thinking about work. Teaching athletes this lesson on focus is the key to getting them to make the most out of their most precious resource, time.