Find Your FOCUS
By Malia Bailey
Have you ever watched a match where two players have almost identical skill levels, yet one manages to pull out the win? Or have you seen a match where one player was clearly more skilled, more athletic and more powerful, but that player loses? Or where a player turns an inevitable loss into a win? What gives the winning edge to a player? It’s called FOCUS.
Let’s label FOCUS “Finding Optimum Concentration Under Stress” (or strife, or struggle – you pick the “S”). We are all susceptible to lack of FOCUS, to the detriment of our game. For example,
I was coaching a match once and the player I was coaching could not keep her mind on the court. She
was getting irritated by a spectator who was cheering for the other player. The cheering wasn’t obnoxious, but my player picked up on it and lost her FOCUS on the game. We managed to win the match, but it was a struggle due to the FOCUS problem.
Many lack of FOCUS problems become excuses. For instance a bad call, being up all night, having a sore this or that, allowing your opponent to intimidate you – I’m sure any of us can come up with a top 10 excuse list. We can even talk ourselves out of a win because we are FOCUSing on these excuses.
Even winning itself can cause a lack of FOCUS: some compassionate players feel sorry for their opponents who get way behind, and the “ease-up” syndrome comes into play. These players have lost sight of their goal, and in no time, the momentum of the game can change and may be difficult to recover. So, how do we develop FOCUS? Before even stepping onto the court, most of us have expectations and goals, but have we laid the necessary groundwork? You have to continually work on your fundamentals and create and stick to a plan for practicing: practice with purpose and practice perfectly.
If you know your opponent or have watched them play recently, you can develop a game plan prior to playing. If you don’t know how they play, try different things in the beginning and see what works best: serve to elicit weak returns that feed into your strength. Take high-percentage shots, and play logically.
When I think I am losing FOCUS, I take a time out and take a quick walk (on the court or off). I focus my eyes on the ball and the ball alone, and then get my feet moving. I feel many mistakes are made due to improper footwork or approaching the ball incorrectly, both of which can be worked on in practice.
Turning the game around is purely believing that you can. Be relaxed, try to have fun and FOCUS on executing your plan. Practice, Visualize, Focus and Execute: these four steps will help you reach your goals.