Winners Mind - Advanced Sports Psychology

Three of the key aspects in improving performance include focus, concentration and centredness.

Concentration includes what a player attends TO in playing or competing. This compares with how a player focuses which is about remaining in the immediate sporting context. So for instance a player who is playing on the 18th whilst thinking about handing his card in is not focusing. Doug Saunders was on the 18th with a 3 foot putt for the Open only to start thinking about his presentation speech whilst lining up this final putt.

Other players have been known to dwell on mistakes or missed opportunities rather than just playing their current game. Concentration requires being in the here and now with total attention to the task in hand. Staying in the here and now is often difficult under pressure or when things start to go awry.