Player Focus

Player Focus

How to assist players create and maintain “Focus”.

Concepts:  Very few things to clutter the mind.  Keep everything simple.  

Players need to know exactly what is expected if they are to perform consistently.

During the week: Practice team patterns a lot. Break down the key aspects e.g. quick ball at first ruck ...  Players need to have a very clear picture of the play and continuity.  As the weeks progress fine tune the play and look beyond what is being done to date.   E.g. 8-9. What is required to make it work?  What is an alternative should the scrum not get right shoulder?  Where should players be positioned to successfully carry out the alternative?    Get the players playing a role in the patterns.

Players should focus during the week on something they are good at. If they carry that out during the game other things will fall in to place. They need to have warm, cuddly feely, positive things going on inside.   They need to know what their one or two main roles are within the team.

Use the “Stop Focus” and “Win Focus”. The ‘stop focus’ is having a plan to nullify the key strength in the opposition.  The ‘win focus’ is the single key aspect that you will use to dominate the opposition.

Prior to the Game:  Plan the first 5 minutes of the game down to what the sequence from the kick off might be.   If nothing else, it keeps the players mind from wandering to outside influences.  The aim is to score in the first five minutes. After that the team should focus on scoring in the next five minutes and so on.  You could also talk up the key periods: 10 minutes before half time/10 minutes after half time . Players need to know how they are to respond during these periods.

During game:  The captain should pull the team together at every opportunity to plan the next play. [After a try / injury...]  Nominate the players required to lead the way! Don’t talk in generalisations. Players should take responsibility and nominate themselves for action.  Keep this up during the game.  There should be a constant buzz of enthusiasm and energy.

These are ‘triggers’ which will help players maintain their concentration and understanding of what is required from them.

Maybe you can develop some of these ideas if you are not already doing them. Coaching is all about exploring new ideas and developing them to suit your team.

Good luck.