Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / How Focus Impacts Sports Injuries & Mental Toughness

How Focus Impacts Sports Injuries & Mental Toughness

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | Mar 03, 2015

No Comments

football

 

Focus, in simple terms, is the ability to direct and sustain attention toward a specific target.  For athletes, the primary goal of focus is to stay in the moment and pay attention to what is important while simultaneously ignoring things that are not important.  Interestingly, focus not only contributes to on-field athletic success, but it also plays a role in mental toughness and the likelihood an athlete experiences an injury related to poor focus.

Ice slips & focus

Paying attention to our surroundings is very important in life, as it not only helps us reach goals, but also prevents damages that could have been much worse.  One example I like to use when discussing the importance of focus as it relates to injury is when we accidentally slip on ice.  Embarrassing, of course, but have you ever stopped to wonder why those slips end up being so painful the next day?  One simple and logical theory is that ice slip falls are completely unexpected, thereby not allowing us to focus and respond quickly enough to prompt our bodies to cushion the fall.  Having more time to focus — like a football player expecting a hit — allows the body to absorb, or cushion, hits that are often of far more impact compared to short-distance ice falls.  While we will probably never advance to being able to foresee future ice falls, we can parlay the example of ice falls to potential sports injuries.  In simple terms, having your “head in the game” (focus) helps athletes better prepare for collisions, thereby preventing/minimizing injuries.

How focus impacts sport injuries

Unfortunately, when our focus widens we often miss the cues that we may be in jeopardy for harm.  For athletes, this can be practically understood during repetitive, mundane practices where focus often widens (i.e. thinking about weekend plans) at the same time an otherwise expected hit is about to be delivered.  Hits like this can be debilitating, but by strengthening focus and attending to practice drills the injury might have been prevented altogether.

For athletes, being focused in practice and games helps offset the potential negative consequences of physical play.  Conversely, being unfocused leaves athletes very susceptible for serious injury — not because of the hit, but because of the complete lack of attention for the hit when it occurred.  Take for example basketball practice — if an athlete simply “goes through the motions” and is thinking about anything other than basketball, even the simplest contact could lead to devastating consequences because of the body being unprepared and exposed to the hit (think zero “cushioning” whatsoever).  It is for this reason that coaches and parents emphasize the importance of focus to young athletes, and send prompts out regularly to remind kids of the terrible consequences that can occur by being unfocused.

Specific strategies for helping kids with focus include:

  • Talk to them about the connection between focus and potential injuries — just knowing how the odds between poor focus and injuries increase by not paying attention should be a good reminder for kids.
  • If you are a coach, be creative with practices and make sure they don’t become too predictable and mundane.  The more excited and active you are, your kids will more likely follow suit.
  • If you are a parent, help your child find ways to get the most out of practice by setting individual goals you can keep track of in a journal.  The more your child invests in his sport, the more focused he will become in practices and games.

www.drstankovich.com

Tool Kits for Athletes, Coaches, and Parents here!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ac9PPNtKuQ[/youtube]

athlete, Coaching, focus, injury, mental, psychology, recovery, sport, toughness

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Latest Blog Posts

  • May 6, 2025 Beyond the Numbers: How Overusing Sport Analytics Can Undermine Expert Judgment
  • April 21, 2025 Juggling Sports and Schedules: The Hidden Costs of Playing Multiple Sports
  • April 17, 2025 Earning Power: College Athletes Aren’t Greedy, They’re Just No Longer Free Labor
  • April 16, 2025 Decoding Intuition: What Happens When We Follow Our Inner Compass?
  • April 8, 2025 Precision, Purpose, Performance: The Psychology of Efficiency in Success

Comments are closed.

PREVIOUS POST

Sport Psychology 101: Improve Your Performance with this One Big Tip

NEXT POST

Sports Cheating, Safety, and Character Concerns Don’t Seem to Have Any Impact on Fan Interest

Category

Amateur , Athletes , Athletic Counseling , Boys Sports , Coaching , College , Focus , Girls Sports , Mental Toughness , Prep , Pro , Pro and College Sports , Psychology of Injury , Sport Psychology , Sports Parenting , Sports Performance Science , Sports Safety , Team Building , Training and Certification , Training and Development , Uncategorized , Youth and Interscholastic Sports , Youth Sports

Tags

athlete, Coaching, focus, injury, mental, psychology, recovery, sport, toughness

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • Beyond the Numbers: How Overusing Sport Analytics Can Undermine Expert Judgment
  • Juggling Sports and Schedules: The Hidden Costs of Playing Multiple Sports
  • Earning Power: College Athletes Aren’t Greedy, They’re Just No Longer Free Labor
  • Decoding Intuition: What Happens When We Follow Our Inner Compass?
  • Precision, Purpose, Performance: The Psychology of Efficiency in Success
  • The Importance of Passion & Purpose for Sport Success
  • How Human Arousal Impacts Sport Performance
  • Bouncing Back: How Coaches Can Help Kids Learn from a Tough Loss
  • Learn Sports Fear Reduction with these 5 Psychology Tips
  • Why Does Your Kid Play Great in Practice, but Not in Games?
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1207 Grandview Ave., Suite #218, Columbus, OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482

    Media & General Inquiries

    information@drstankovich.com

    Sales & Product Support

    sales@drstankovich.com

  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2025 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓