Season almost done? Keep practicing for focus

As we approach the end of the fall sports season, it is easy for athletes to lower their effort during practice. This can happen for a number of reasons. Lower effort could occur because players know that they are going to make the postseason or because they know that there is no possible way to make the postseason. However, it is important for everyone to understand that continuing to practice hard has a lot of individual benefits, regardless of the season’s outcome.

Below are three ways that practice can help you become a better athlete, long after this season is ends.

Avoid overthinking technique. Practicing leads to two separate but interconnected outcomes. First, practicing helps you understand what should be done in a given situation during a competition. For example, a football quarterback studies the habits of an opposing team so he can take advantage of the opposing defense’s weaknesses. Thus, a particular play may be developed and called during a game when the quarterback recognizes a certain defensive coverage.

Becoming second nature. The second reason for practicing is to condition an athlete to perform a skill during competition without thinking, making a skill become second nature. Often you will hear professional athletes struggle to describe a spectacle performance because it was an unconscious reaction. When a skill has become so engrained, athletes no longer have to consciously think about their performances; they just go out and do it. This is preferable because your performance will suffer when you start having to think about a skill during competition, especially a complex mechanical skill like swinging a golf club or throwing a football. Practice until it becomes routine so that you never need to think about how to do it or when to do it.

Pay attention to the opponent. When you no longer have to think about a skill, you free up your mind to pay attention to more important things. Although the brain is complex, it is terrible at multitasking. Thus, when you have to think about performing a skill during competition, it takes away your ability to think about everything else around you. Diverting your attention inwards instead of outwards can be problematic. For game sports (e.g., football, basketball, baseball, tennis), you cannot pay attention to your opponents. For racing sports (e.g., marathons, triathlons, sprints), you cannot pay attention to your own race plan.

When you are thinking about what to do next, you are at the mercy of the outside environment. An internal focus is not bad itself, but when it is focusing on a skill that should be automatic, it allows outside forces like the other team to take advantage. You will miss important cues, fail to enact your game plan, or just succumb to stress. Either way, practice will help you free up your mind to pay attention to what is going on around you.

Play better when fatigued. Similar to the first two recommendations, playing when you are tired can be improved with practice. It is important to note that fatigue can be physical, mental, and emotional. This is particularly important for sports where competition is short and allows for a lot of recovery between bouts, in these circumstances an athlete may not be physically fatigued after each competition. But the competition may still drain an athlete mentality and emotionally. Practicing a skill to the point where it is automatic will help maintain a high level of performance even when you are exhausted physically, mentally, or emotionally.

As a result, all athletes should maintain the same effort throughout an entire practice session, regardless of how long or tiring. Obviously, effort should be adjusted depending on the activity, but it should not drop because the practice is almost over. Remember, what you do in practice will show up I the game. To maintain your performance when you are tired depends on the quality and quantity of your practices.

Practice is the lifeblood of any sport. It is hard and it should challenge you both physically and mentally. But in the end, practicing with a purpose will make you a better player and teammate.

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Season almost done? Keep practicing for focus."