3 suggestions for focusing during a penalty shot

Soccer is a sport wherein all of the cognitive resources of an individual are required to acquire optimal performance. In particular, there are occasions when you might have to focus, like during a penalty shot.

Penalties are one of the crucial tense moments during a match. So much in order that the moment before launching it feels as if time has stopped and nothing else exists at that moment.

How to focus during a penalty shot

This tension that we’re commenting on is something inherent in that instance of the match, besides the footballer has to know how one can manage it to achieve success. This includes not only the player who decides to throw it, but in addition the goalkeeper who has to attempt to stop it.

Given the importance they often have on the end result, listed here are recommendations on how one can focus during a penalty.

1. Establish a pitching routine

Routines are a basic technique that each athlete must apply to remain focused on vital moments. In fact, many athletes already put it into practice even without being aware that they’re doing it.

Basically, a routine is a sequence of actions that’s executed mechanically and that permits the athlete to extend their attention and confidence in a task. The routines are of a private nature, which means that there isn’t a universal routine that works for all athletes, but that every one has to seek out the one that matches the perfect.

In addition, you might have to distinguish between routine and superstition. The latter are based on the assumption that an motion will bring luck. For their part, the routines have the target of accelerating the concentration within the athlete, but they usually are not related to mystical features or probability.

2. Use positive self-instructions

It is normal that, before a penalty, the footballer experiences nervousness or anxiety. However, stress has a negative impact on athletic performance. The nerves can come from the situation of getting to attain the penalty or from the pressure thoughts that the athlete says to himself.

Regarding the primary case, little will be done; it shouldn’t be possible to alter the meaning of that moment. Therefore, to eliminate nerves, it is going to be crucial to work on the second assumption, that’s, negative thoughts and verbalizations.

One technique that works thoroughly is positive self-instruction. These are verbalizations that the person says to himself to reaffirm himself and gain security. For example: “I’m capable of mark him”, “I’m going to hit him hard” or “I even have trained hard for this moment.”

3. Make your attention focus narrower

One of the issues a footballer faces before taking a penalty is the numerous distractions around him. From the crowd to the referee to your teammates, there are numerous irrelevant stimuli that may steal attention.

This is an attentional focus problem. When a player is distracted by irrelevant stimuli, it implies that their attention focus is simply too wide. For that reason, an efficient solution is precisely the alternative: to make the sphere of attention smaller.

Applied to a penalty, which means that attention ought to be directed only to a small variety of stimuli. This is: the goal and the whole lot that’s inside it.

Concentrating during a penalty kick increases the possibilities of success

Many times it is alleged that penalties are a lottery and that the team with the luckiest wins, but this shouldn’t be the truth in any respect. The penalty is yet one more motion of the sport and has a special technical, tactical and psychological preparation.

A really interesting field is the one which studies the behavior of the players when executing them. In this sense, a journalistic publication of The Conversation reports on several studies that affirm that goalkeepers rarely stay still : they like to leap even in the event that they don’t hit the fitting side.

Knowing this, you’ll be able to stop invoking luck before taking a penalty and get to work to be a greater footballer. It’s a matter of coaching and concentrating!