Distraction is a constant feature of modern life.
We hear sportspeople talk a lot about focus. Focus relies on the performer’s ability to tune out background noise and distractions in the environment. What is less talked about as it not as visible is that another part of focus is dealing with the distractions of internal noise and interference within the performer’s own mind. Feelings, self-talk and distracting thoughts are equally aspects that every performer must learn to manage.
It's been said that for most athletes, the more fatigued they become the more they tune into distractions, for example, the crowd, the media, other things happening beyond the competition or their competitors.
In the Caribbean and Brazil for instance, culture plays a major part in who we are as a people. Carnival is a big part of our identity. It's in our DNA they say. Is Carnival a cultural distraction? I've been part of national teams which were moved out of Trinidad during the Carnival season in order to prepare and remain focused for international matches and World Cup qualifiers. In 2005, Bertille St Clair took the senior men's team to Tobago for a week-long residential training camp ahead of an Ash Wednesday 2006 World Cup qualifier against the US at the Queen's Park Oval. This was done with the intention of keeping the team away from the pump in Port-of-Spain on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. We took a return flight to Piarco on the morning of the match, escorted straight to the Crowne Plaza for rest and meals and then to the Oval for the match.
In 2006, the year of this country's first and only participation ever at the FIFA World Cup, a FIFA window fell smack in the midst of Carnival, and an international friendly was scheduled in London against Iceland on Carnival Tuesday February 28. There were models in Carnival costumes as part of the pre-game entertainment and T&T won 2-0 on a Dwight Yorke double but clearly Leo Beenhakker and the FA were not accommodating any idea of playing a game in Port-of-Spain during that period for obvious reasons.
What is a distraction? If posed to a group of players or athletes, the responses most times should all generally fall into the following categories. Something that diverts or draws your attention away from the tasks at hand. Thoughts that interrupt or disrupt your thinking. As you walk back to serve, you see your parents walk into the gym and recall the big argument you had with them the last time you saw them. Are they still mad? Should you apologise? Interruptions to your focus. Irritations, actions, talking or behaviour that affect those around you. One of your teammates has a tendency to talk negatively and pout when not playing well. Despite team discussion about curtailing this type of behaviour, it continues to cause problems.
Athletes often carry a larger-than-life persona in the public eye. They’re regarded as modern-day warriors, competitors who bravely push past obstacles and adversity in the pursuit of victory. But they’re something else, too: “Athletes are people,” says Sports Psychologist Dr Matthew Sacco.
As such, they’re going to wrestle with the same complex issues as the rest of us. They’re not immune to the stresses of life. A 2016 study found that college athletes in the US reported symptoms of depression at a similar rate to the general student population.
Asking for help, though, can carry a stigma for athletes, notes Dr Sacco. “Because if you’re tough, there’s a misconception that you should be able to just do it yourself. You don’t have to get help.”
And that idea, he says, only creates bigger problems as time goes by.
Stress isn’t unique to athletics, but the unique culture of sports can serve as a pressure cooker. So how much can a mental health matter affect an athlete’s performance?
“I think at a very basic level it’s a distraction,” says Dr Sacco. “At the very minimum, if your mind is full of other things, then it can just be a distraction.”
These distractions can become magnified as stakes rise and competitions carry a higher sense of importance, bringing with it an increased pressure to perform. Other times, a distracted mind could be dangerous — such as when a gymnast is flipping through the air or a downhill skier is swooshing down a slope. “That lack of focus can be quite catastrophic,” says Dr Sacco.
In any of these cases, though, Dr Sacco says athletes deserve time to sort things out — even if that means sitting on the sidelines for a bit. I have heard from some coaches that allowing athlete some down time to take their minds off the stress of preparation or competition can be worth the time.
"To me it doesn't make sense in locking athletes away or blocking them from engaging in a bit of what is seen as downtime where they can enjoy a bit of a social environment with their choice of music, food and friends or teammates once managed in a proper and responsible manner," one national team coach said to me.
Sometimes it's worth the time allowing the athlete to have some downtime. In our situation, partaking in bits and pieces of the culture may fit in well with the program. Downtime gives the body the chance to repair so you can perform at your best. It allows your mind to re-focus and boosts motivation.
A mental break, much like a physical break, gives you the chance to press reset and evaluate what it is you’re doing, and why it’s important to you. Not only is it an important time for goal setting and reflection, but it’s also a time to let yourself relax. Whether you’re in the midst of marathon training, preparation for a big match or winding down your season, allow yourself a mental break. It will help you reset, re-focus, and re-evaluate for all that lies ahead.
It is important to understand that not every break has to be long, or after your season is over. Allowing yourself small moments of time to reconnect with other aspects of your life during training can be vital to maintaining focus and motivation. Remember why it is you love your sport and keep the motivation that keeps you moving forward.
Shaun Fuentes is the head of TTFA Media. He was a FIFA Media Officer at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. The views expressed are solely his and not a representation of any organisation. shaunfuentes@yahoo.com