Hello, today we are sharing Richard Keogh's way of focusing attention, I hope we like it!
It was the writing on the big blue flag that gave Richard Keogh a "shot in the arm" and a big dose of pride. As he was pulling back to make sure the opposing forwards couldn't break his back line, he saw the flag. The banner had the words "Richard Keogh, we believe in you" written on it in very bold letters, and there is no better way to express the fans' love for the defender warrior. The supporters of his team (Carlisle United Football Club) carried the banner, reflecting the reality that he was widely recognized at the time - he was a defender in the making. He was a traditionally good defender and one of the best in all the league teams. He had a huge header advantage, was never outclassed in 1-on-1s, and had excellent skills that made it difficult for opponents to break down his defense.
Figure 1 - Kante
It didn't take long for bigger salons to find Richard Keogh. After he had fully absorbed the vibrant messages coming from the stands at Carlisle, it was just over a year before he earned a move to Coventry City Football Saloon in England's First Division. Days sometimes come and go, and that's what it felt like when I got a call from my friend Koss Tofis. Keith is Richard Keogh's agent and explained to me that Richard Keogh was keen to improve his game and wanted the opportunity to meet with me to better discuss the specific factors that affect game psychology. I jumped at the chance and just like that, a phone call brought me into Richard Keogh's soccer days.
Richard Keogh's Football International
As a soccer psychologist, I spend most of my time dealing with players. It is not surprising that if a player has already scored a "hat-trick" of goals in a match, or has just made his debut for the national team, they will not come to me. It's only when a player makes a mistake or lacks certain knowledge in a game, and his coach or he himself thinks the problem is psychological, that he needs my help the most.
However, with Richard Keogh, things worked a little differently. In our first meeting, I quickly realized that he was one of those rare players who volunteered to see me, as he wanted to explore ways to get better and do the best he could. He didn't ask me to deal with anything in particular, but simply wanted to develop new playing ideas and skills to help him get the most out of his career. He wants to play in the Premier League and wants to play more for the Irish national team. He just wants to keep improving!
Figure 2 - Concentration on Improvement
After briefly commenting on his strengths and weaknesses, I feel that the primary challenge facing Richard Keogh is to improve his concentration on the court, which will give him a more settled game. Due to his inability to focus, he made some mistakes last season that kept him out of favor with bigger salons. We agreed that concentration is a "muscle" in his psyche that should be strengthened. He wants to succeed, so let's get right to it.
Primary skills
My first meeting with the manager of a soccer saloon is still fresh in my mind. He told me that if I could help his players improve their concentration, he would let me be his team's soccer psychology staff for the rest of his tenure. He emphasized the importance of the players focusing on the skills of the game and explained to me that the small mistakes the players made were often due to a lack of concentration, that is, in the critical seconds when the "power" suddenly goes out.
I have now been working in soccer for many years, and I couldn't agree more with this manager's notion. In soccer, focusing on the game at hand is as vital as the steering wheel of a car. You can have pride and determination (the engine of the car), but without the necessary focus and concentration (the steering wheel) on the field of play, a soccer player's game will be volatile and unstable. A talented and skillful player who does not have the focus in the game will have an unproductive career.
Figure 3 - Skills
If you lose your focus on the competition, you will not be able to perform the skill moves or execute the tactical intent effectively. A sudden "blackout" can lead to mistakes, indecision, confusion and slow guessing. If you take your mind off the game for one second, you will create a host of problems for yourself and your teammates. If you are a defender, a sudden "power outage" will allow the opposing team's striker to easily break through your defense. A midfielder who doesn't pay attention won't be able to see his teammates' runs and his opponents' movements. A striker who is not concentrating on the game at the time will not be able to find openings and may not be able to find the opponent he is defending, so there is no way to score a goal!
Players who are simply distracted are unable to react appropriately to the demands of the game. In my opinion, the successive goals conceded were due to the players' inability to concentrate rather than any other reason. Moreover, the loss of the game is more due to the sudden "blackout" of some players for a second than to technical or tactical faults. A player's inability to concentrate means that he or she actively gives up opportunities to give possession of the ball to the opponent, and at critical moments, he or she will perfunctorily take a free kick and a sloppy cross. Simply distracted players are unable to react appropriately to the demands of the game. They will also be slow to think and react.
The Secret of Attention
In a soccer competition, concentration is required, not a state of distraction. So what is the goal of player concentration?
That's my first message to Richard Keogh. I want him to understand that the best players don't have that Zen-like concentration that is unattainable, they are simply good at focusing their attention on the most appropriate goals in a game. These goals assist them in effectively executing the skill and tactical programs of the game to bring out their best. In my opinion, when a player suddenly "cuts out", he is not shutting down his concentration. He is simply directing his attention to the wrong target. So, a defender may pay too much attention to the ball, instead of paying attention to the ball and the opponent he is defending together. This is not a lack of concentration, but rather concentration directed in the wrong direction. Similarly, a goalkeeper may concentrate on the players in the penalty area when dealing with a cross, when it would be more advantageous to focus on the ball itself; a striker may focus on the opponent he is defending instead of looking for openings and being ready to intervene; and a midfielder may simply observe the state of play on the left-hand side of the pitch, ignoring the runs of the opponent's right-wingers.
Figure 4 - Attention
Players need to focus not only on external factors, such as the ball or the competition that can derail your concentration on the game at hand, but also on their own hearts. If a player is still thinking about the mistake he made 5 minutes ago, or how much time is left in the game, as long as he is concentrating on either of these two things, he will not be concentrating on what he has to accomplish at that moment in the game.
Richard Keogh understands what I told him - that concentration on the game is the right way to direct one's attention. To further his understanding, I asked him to complete a short exercise that I would like you to do now. The curious thing about concentration is that the key to having more concentration is to point your attention in the right direction.
Concentration on what can be manipulated
Of the entries listed below, which ones can you manipulate? Which ones can you influence? Which ones are beyond your control? Next, please categorize the following entries as being able to manipulate, being able to influence, or not being able to manipulate.
situation
Competition results
referee
Your idea.
You just made a mistake.
ball control
Condition of the course
You scored a goal.
Remaining moments of the competition
Jumping Height
Scramble for a header.
Power of the race
competition
Like other athletes I've hosted, Richard Keogh found some of these matters simple to categorize, while others he considered for a split second. I'm sure it's the same for you. Let's categorize them together, in reverse order, starting with the matters you can't manipulate.
Matters that cannot be manipulated
-Climate
-You just made a mistake.
-Condition of the course
-Remaining moments of the competition
There are probably a number of elements that will surprise you. The most obvious are the climate and the condition of the course. Obviously, you can't manipulate either of these conditions at all. However, how many players focus on themselves? Many times when I have walked out on the pitch with the team to test it before a game, I have always heard someone say, "I can hardly believe how bad this pitch is! How can we play well on this field?" What do you think is the goal of such a player's concentration on the game at hand? Is he easily distracted?
Similar to the condition of the pitch, I have heard players complain about the weather. Last season, a player came to me on a Thursday and said he hoped it wouldn't rain on Saturday's game because he didn't think he was used to playing in the rain. I clearly told him that if he wanted to be a professional player in England, he needed to get used to playing in the rain (it rains a lot in England). Back to the point, do you think the player's mindset was favorable for the upcoming match? If it rains, his concentration on the game at hand will inevitably be affected, and that's something he can't manipulate.
Matters that cannot be manipulated immediately resonated with Richard Keogh. He also mentioned another element that affects a player's concentration in a game - whether the game is at home or on the road. He mentioned that although he himself was able to focus on both home and away games, some of his teammates on his past teams were so concerned with the location of the game that just being away meant "trying not to lose" and they participated in the game just to avoid mistakes, which is a demoralizing mentality that results from inappropriate focus on the game. This is a kind of depression caused by an inappropriate focus on the game.
Matters capable of influence
-Competition results
-Referee
-You scored a goal.
-Competes for a header
-Competitors
Winning the game, holding on to zero goals conceded, and scoring goals are just a few examples of race concentration. At first glance, they seem active and productive. A champion should have a fierce desire to win:
Goalkeepers should not hold back and strikers should aim to kick the ball into the goal. I can't argue with these performance philosophies, as I want success as much as anyone else. However, such philosophies can jeopardize your ability to concentrate during a game. You can't control the success of the competition, and if your focus is directed towards a specific desired outcome, it will only distract you from the mission of the competition at the time.
Focusing solely on winning the race can cause you to develop a serious mindset, and "I don't want to lose" can become your mantra. Instead, when you focus on the right things, success comes naturally as the final result.
Although you can't manipulate the referee, you can influence him. If you focus your attention on the referee, your attention will be carried away from the competition. Similarly, you cannot manipulate the competitors.
You can't switch the opponent's striker for a defender, but you can influence him so that he can't play at his normal level. You also might think that scoring goals is completely within your control, which is not the case!
Going onto the field with the need to score a goal can jeopardize your concentration. If the end of the game is approaching and you haven't had a chance to score a goal, you'll start to get scared, and this obsession with scoring a goal will make you serious and hesitant, and will make you anxious and even doubt yourself.
Richard Keogh was always focused on not backing down during a game, or in active terms, on keeping the team from conceding zero goals. However, when we look at this mission, he knows that it may be a danger to concentration. He alone could not manage to keep the team from conceding goals. In some of the previous matches, when the other team scored a goal, even if the goal had nothing to do with him, he would be in a very low mood. He realized that he had to direct his attention better during the competition. It is not necessary to mind the final result or think too much about the outcome of the competition.
Manipulable matters
-Your idea.
-Possession of the ball
-Height of jump
-Power of the race
These are the things you can manipulate from the previously listed entries and the things you should really concentrate on.
I asked Richard Keogh if he could manipulate his mind. He said he was able to. I asked him if he could manipulate his self-talk on the court and if he could manipulate how he perceived and reacted to what was happening on the court? Again, he labeled him capable. I continued to ask him if he could manipulate himself to post
The power to jump up and down and his own level of work ethic. His answer was a resounding "yes". Of course, as long as he's healthy, he'll be able to manipulate both of those things. I explained to Richard Keogh (and to you) that while you can't guarantee you'll get those headers, you can manipulate the height of your jump to your advantage, you can choose to think actively, you can choose to emphasize a certain direction, and you can choose to hold on as long as you can for the final 10 minutes of exhaustion. It's hard to do, but it's a choice. I told Richard Keogh that he was going to focus his attention on what he could control at all times on the court. This will allow him to completely ignore the things he can't control.
"I can't control the pitch, I can't control the area I'm competing in, I can't control what happened 5 minutes ago." I told Richard Keogh that it's important to realize what you can influence, but you can't get caught up in it.
"I want to win competitions, but I know I can only have a certain amount of influence on winning competitions. I can only influence the referee, the goals and not conceding. These can't be manipulated, only influence can be exerted. It is important to recognize these matters, but not to indulge in them."
I want you to understand that the only thing you can control on the field is yourself. Your attention in a game should be directed towards yourself or the person you are associated with, not towards anyone else, and not towards results such as scoring goals or winning games. You need to be focused on your performance every second of a 90-minute game, which means completely ignoring the things you can't control and improving your ability to know things rather than obsessing over the things we can only influence. You need a brain that is highly focused on the self, a brain that is highly focused on the behaviors that will help you become the best player and the best teammate.
"I was able to manipulate my thoughts in the 1st minute, the 40th minute and the 80th minute. I can manipulate my actions and the way I perceive them at any time." The moment of the race and the mistakes you make are irrelevant, you just have to manipulate what you can!
