What Should You Focus on During a Volleyball Match?
Do you or your athletes struggle to maintain focus, or concentration through an entire match?
Do you get thrown off or distracted with momentum shifts?
Is it difficult for you to let go of mistakes or past points and play one touch at a time?
These can all be considered distractions for a volleyball player.
Some other distractions that might affect a player’s ability to focus in the moment are:
- The refs
- Teammates
- Opponents on the other side of the net
- Coaches
- The stands (parents, friends, fans)
- Frustration after a mistake
- Frustration after a bad call
- The opponents closing the gap
- Various whistles at a tournament
- College coaches around the court
- Their own negative thinking/comments
You can easily lose focus during a match, especially at a tournament, and not be able to push through and play to the end.
I coached a volleyball player a few years back who was great. She’ll be attending a D1 after high school to play both indoor and beach volleyball. So, she’s pretty good!
We were playing a cross town rival during school ball and their head coach was the owner of the club where she played and also where my partner and I coached. Sort of like a “family reunion” each time we faced off.
It was also her first conference game as a high school player. She wanted to have a perfect game, especially in front of the head guy.
This player is an outside; she has a strong front and back-row game.
Throughout this particular match, she was excellent from the back row. She was doing well on the front but wasn’t having the game she wanted.
The opposing team was a school that our team hadn’t beat since I played there in high school.
The match was 2-2 and we were heading into the fifth set… the tie breaker.
This player approached me at the score table while I was putting in the line-up, hysterical. She told me not to start her, to put in our 3rd outside. She said she wasn’t playing well and couldn’t do it, with obvious frustration.
This player was clearly the best one on the court, on either side of the net.
Though, frustration with her play distracted her so much that she wasn’t able to refocus and finish out the match.
When playing with distractions, you don’t want to recognize them and adjust so you don’t make a mental error.
You want to focus only on what’s important for the next touch, the next point.
If you find yourself distracted, decide immediately to let it go and refocus your attention to what’s important for the next task.
If you want more information on how to stay focused through an entire match, please check out our one-on-one mental coaching options:
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- How to Refocus After Making Mistakes
- How to Refocus in Competition After a Mistake
- Focused Training and Mindset Equals Success
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The Focused Athlete
It’s probably no secret that you have many opportunities to become distracted in sports. Athletes are bombarded with both internal and external distractions everyday in practice and competition. Focused athletes are able to get the most from their skills because they are more efficient with practice and more concentrated in competition. Athletes who lack focus let distractions run wild through their mind and don’t know how to adjust or refocus.
The Focused Athlete was developed for any level coach, parent, or junior to professional athlete who wants to improve performance and gain a competitive edge. It does not matter if you are a fledgling junior athlete; or a seasoned professional, plagued with distractions; or you just wanting to learn how to improve concentration…
“The Focused Athlete” is a complete system to teach you how to focus like a champion and harness the power of a zone focus every time you step on the playing field, court, track, or course in practice and games!