I sometimes wonder how top sportsmen and women can stay focused for so long, but the truth is they don't. There is now ways a top athlete can be focused for 80 or 90 minutes and it is the ability to move in and out of the zone that makes them different form the rest. Sportsmen who can do this worry about the things they can change and not about outside influences as they have no control over those.
If you take a batsmen playing cricket in a 5 day test match very few can bat through the whole day. Some have though and more often than not will repeat it again at some point. The reason why they can do it and others can't is the ability to switch on and off as it is required. If you ever watch a batsmen he faces one ball and walks away and then walks back to reset himself. This is how they switch off and rarely make mistakes losing focus. The vulnerable times for these players is straight after a break in play as it takes time to get back into the zone and if they are going to get out there is a short window of risk before they are back into doing what they were doing before.
A footballer or a rugby player focuses on what he needs to do and doesn't need to be focused for the entire time. He can see what is going on when the ball is 20 or 30 meters away, but it is more about reading the play which is less draining. This is why errors happen as not everyone is capable of doing this and it is something that should come naturally. It is difficult to teach someone this if you haven't done it before. I think it depends on the character of the person as some people don't get nervous or worry about anything as they are confident in their abilities.
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I know I have experienced it before ,but not with sport but driving my car. I used to drive into Central London everyday and be so focused I couldn't even tell you how the drive was when I arrived. It was as though something had taken over and my brain was controlling my body with no thoughts being processed. It is just a hard one to explain if you haven't experienced it. I am sure racing drivers must be in a similar mode as you are aware of everything around you and only living for that moment and nothing else exists or matters. Your mind is blank and there is no time to think of anything else ,but what you are doing at that particular time. The concentration levels are there but it is like you are subconscious.
Formula One drivers are driving as though they are on a simulator and that does focus you even more. If you have played a television game you sometimes feel tired afterwards as you have gone into a zone with high concentration levels and haven't been able to relax. You are caught up in that moment and it is like you are on a high I suppose where everything you do just comes naturally.
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These days I have so much on my mind which are massive distractions I don't know if I could get back into that type of zone again. I think it has to do with conditioning and where you are at the time and what is happening in your life. Lately we have seen many mistakes with goal keepers in football matches and was wondering that maybe they are struggling to get into the right mind set due to other distractions happening in their personal life. A goal keeper is only called into action for a fraction of the time in a game and this is the only time that they need to be switched on mentally.
How many times have you injured yourself doing something and you weren't even aware until much later. I know I have and only when you see the damage you try and place where and how it happened. Obviously not a broken leg or something serious, but a gash or something that you were oblivious to. I believe boxers can do this as it is a trance like effect that you put your body into and don't feel pain until after the fight. 