Focus*

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. The blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose organization. Adapted from my basketball blog. 

"How you do anything is how you do everything." 

"Focus is a superpower."

What is focus? 

Focus synthesizes awareness of surroundings- time, space, and situation - and the ability to make decisions under pressure.

We did a drill in high school with a passer and a line of receivers about 12-15 feet away. The passer would start by passing a medicine ball to the next person in line and the "line" would be passing a basketball back. Two balls in play. Pay attention or risk getting a medicine ball in the kisser (it happened!).

The Focus Spectrum

Focus includes the ability to prepare, to learn the playbook, assignments, and the scouting report. Restated, focus happens long before you ever step onto the court for games. 

Focus is knowing where your scorers thrive with the ball, how an opponent wants to attack. Focus is being able to play "harder for longer." Focus is learning to "see the game" by being coachable and through video study.  

Teams without focus are often "not on the same page" and unlikely to execute. Conversely, players and teams that execute have proven their ability to focus. 

Keep it simple

Focus includes "wide focus" about what happens in the geometry and player motion and "narrow focus," being able to read a defender (e.g. attack the front hand/foot) or go for a steal as it leaves a dribbler's hand (e.g. Kawhi) or returns after bouncing off the floor. 

Games are won and lost because of missed assignments or loss of focus, where players "got lost" during a timeout. 

Charles Barkley noted that Zach Randolph scored partly because of "Dummies." 

Training Focus

• Mindfulness
• Asteroids is a cheap version of high tech training available
• No free shooting...add focus with constraints...time, scoring requirement and a hand in the face 

Focus isn't a solitary skill. Sometimes it requires intense physical training and at others the ability to sit your butt in a chair to study a playbook, opponent video, or American history.

Lagniappe. "If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus." - Michael Jordan

Kobe Bryant defined focus through singular, unwavering attention to a specific goal, "I focus on one thing and one thing only - that's trying to win as many championships as I can."

Focus translates not to playing matches or sets, but playing hard to succeed this play. It's ability to be present and to reset immediately.