The Baseball Observer May-June 2016 vol 7 | Page 33

throwing problems and resolving these problems with baseball players and other athletes and furthermore, he also has worked over the years with government agencies and private corporations, worldwide. He also has been a high school baseball coach, a high school and college basketball coach, as well as a special education teacher and special services director in public schools.

33

FEATURED ARTICLE

The framework includes four sections or “channels of focus” as seen in Figure 1.

These are:

I. Broad External Focus - which deals with those moments before, during,

and after the game when a “big picture” or overview is necessary and

important for the player. This is the time for assessment.

II. Broad Internal Focus - where attention of the player is best placed on

how they are going to decide what their overall plan should be for the

season. This is the player’s strategic plan, so to speak. This is the time for

analysis.

III. Narrow Internal Focus - where attention is focused on what their

immediate plan is for that moment. This is the time for rehearsal of the

plan, both mentally and physically.

IV. Narrow External Focus - where the player’s attention is on execution of

the task at hand, during the moment, and not on themselves. This is the

time for execution.

Figure 1. Baseball Player Focus Framework

(Adapted by Dr. Charlie Maher from the work of Dr. Bob Nideffer)

Figure 1. Baseball Player Focus Framework

(Adapted by Dr. Charlie Maher from the work of Dr. Bob Nideffer)