Building Focus in Sport

Athletes aged 7 to 18 who want to understand instructions more clearly, make better use of practice and develop their focus in sport.

Suitable across sports, with guidance adapted to the athlete’s task and experience. Younger readers will benefit from reading alongside a parent, carer or coach; older athletes can use the questions more independently.

64 focused sections organised into 16 chapters, plus a cover, contents, top tips and closing message.

Clear guidance on relevant information, listening, focus cues, attention before and during activity, learning new skills, purposeful practice and using feedback.

Practical examples, useful bottom-of-page takeaways and reflection questions to support learning in your own sport.

Identify the information that matters for the next action.

Turn a coaching instruction into a clear learning aim.

Choose and test a simple, relevant focus cue.

Use feedback to adjust the next attempt.

Recognise progress through decisions and learning, alongside results.

Building Focus in Sport is part of the Sports Progression Hub Focus and Concentration collection. It develops the foundations of useful attention through learning and practice.

It works on its own or alongside Managing Distractions, which explores returning after interruptions, and Sustaining Concentration, which covers changing demands throughout training and competition. Together, the guides support a thoughtful approach to attention without expecting every athlete or activity to work in the same way.