MINDFULNESS CLASS APPLIED TO SPORTS: FOOTBALL

Mindfulness means “mindfulness.”

“Pay attention intentionally, experientially, sustainably and without judging the present moment”

Endorsed by neuroscience and scientific studies, it has been shown that training the brain through Mindfulness improves the action of focusing on the present moment to achieve your goal. In the case of football there are two main objectives to obtain:

• Learn to train attention.
• Manage emotions in certain situations with the appropriate physiological responses.

Some of the proven benefits of Mindfulness applied to football are:

1. Improvement of attention span and concentration.
2. Improvement in impulse management.
3. Improves and increases self-confidence.
4. It helps fight the fear of failure and regulates stress.

There are already examples currently of some teams or soccer players that have incorporated this technique to improve their performance and well-being. Two examples of this are:

• In one of Leo Messi’s matches, he was made a strong entrance and in response, instead of addressing the conflict, he redirected his attention to a partner who was well positioned, assisted and finished in goal. This is an example of a mindfulness attitude according to an anecdote told by Marcial Arredondo Rosas, Doctor of Psychology specialized in Mindfulness .
• In the South American cup where the Argentines won that independent final in the Maracana, they made mindfulness .

It does not mean that the same results cannot be obtained without mindfulness but it has been shown to improve when the players develop a wiser awareness about their emotions and thoughts, thus directing their attention towards their next movement and increasing the chances of positive results in matches and workouts, while helping to regulate the stress that physically affects the body.

During this year we will see many mindfulness techniques applied to football whether walking, sitting, with visualization techniques or others focused on the physical part such as body scan . In today’s class we will begin with a very simple practice focused on breathing, since it is an essential part of all practices, and is ideal to start especially for those who do mindfulness for the first time .

WE WORK THE BREATH

INSTRUCTIONS:

This exercise should last between 5 and 10 minutes. Players should focus on following the exercise instructions while a third person (a coach, for example) reads the guidelines. They have to sit in a chair with their backs straight, legs placed at right angles with the soles of their feet flat on the floor and dropping their hands (palms up) on their knees. Another option is: sitting on the floor with your legs crossed and bent over a smooth surface on a yoga mat, or on a semi-soft surface. You can alternate positions with practice in training or choose the one that the team likes the most.

Before starting the coach or practice guide you must explain to the players that they should follow their instructions, as well as what the practice of mindfulness will consist of. Likewise, one of the essential rules is to remain silent out of respect for classmates, but the ideal is to use background music therapy with instrumental piano or Enya music, such as the Watermark song.

TEXT FOR THE TRAINER OR SESSION GUIDE:

“Close your eyes, breathe slowly and deeply. Start counting slowly in your mind from ten to one. Relax deeply counting more and more slowly with each number. 10, 9, 8 … Feel how you count more and more deeply and slowly, until you feel a quieter state of mind. 7, 6, 5 … feeling the muscles in your body relax too. 4, 3, 2, 1… Now you are in a deep and calm state of mind. ”

(Leave a couple of minutes in silence and indicate that they open their eyes very slowly, moving the neck and wrists slowly making circular rotations).

Once the session is over, a small assembly of a few minutes can be made so that players can express their feelings and experiences after performing the practice. It must be borne in mind that for mindfulness to be really effective it must be practiced regularly in order to train the brain towards mindfulness.