The next element of the Competition Mental Game we will examine is concentration. What is concentration? Concentration is possibly the most misunderstood competition mental skill. Most bowlers associate concentration with an internalized narrowing, this in fact is only one form of concentration.

Generically, there are four forms of concentration
Internal (conscious thoughts) accompanied by a narrow focus
Internal accompanied by a wide focus
External (no conscious thought awareness) accompanied by a narrow focus
External accompanied by a wide focus
Internal awareness, describes an attention that is centered on self, what's happening inside our head and body. As we become absorbed by self we lose touch with the environment, centering instead on body feels, sensations and conscious thought.
External awareness, describes an attention centered on the environment, what's happening outside our head. By focusing on the environment we become consciously unaware of self, although still possessing a sub conscious awareness. The environmental focus requires processing information through the sensory mode, smelling, seeing, hearing, etc.
The term narrow or wide-angle focus, describes the size of the focus. The wide-angle focus draws in information from the environment through a broader scope, the narrow focus centers on something specific at the exclusion of all other stimuli.
Before we delve specifically into the type of concentration required for bowling we should have a broader understanding of these elements of concentration.
To understand concentration we must define two terms:
Attention.... the ability to gather information from the environment, process it, and react
to it.
Focus........what you center your attention on to gather the information.
By combining attention with focus we retain the abilities of centering, gathering information, processing the information in to our brain and transmitting commands to the body based on the information received.
The focus is the lifeline of concentration; a poorly defined focus will produce a blurred transmission. People with poor concentration skills can look at something intently but not actually see it. More to the point are not intimately connected to it. The person that reads a whole page in a book without remembering one word of the contents best demonstrates this form of seeing.
You must have an intimate connection with the focal point, it must be clearly defined, if not it will decrease the effectiveness of your concentration. This would help explain the inconsistency of a bowler whilst bowling in an unfamiliar area of the lane, the inability to connect with and see clearly the intended line of flight. This is often interpreted by the uninformed as unwillingness to change or a lack of ability, when it is actually a breakdown in visual interpretation, concentration. Fami1iarity gained through practice will correct the visual problem and enable the bowler to feel comfortable seeing the new target line.
The ability to see clearly is a learned skill; some methods for acquiring these skills will be addressed later in this module.
In the example of reading a book without remembering, the reason for the breakdown was that the type of concentration chosen did not match the task, by internalizing instead of externalizing the reader becomes distracted by their own thoughts, usually stimulated by something they read early in the passage or a thought provoked by something already on their mind.
Another example of an incorrect focus is; while a bowler uses an unfamiliar inside line he/she becomes aware and therefore distracted by the close proximity of the ball return when attempting to bowl on the even lane. This awareness broadens their focus and disturbs their concentration.
Many bowlers see concentration as withdrawing internally so as to focus attention on the task. This in fact creates the required centering on the task but can have a disastrous side effect, the emergence of conscious thought. This type of concentration invariably leads to an internal distraction during the delivery. Many bowlers and coaches believe this to be the state of concentration they wish to obtain, this couldn't be any further from the truth, as we will learn during the modules relating to left hemisphere interference.
The following features characterize concentration:
1. Focusing on one thing at a time.
2. Being totally in the here and now.
3. Quieting the mind and removing distractions.
4. Selective attention to particular thoughts or objects and selective non-attention to others thoughts and objects.
5. An increased degree of alertness or awareness, which might even be characterized as super awareness.

Coaches and bowlers believe in self-focus because they believe in the cliché "if a bowler is truly concentrating they shouldn't here or see distractions from the environment". If this were true why is it that the more elite the player, the more distracted by the environment they become. On the pro tour, any noise usually produces a negative reaction from the player. Why are the best players in the world affected? Is it because they are not really concentrating? I don't think so! It's because their concentration takes in the environment. Their focus is in the environment; they are centered on specific external stimuli (usually the target reference). This specific, yet narrow focus is combined with an awareness of the whole environment; anything seen or heard that is out of place in the environment may therefore distract the player. The international tournament arena is full of unusual noises, colorful national chants and rhythms can be heard constantly, the inexperienced international player is often effected by the noise in their early events, but after an initiation period they become accustomed to the din. At this point the player is no longer distracted because the increased noise level is the norm, only unusual noises such as a waitress dropping a tray will distract them now. Those that cannot adjust are usually the ones that have adopted an internal concentration. Again, their lack of understanding of concentration induces them into the internal narrow, due to what they believe is a need to block out the environment.
The bowlers' lack of understanding of the types of concentration directs them to use a "self" focus; this leads them to alienate themselves from their environment. While absorbed in the self/narrow focus, bowlers tend to think too much, they find themselves constantly making tactical adjustments adapting to changing lane conditions, selection of bowling ball etc. Additionally, during the delivery their own body movement tends to distract them, seducing their attention away from a more productive awareness. As we learned in the anxiety segment, in pressure situations a bowlers attention often focuses internally towards their own physical reaction to the pressure, which in turn adds to the stress, leading to an increase in the bodies tension and a greater awareness (distraction) of the bodies sensations.
If we insist on internalized narrowing as our definition of concentration, the body's ability to spontaneously calculate (foul line correction) will be retarded or eliminated. This style of concentration produces one mindedness, meaning, we center our thoughts internally on executing only one thing, this is usually at the expense of everything else. We respond by saying, "at least I did what I was trying to do", even though the overall result failed a visions cycle.
What we must strive for is a single thought focus that takes in a broader scope of awareness.
To maximize our ability to spontaneously calculate (the right hemisphere's corrective system) we must center on cues that act as references to the corrective mechanism.
An example of such a cue would be:
To center on the direction of the swing during the delivery in relation to the target system references, this is accomplished by focusing on the direction of the ball relative to the target line, do not focus on the arm itself since this would require an internal attention. Take note though that it's not important whether the swing is on line only that we are aware of the line it's about to take so that the corrective system can make a sub-conscious adjustment. Also note that in this example we focus externally, using a reference that provides external stimulus.
Let's use the release to again illustrate the point. When trying to correct a problem with the release most bowlers' center on the release point as their focal point, this produces an internal self-focus. An alternative focal point would be an external focus such as the balls rotation during the first 15 feet, which would give the brain the information it requires to assess the re1ease characteristics (an external stimulus). By observing the ball, the trained eye can determine the angle of rotation, effectiveness of the lift imparted and the amount of hand rotation around the ball.
This information obtained from the ball's rotational properties can then be translated into release properties:
Angle of rotation translates to...hand position, for example, 6 o'clock, 4 o'clock etc. Amount of rotation around the bal1 ... amount of axis turn from the foul line to the arrows, this translates to the amount of hand rotation around the ball.
If you center internally on the release, conscious thought takes over control of the task. This internalization during the release as one of the worse, if not the worst, focus, a bowler can adopt, never, never use the release point as a self-focus.
The type of concentration for the bowling delivery is; an external awareness accompanied by a narrow focus.
Picture yourself in the stance; focused on the target line reference, you are in an external narrow focus. You do not see the target reference from behind your eyes; you project yourself outside, intimately connected to your target line. By doing so the target line width seems to increase in size, the target becomes you; you are one with the target.
You should look at the target line until it encompasses the whole environment. Think of your eyes as a television screen, as your concentration increases so does the clarity of the image on the screen, until it's the only image on the screen.
Many times we adopt the external narrow focus during the stance but as we start our approach we switch to a self-focus becoming distracted by something internally, either our thoughts or a body sensation. This disrupts our attention and/or co-ordination and/or focus.
Concentration is the ability to set the desired focus and maintain attention on the focus throughout the execution of the task.
The ability to environmentally focus is best achieved through having only a sub-conscious awareness of what is about to happen in the immediate future, instead of awareness of what just happened. If you are centered on what's happened you are in reality centered on past events, only by centering on what's about to happen in the next moment, can you instinctively know what is required.
In a peak performance state the bowler has a sub conscious awareness of his body's overall state. Thus creating an awareness of anything that seems out of place yet remains consciously focused on the target reference.
By practicing out technical skills to reach the point of automation enables us the luxury of focusing only on the immediate future. By practicing, technical skills become habitual, and we are more likely to feel confident enough to surrender control of our physical game to the sub conscious. A soccer player never thinks about footwork, only on the needs of the environment, a player calling for a pass, the defense reaction to the moving player or the position of the defender assigned to defend against him, if he thinks for one moment about his footwork, the play would have already happened and a new dimensional perspective would be required. Defined as anticipation, the skill of performing in the future not in the immediate past is an important component of elitism in sport. This is obtained through superior confidence in one's technical abilities and the skill of focusing on the immediate future.
Focusing on the immediate future should not be confused with focusing on the future. The focus should always be on the task at hand; by focusing on the task (short term goal) you will guide yourself to your long-term goals. Worrying about what might happen beyond the immediate future can only lead to a break in concentration from the present.
Your mind naturally reacts in a certain way. You must control it to make it function in the way that you desire, which is often very different from its natural reactions. For instance, your mind wants to rapidly flit or shift from one idea or concept to another. It seeks ideas but does not want to remain centered or focused on a single one, and skips to new topics after a short concentration period. So you must control your mind by preventing this flitting about and keeping it concentrated on one concept. This requires practice and time, but once learned, will provide benefits for your entire lifetime. Your mind will tend to be more easily centered on that which you like, and it will not be drawn off course by whatever you dislike. Once this tendency to restlessness is restrained, your attention spans can be short or long, depending on your mind control. Your ability to concentrate will increase, even when you are dealing with uninteresting topics. It is important for you to realize the constant motion of your mind in all directions away from a main course. The mind must be brought back to the course again and again; but without mind control, no sooner is it brought back than it begins another detour.
In summarizing concentration's relationship to the bowling delivery we must remember four important statements:
In the delivery...
1) The focus is the target line reference.
2) Although our focus is the target line we have a sense of awareness of the swing's direction to the target line.
3) Our attention should be centered
externally so that we can react to the demands of the environment.
4) We should be centered on the immediate future, never in the past or beyond the immediate future.

The debate will continue as to which form of concentration is best for bowling, my recommendation "external narrow", remember to stay out of your mind and focused in the environment. By doing so you allow ‘your natural instincts the opportunity to spontaneously calculate. Scientific studies have shown that it is impossible to feel fear; anger, anxiety or negative emotions of any kind while the muscles of the body are kept perfectly related. The mind also can be c1eansed in this manner; by relating and calming the mind we can free it of anxiety. Therefore logic would suggest that producing relaxation of mind and body would enhance performance in a stressful situation.

Concentration cannot be summoned. You cannot concentrate on concentrating.
Some bowlers can be seen playing pinball machines or video games just before competition. This is a very good way of centering their attention, sharpening their reflexes and emptying their mind of thoughts and distractions. If these technological advancements are not available to you at the competition sight, reading will center you and create the external narrow focus you require to be successful.
For those that wish to take this concentration skill to the limit the Transcendental Meditation mantras of Yoga's Mantra will maximize the discipline. What you put into your learning is what you receive out.
Losing concentration is usually the result of a shift in our focus from the external/narrow to one of the other concentration focuses, i.e. internal/narrow, external /wide or internal/wide. The fact that we shifted is not the concern; the inability to return to the external/narrow is the cause of the loss of concentration.

The inability to shift is loss of concentration.
Reasons for losing concentration include dwelling on a mistake, which in effect shifts us to a self-focus. By dwelling on the mistake we fail to revert back to the external/narrow for the delivery. Chances are, by dwelling on the mistake we have retrieved a negative template from the memory bank and will repeat the mistake until we are able to shift back to our former focus,
Body sensations are always trying to seduce us into shifting to an internal focus, audiences promote internal thought appearing to judge our performance, making us wander, distracting us from our focal point.
Going around the clock is a practical concentration exercise. Con¬centrate on the sweep-second hand of a watch or clock and b1ink your eyes or snap your fingers each time the sweep-hand hits a five-second interval. Once you have completed one revolution of the second hand, go around again, b1inking the eyes or snapping the fingers each time the sweep-hand hits a ten-second interval. Do this again a third time, alternately blinking the eyes or snapping the fingers first at a five-second Interval and then at a ten-second interval. Practice these exercises a few times each day and you will discover a progressive and gradual improvement in your ability to concentrate.
Concentration is a skill, which can be practiced at any time and in any place. It requires only a brief time frame, but learning to concentrate for both short and long periods of time is desirable.