The effects of focused attention on batting performance of collegiate athletes.

Abstract

Proper thinking is essential to effective batting in baseball and softball. However, the qualities that define "proper thinking" are unspecified and therefore require examination. That is, on what should a batter focus for optimal performance? Ten baseball players and 13 softball players competing at the NCAA Division II collegiate level were individually given internal and external focus instructions related to their swings and completed four rounds of hitting. Two experimenters blind to condition recorded the result of each swing; hits in fair territory received one point and hits in foul territory received zero points. Results indicated no significant difference between Focus Instruction administered and the mean number of fair hits. However, a significant interaction was found for class level, with upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) performing significantly better during both distal and proximal external conditions compared to lowerclassmen (freshmen and sophomores). Results also indicated a significant effect for sex with females outperforming males during all conditions. This study is important in discovering the impacts of focused attention instructions on the performance of collegiate level players.