The Focus Funnel: How tactical breathing and mindfulness can help you optimize performance on mission-essential tasks

By: Drew Anderson, baseball coach and military family member*

Performance anxiety causes distractions that can impact and undermine performance. The good news is that a mindfulness-based approach that helps athletes cope with debilitating emotions can also help Service Members optimize their performance on mission-essential tasks.

Peak performance has often been linked to harmony within an athlete’s physiological, mental, and interpersonal capacities. In recent years, mental fitness training has hit the forefront of many professional sport organizations to enhance mental functioning of their athletes. Mental performance training can be simple. In fact, many of the techniques used in the major leagues can easily be adapted for Service Members and their families.

Take a mindfulness-based approach
Strategies used by sport psychology consultants often include the concept of mindfulness. A mindfulness-based approach is positively associated with flow, a state of mind that many link with the feeling of being in the zone. The idea behind mindfulness is to pay attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and free from judgment.

One strategy used in professional baseball is what’s called a 15-second funnel. The funnel is a four-step, pre-pitch routine that serves as a guide to mental preparation while players are at bat. The main focus of the funnel is to get players to reduce distractions and increase focus.

Use the “Focus Funnel”
As a high school baseball coach, I want to get the most out of the athletes in our baseball program. I want to help them reach their individual potential and achieve their personal goals. I created what I call the Focus Funnel. The Focus Funnel will provide athletes and Service Members with a step-by-step personal approach to minimize debilitating anxiety and increase focus on the task at hand. You can use this technique to boost your focus whether you’re on the range or about to have a tough conversation with your spouse.

Step 1: Become present. The skill here is to create awareness and respond to your thoughts and feelings the right way. To truly become present, one must become mindful and accept present thoughts. It’s OK to feel anxious. It’s also OK to recognize that you’re feeling anxious. Understand that thoughts are just thoughts, and they’re fleeting. If done right, this step should be quick and move you in a positive direction toward step two.

Step 2: Take a tactical breath. The skill here is to understand how to breathe correctly. Somatic anxiety is the physical expression of anxiety, including increased heart rate and shortened breath in response to shallow breathing. Deep breathing supplies your blood with more oxygen and energizes your brain, nerves, and muscles. It’s important to make a habit of intentionally taking a deep breath before each task. To learn more, read HPRC’s article on tactical breathing.

A mindfulness-based approach is positively associated with flow, a state of mind that many link with the feeling of being in the zone.

Step 3: Stick with a plan. An intentional breath helps you reset your mind and focus on the task at hand. The skill here is to control what we can control. For example, a hitter should look for a specific pitch in an exact location and understand what they want to do with that pitch. This is simply based on game situations. For example, the scenario of a baserunner on third base with less than two outs would lead the batter to look for a pitch that they could lift into the outfield for a sacrifice fly. It’s always good to have a default plan for all athletes. In the same way, you can help yourself have a default plan by creating “when...then” statements. You might think, “WHEN (event), THEN I will (effective plan).” Using “when…then” statements helps you have an automatic plan in place.

Step 4: Trust your training. The skill here is to not think about anything other than external cues. An example of an external cue is to visualize contact on the sweet spot of the bat. Another example of an external cue is to hit the target at center mass. External cues allow the body to self-organize and rely on one’s training. It’s important to visualize successful outcomes of what you aim to do.

Get started to optimize performance
If you choose to apply the Focus Funnel for yourself or with your unit, understand that there are abundant resources to help with the training. Remember that mindfulness is all about the practice too. It takes time and consistency to truly see results from mindfulness training, but even beginners can find immediate positive outcomes from a little-by-little approach.

To learn more about mindfulness, read HPRC’s article on mindfulness for the military.

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* The opinions and assertions expressed herein are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of USU or DoD. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the author and do not reflect the views, opinions, or policies of The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. Mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. The author has no financial interests or relationships to disclose.