Youth Athletes: Practice a Flexible Focus Cue

What the research supports—and what it does not

Research on externally directed attention reports advantages for motor learning in a range of studied tasks. Self-determination theory highlights autonomy, competence and relatedness. Neither principle supports shaming, rigid compliance, or using adult-designed drills as clinical assessment.

Research provides a rationale for testing a skill in context; it does not prove that this exact IBE exercise, timing, scoring method or audience adaptation has been experimentally validated.

The free IBE One-Cue Practice Ladder exercise | 15 minutes

With a qualified coach and appropriate guardian involvement, choose an age-appropriate, familiar movement. Let the athlete select between two safe, simple task cues.

Run the entire practice below before deciding whether additional coaching would be useful. No login, purchase, scorecard or assessment is required for this starter exercise.

1. Have the athlete choose one cue describing the task effect: 'Send the ball to that space,' not a string of body-part corrections.
2. Practice three easy repetitions with no scores or public comparison. Ask what the athlete noticed.
3. Practice four slightly harder repetitions, one change at a time. Praise the attempt to use the cue rather than labeling the child confident or weak.
4. Add a normal mistake scenario. The athlete may take a brief reset, name the cue, and return to the next repetition.
5. Finish by asking the athlete which version felt useful and what they want to practice next.

Apply it to a real performance scenario

A new volleyball player misses a serve in front of peers. The response is to select a target, follow the normal serving routine and attempt the next safe repetition.

In rehearsal, change only one variable at a time where practical. The aim is to observe the planned response, not to manufacture extreme pressure.

What to record

Observe voluntary cue use and technique quality over two weeks. Do not rank children by a homemade focus score or diagnose motivation from a single session.

Record what happened, what you intended to do and one specific adjustment for the next practice. Protect participant confidentiality; do not put identifying client or student notes into a public form.

A seven-day transfer plan

Coaches can adjust language for age and stage. Parents can ask what the athlete learned instead of requesting a play-by-play error review.

Day 1: establish a normal baseline. Days 2–4: rehearse the cue or handoff in short, safe blocks. Days 5–6: practice one realistic variation. Day 7: compare adherence and task results, ask for participant feedback and keep only adjustments that make sense in context.

Safety, scope and limitations

This educational drill is not a substitute for trained youth coaching, consent, safeguarding rules or licensed care. Athlete choice and developmentally appropriate difficulty come first.

IBE Performance provides performance education and coaching, not psychotherapy, medical assessment or crisis care. Consult appropriately qualified local professionals where scope, safeguarding or legal requirements apply.

Research sources and original-work disclosure

The publications below inform the underlying principles. The examples, sequence, scripts, rehearsal design and informal observation measures on this page are original IBE Performance educational adaptations. They have not been clinically validated or presented as tests created by the cited researchers.

• Wulf (2013), Attentional Focus and Motor Learning: A Review of 15 Years ↗
• Deci & Ryan (2000), The What and Why of Goal Pursuits ↗