Staying Confident After Bad Games
Does your confidence dip drastically when you are have a few bad baseball games?
When your performance slumps, do you expect your bad play to continue or do you see yourself returning back to playing well?
Think of any slump you experienced on the baseball field… Did you think the slump would ever end?
You confidence probably took a huge nosedive…
You probably approached each game with apprehension and anxiety, fearing the worst…
You may have even changed the way you played the game from a previous aggressive style to a more timid approach.
You may have even expected the slump to continue… and why not… your recent past seems to support that you have lost your touch on the field.
But, confidence is the key to remedy a slump and right the ship.
Confidence helps you see an end to the slump.
Patience is a form or confidence in which you know good play on the field will soon come.
Confidence helps you to stay motivated and turn things around.
Confidence helps you trust your abilities, which is the very thing needed to return to your previous level of play.
Derek Jeter has been the New York Yankees shortstop for two decades. Despite being a 14-time All-Star, Jeter has had some slumps throughout his career.
It’s Jeter’s confidence, no matter what the circumstances, that has been his key to success.
JETER: “I have a lot of confidence. I’ve always had a lot of confidence. I always try to be positive.”
New York Yankee manager Joe Girardi feels Jeter’s greatest asset is his belief in his ability to remain positive and turn things around when he experiences tough times.
GIRARDI: “That’s one of the things that has made him [Jeter] such a great player, the belief in himself that he can always right it if something’s going wrong.”
Jeter keeps in mind his past successes to maintain his high confidence when he is experiencing a rough patch during the season:
“You can’t be afraid of failing. You have confidence if you’ve had success in the past. I’ve done it before.”
Try these tips to remain confident during bad games:
- Attempt to maintain a confident posture. Your body language affects how you feel. Keep your head up, shoulders back and move quickly. Jeter maintains the same body posture no matter how he is playing.
- Keep your past successes fresh in your mind instead of constantly reliving your mistakes and bad play. When you rehearse positive experiences, your confidence remains intact.
- Focus on what you need to do next instead of that bad play that just happened. You can’t change the last play, but you have a great amount of influence on the current play.
Remember, slumps are speed bumps that can be overcome with sturdy confidence.
Want to improve your mental game for baseball the fastest way possible? Learn more about our mental coaching for baseball or softball.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- Perform Confidently Late in the Game
- Do You Use Past Success to Feel Confident?
- How Bird and Walker Stay Confident
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