Expectations and Pressure Players Feel To be Perfect
Part of baseball that players dream about is making flashy plays; fully laying out to snag a line drive, throwing out a player at home, diving for a ground ball to throw out a runner, hitting a walk-off single, etc.
Many times, those flashy plays show off a player’s abilities. These flashy plays provide a powerful dose of intensity and confidence.
The problem with making spectacular plays is that those types of plays are few and far between.
The best way to feel a high level of confidence is giving yourself credit for making routine plays.
How does making a routine play help confidence? After all, you should always be able to make routine plays, right? It’s an expectations most players have when they play…
But let’s consider the converse. One of the biggest confidence-crushers is making an error on a routine play–the one you are supposed to make all the time.
Errors are often routine plays that go wrong… Overthrowing the first baseman, letting a ground ball roll through your legs… dropping a routine fly.
Errors often cause thoughts such as, “I can’t believe I booted that grounder,” “What’s wrong with me?” or “I can’t believe I made that stupid mistake.”
Your negative thoughts become worse when the error contributes to your team losing or giving up a run.
In addition, a negative cycle hurts confidence even further…
You make an error on a routine play, your thoughts become negative and self-critical, negative emotions (frustration, anger, sadness) ensue and you doubt your ability to make easy plays, which can lead to more mistakes.
Making routine plays keeps your confidence stable. Making routine plays fosters trust in your skills.
Errors can wear on your teammates and impact your team as a whole. For example, pitchers will need to make more pitches, hitters will press at the plate and teammates will feel an increased sense of pressure.
When it comes to errors, the Seattle Mariners are on pace for 193 errors this season, more than one error a game. For the Mariners, routine plays are anything but routine.
In the first 80 games of the season, the Mariners have lost 46 games, many which were impacted by errors.
Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais played 11 seasons in the major leagues and understands how routine plays impact performance.
SERVAIS: “You’ve got to make plays. You’ve got to catch the ball in this league. Once the ball gets rolling negatively, you’ve got to stop it and turn it around… It’s got that snowball effect right now. It’s something we’ve got to get right… In this league, it’s 27 outs, no more.”
Many players work on the problem by taking extra infield and outfield work. But the answer to the problem is more mental in nature. Build stable confidence so errors won’t rock your belief.
And with stable confidence, making routine plays becomes easier and more consistent.
How to Have Stable Confidence:
Often players seek to avoid errors instead of wanting the ball every play. “Wanting the ball” is a mindset that you trust in your ability to make routine plays.
Repeat to yourself, “I want the ball” sends a message to the body that you have the ability and confidence to make routine plays freeing your body and mind from the tension that interferes with your ability to make plays.
Remind yourself that true confidence is based on years of practice and competition, not the last error or bad at-bat.
Stable confidence comes from knowing you hare the same player with the same skills–even when you make mistakes!
Get The Mental Edge For Baseball and Softball Players!
Do you (or your athletes) lack full confidence in your skills when you step on the field as if your game disappears at game time?
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Do you feel embarrassed after striking out and carry this with you for longer than one inning?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, check out The Mental Edge For Baseball And Softball Players!
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“Dr. Cohn, I’ve been tearing it up lately!!! Every single thing you taught me works perfectly in every situation I’ve been in. I’ve been so into every game and focusing on the process and not the outcomes and everything falls right into place . In the playoffs I’m 5-7 with 2 run home runs and 5 RBIs. I feel great at the plate and focusing is a breeze now. I just wanted to thank you for everything and keep you posted with how everything was going.”
~Jalen Phillips, College Baseball Player
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~Keith Donnell, college baseball player
“Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with our team. It was greatly appreciated and really helped a lot. I found myself implementing your teachings in our first practice right after you left. I really enjoyed the way you implemented already known ideas, but gave us a different way of viewing it. Thank you.”
~Amber Prosser, Clark College Softball
Boost Your Self-Confidence And Focus With Expert Mental Game Coaching!
Master mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn can help you overcome your mental game issues with personal coaching.
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What are our mental coaching students saying?
“As a college softball coach I experience great pleasure in helping youth league coaches develop their young players. As reversal of that process, I, as the student, look to experts like yourself to give me the “mechanics” of sports psychology so that I may better impart my knowledge to the players and coaches. Your contribution spreads like wildfire and helps hundreds of youngsters as well as us “oldies.” Thanks for your contribution–it means a lot.”
~Tom Moore, College Softball Coach
“A quick note to let you know how effective your programs worked for my son who is 17 and plays varsity baseball in VA. In late 2009, I ordered the Relaxed Athlete program for my son because I saw he was pressing too hard at the plate and had disappointing results for the 2009 season. Thanks to your programs, my son now has a completely new approach to the game of baseball (and school) and it’s more fun for him now. He made all-district player at his position and hit .443 this season. A complete 180 degree turn around from last year.”
~Mark M., sports parent
“Dr. Cohn has put together a program that has enabled myself and our players to approach the mental game in a systematic way that is easy to use and apply. Our awareness level has greatly increased.”
~Marty Hunter, Head Baseball Coach George Fox University
Disclaimer
*Testimonials found on this site are examples of what we have done for other clients, and what some of our clients have said about us. However, we cannot guarantee the results in any case. Your results may vary and every situation is different. No compensation was provided for these testimonials.
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