A mental skills coach is going to help you think better, think more clearly in the moment, and control your emotions. ’’ In the words of the late Yogi Berra: “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.
And of the four “major” sports in the United States, baseball is by far the most mentally challenging and demanding. Demanding, because there is so much dead time compared to other sports. Dead time gives baseball players lots of time to think, and thinking is often at the root of tension, pressure and anxiety.
Swimming
It may be surprising to most people that swimming is number 1 in the list of the most mentally challenging sports in the world. Many professional swimmers fall into a 7-day self-sabotage cycle. This is a period where they may doubt themselves and grow continuous stress on themselves.
Focus on what you can control: timing, swing, pitch selection, mental strategies. Staying positive is not enough. Staying positive is a good goal, but not realistic all the time. Self-talk including self- criticism happens to everyone.
If you notice you over thinking your throw, say to yourself, “See the target, hit the target.” This simple phrase can remind you to stop overthinking and re-focus your attention on your approach to each hitter. Remember that your fear of a bad throw–and what that means to you–drives the over thinking and over control.
As compiled by Silver, these five qualities are:- Preparedness and Work Ethic.
Concentration and Focus.
Competitiveness and Self-Confidence.
Stress Management and Humility.
Adaptiveness and Learning Ability.
Boxing. The Sweet Science. That’s the sport that demands the most from the athletes who compete in it. It’s harder than football, harder than baseball, harder than basketball, harder than hockey or soccer or cycling or skiing or fishing or billiards or any other of the 60 sports we rated.
The 60 hardest sports in terms of difficulty have been ranked (60…- Track and Field: Distance.
Rodeo: Bull/Bareback/Bronc Riding.
Track and Field: Middle Distance.
Weightlifting.
Swimming (all strokes) Sprints.
Water Skiing.
Table Tennis.
Track and Field: weights.
Studies have shown that between 70 and 85% of successful and unsuccessful athletes can be identified using general psychological measures of personality structure and mood state, a level superior to chance but insufficient for the purpose of selecting athletes.
Motivational Babe Ruth Quotes
“Baseball is the greatest game in the world and deserves the best you can give it.” “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” “Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.”
Give them positive challenges and set small goals every time they practice together. Share praise and encouragement often. During games, stay composed and focused. You’ll need to deliver instructions during play, but don’t overdo it.
Use a deep belly breath or slow shrugging of the shoulders to relax your upper body. Remember, calmness in and tension out as you take slow breaths in between pitches or prior to stepping into the batter’s box. Listening to yourself take slow, quiet breaths is a great way to calm your insides.
What will help you stay relaxed the most is simply taking a deep breath before each pitch and be consciously aware of how you “feel”. If you feel too tense take a step off the mound and regroup to ensure you are mentally able to throw. The best pitchers can stay relaxed under pressure situations.