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.
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.
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.
The Mental Side of Hitting is easily the most important aspect in the game of baseball for two main reasons. 90% of hitting is how you feel when walking up to the plate. There are two players in every hitter. Confident Player & Non-Confident player.
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.
Focusing on body relaxation, one muscle group at a time. Sometimes, it helps to tense muscle groups before relaxing them. Positive self-talk, including the use of words such as “calm,” “relax,” “breathe,” and “easy.” Listening to music, which can be calming or engaging, depending on an athlete’s preference.
Pre-race nausea is most commonly caused by the nerves and anxiety that big races and high-pressure situations put on a runner. And those nerves are nearly universal for competitive runners.
Create a Routine: Create a routine that you perform before every game in the same order. An example order might be to: eat a meal, get dressed, go through a specific warm-up, and then have some time for meditation or prayer. Eliminating uncertainties before the game will help to calm your nerves.
Sports anxiety occurs when individuals view competitive situations as threatening and respond to these situations with apprehension and tension (Martens et al 1990). Pressure causes our motor skills that are usually automatic to become impaired due to the additional tension.
The Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2; Smith et al., 2006) is a 15-item questionnaire that assesses the competitive trait anxiety experienced by athletes before or during competition. The scale includes three factors: somatic anxiety, worry and concentration disruption.
Athletes should eat a balanced meal containing carbohydrates, protein, and fruit or vegetables 2-3 hours before game time. Make sure to drink 12-24 ounces of water with a pre-game meal to stay hydrated. Pre-game meals may include: Whole wheat chicken sandwich with vegetables.
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.
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.
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.