After he focused on baseball year round, 2 things really relieved him of performance anxiety. the first was a really wise select coach. He told him he wasn't ready to be a starter- not enough experience - and proceeded to pull him into a game when it all seemed hopeless- you know the story- no outs, bases loaded, tie game etc, etc. He did this all summer. It worked- he gained a lot of needed experience in tough situations. He didn't really feel a lot of pressure- and had a fair amount of success, which led to his being a regular starter by the end of the season. I'll always be grateful to that coach for placing him in situations that allowed "quick catch up"
The second situation, as odd as this may sound, was the first (and only really horrible) time that he got "rocked". Oh, it was painful, but it got the monkey off his back, and led to wiser decision making regarding which pitch to throw in such situations. His feeling was, the worse has happened, things can only get better from here. It developed maturity. Sure hope it continues- the ante is upped making the transition from hs to college!
