How to translate?

www.qualityatbats.com

www.jaegersports.com

www.hittingisaguess.com

For many of our kids I believe it just becomes "one more game". Most have played on high profile travel teams and either been scouted or are in the batter box with dozens of radar guns behind them as the pitcher is being scouted. Many have played in Jupiter...most of us know what a wild scene that is!

Summer Ball, often in front of significantly larger crowds than experienced in college.

They have felt the pressure by now, numerous times.

I do believe that after our players have been on the field most of their life, many since they were 5 years old, a level of comfort and confidence sets in. If they have made it out of High School and are on a college team, they have achieved a level of success denied many!

I did purchase Steve Springers CD after the HSBaseball Radio show. It may prove even more helpful to my son because I listened to it! I now pledge not to pay such attention to his Batting Average, like I have done in the past. That will help him relax a bit more right there. I probably have exerted more pressure on my son than the game has. The game accepts and expects failure, some dads are not as forgiving.

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What are some of the mental things you can think of to help kids translate their offseason efforts into tangible results in the spring?

CD: that's a great question and our group can probably write a book on the subject. However, I have discovered that no matter how right I am about a particular aspect of his game, no advice or recommendation given is implemented UNTIL he makes the idea his own OR it comes from some other second party. The best of all sources is something he sees or hears from another player!

Let me give an example. PrimeJr. has heard it all regarding hitting, the skill he considers his strength. The most important of all probably could be not to think in the batters box. Think, plan before getting there but once there, just see and react. Yogi's advice, "you can't think and hit"

However, the transition to College last year really affected his hitting and confidence from a number of directions; the bigger MLB sized college fields, bigger, faster, stronger players, the new detuned BBCOR's with a plum sized sweet spot, warning track fly balls that used to be HR's, and pitchers that can throw sliders and sinkers for strikes! And then to top it off; 18 AB's during his Freshmen year to try to work all this out. Obviously, he began thinking and pressing too much.

Summer ball was the answer but even though everyone kept telling him that he was thinking too much, just see it and hit it. He didn't make the adjustment until a few weeks into Fall ball. He had started poorly and was still watching balls he should be creaming and was continually in the hole.

What seemed to jolt him into reality? Well, a incoming Freshmen who was off to a pretty good start came up to him after a scrimmage and said," man it's easy to see that you know how to hit. But you just seem to be thinking too much. Why don't you just let it go?"

He called me the next day after a 3 for 4 day and a bullet hit off the 402' sign (slider) and told me about the discussion and how it affected him!

He had been hearing it for months, but until it hit home, at the right time, from the right source, it didn't matter. That young player got his attention and he hit over .400 the remainder of the Fall. If he keeps that mind set, he will get opportunities in the Spring.

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Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
Another thing I always tell him is to let the game come to you.

My thought exactly.

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And then to top it off; 18 AB's during his Freshmen year to try to work all this out.

Ha! I can relate to that!

Sounds like your son is a kid who has worked hard to get his chance, and is likely to get that chance this season.

Good luck! Keep us updated!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
Another thing I always tell him is to let the game come to you.
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I'll second TPM's motion here. This is about harmony, that is, harmonizing with whatever is dealt you. Fielders cannot choose what comes their way, they have to adjust to it. Even pitchers have to adjust to the batter, baserunners, etc. Batters cannot choose the pitch.

None of us have much control over what comes our way, we have to adjust to it.

To digress a bit from the topic, I believe that great athletes are great artists, they play their game like an artist.

I agree with floridafan...most college players have been hitting and pitching in front of crowds and in clutch situations for most of their high school years. Tournaments in Georgia, Ft. Myers, Jupiter and locally scouted events have put these players on the spot many times.

I also think that the players who don't perform well enough in these clutch situations because of nerves or pressure are not the ones playing in college. If they don't handle pressure well, and don't perform well they aren't having much fun and this all leads to finding another pastime. Either their decision or a coaches.

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Originally posted by fillsfan:
I agree with floridafan...most college players have been hitting and pitching in front of crowds and in clutch situations for most of their high school years. Tournaments in Georgia, Ft. Myers, Jupiter and locally scouted events have put these players on the spot many times.

I also think that the players who don't perform well enough in these clutch situations because of nerves or pressure are not the ones playing in college. If they don't handle pressure well, and don't perform well they aren't having much fun and this all leads to finding another pastime. Either their decision or a coaches.

Good points but I disagree slightly. In high school, kids are competing against other kids their own ages and most of them are not college players. Also, they are usually the stars of any high school or travel team or showcase team they happen to be on. Thus, in my way of looking at things, kids rarely play under pressure below the collegiate level because they have no fear that someone will replace them if they do not perform.

Fast forward to the college experience and you are competing against kids 4 years older and stronger in many cases. In addition, most coaches have a short lease so the options are to perform or sit. IMHO, the perform or sit model has to be experienced before one can tell if they can handle it or not. Weight lifting and running cannot prepare someone for that type of pressure imho.

I could be wrong too

I agree CD with your point about competing with players 4 years older. This can be intimidating to freshman, thus him putting more pressure on himself to perform. But pressure is what pressure is. Meaning if a player can handle what he, or others, perceive as pressure situations as they arise, then this is another one he has to handle or not. His experience along the way could help him here. Maybe a kid says to himself "no pressure here, that monster junior has this spot locked up, just go out and play and see what happens."

What I can see also is that different players may have different breaking points regarding pressure. Maybe some can handle everything up to competing with bigger and stronger players.

Also, what one player may consider pressure another player may not. I know of kids who don't like to bat 3rd or 4th, thinking those spots come with pressure to produce. Now that's a kid I wouldn't bet on playing much in college.

And I also agree...I could be wrong too!

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Originally posted by Prime9:

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Originally posted by Prime9:

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Fast forward to the college experience and you are competing against kids 4 years older and stronger in many cases. In addition, most coaches have a short lease so the options are to perform or sit. IMHO, the perform or sit model has to be experienced before one can tell if they can handle it or not. Weight lifting and running cannot prepare someone for that type of pressure imho.

Good points CD, and IMO, correct!

True that they have by this time played in many pressure games. But each level brings it's own challenges. Each player will deal with it in his own way and to the point, on his timetable. If not, their career will be short.

To my point though, no amount of "telling them" will have much affect.

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Originally posted by fillsfan:
I agree CD with your point about competing with players 4 years older. This can be intimidating to freshman, thus him putting more pressure on himself to perform. But pressure is what pressure is. Meaning if a player can handle what he, or others, perceive as pressure situations as they arise, then this is another one he has to handle or not. His experience along the way could help him here. Maybe a kid says to himself "no pressure here, that monster junior has this spot locked up, just go out and play and see what happens."

What I can see also is that different players may have different breaking points regarding pressure. Maybe some can handle everything up to competing with bigger and stronger players.

Also, what one player may consider pressure another player may not. I know of kids who don't like to bat 3rd or 4th, thinking those spots come with pressure to produce. Now that's a kid I wouldn't bet on playing much in college.

And I also agree...I could be wrong too!

Great points.

I have found that in baseball and not with just my son, that kids often try and do too much. Make an error and then try and make up for it the next inning by trying to hit a six run homer. Maybe the grandparents are in the stands for the first and perhaps the last time and they want to make a lasting impression. Maybe a kid feels like somehow he needs to turn the coach's head so he'll put a little extra juice on the fastball rather than pitching within himself. I am sure we can come up with a million things that might distract someone from performing their best.

One key things that parents often forget when it comes to measureing performance, is that those kids on the other teams have parents and grandparents who want to see them do equally as well. Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes it eats you. Success in baseball oftens times comes down to how willing are you to pick yourself up off the mat (after failing) and win the round the next time.

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Originally posted by J H:
www.qualityatbats.com

www.jaegersports.com

www.hittingisaguess.com

I pretty much agree with Josh. The higher you go up in the game the more mental it becomes, as everyone is physically talented – even more so in the pros. Josh listed three guys who have figured this out and have developed businesses to help those moving up the baseball food chain. Thanks to Josh and CD for exposing them to the HSBBW crowd.

In college you also have the additional demands of school and only those who are disciplined with their time are going to survive.

For the boy what has helped the most, has been the opportunities in scout ball and international play. Locally, Scout ball teams will play against NAIA programs. As a pitcher to face a lineup of 19-22 year olds at 16 or 17 and be successful was huge. Internationally, rabib fans and facing opposing hitters trying to make their national teams has provided some real "David & Goliath" moments. In retrospect as parents, we were happy he got out alive. But those experiences are paying huge dividends now as a college player.

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That said... getting in shape is the easy part imho for most kids... The hardest part is the mental part and the hardest part of baseball imho.

How do you get a kid to relax when he goes into pitch or hit in a college game? How do you get them to let their natural abilities take over? Some kids dominate fall scrimmages when not many are watching. When the season begins, they might try and throw it through the backstop when pitching or squeeze the metal out of the bat when hitting, for example.

Some kids have quick early success and then fall back later in the season. Others never quite get untracked and it may take them a couple of years before their coach gives them an extended opportunity.

What are some mental things to help kids so they can enjoy peak performance? A couple things I've shared with my son is always tell him to be himself as that ought to be good enough. Another thing I always tell him is to let the game come to you.

CD, as always, a very interesting topic.
I am going to take a different route, I think.
First of all, when our son got to college, I am not sure there was anything I could tell him.
His skill level needed to be at a new level, his strength and conditioning needed to be at a new level, and his mental preparation and toughness needed to follow.
My ability/skills experience didn't equate with where he was going. My view was he needed to place his trust and opportunities with experienced college coaches, and teammates, and work with and through them to see where to go and how to get there.
Personally, I am one who feels what anyone did in HS, travel teams and the like does not make all that much difference on a college baseball field.
In contrast, I think college baseball requires players to get and be better every day. Once any player begins to believe the past is some indication for the future, the stage can be set for frustration and possible failure.
Mentally, I truly believe that after HS, players need to be able to focus on today and tomorrow, and forget yesterday.
That mental preparation to succeed needs to be present during every minute the player is on the field. They have to practice at the highest level and challenge themselves to be there, not once inch below.
But that isn't enough.
There is also the work before and after practice and every minute being at the highest level, and the next day being at a level just a bit higher than 24 hours before.
Finally, my view is players like our son, someone most would consider a good player but not the top level talent, succeed when they feel they need to prove themselves every day, to grind every minute, every AB, every inning, every practice, every scrimmage, and then get to to the field and cages early and stay late to grind more.
They cannot, mentally, be too high on the great days or too low on those where everything goes wrong.
Personally, my sense is players don't really relax. They do however become more aware and are able to adapt to the speed and level of skill/competiton of the game by more and better preparation.
By their preparation on the field, before and after practice, in the weight room, and studying scouting reports, they are still playing/concentrating and focused at a very, very high level.
But the game is not too fast.
Their preparation slows the game so they mentally are in control, rather than the game, speed, competition controlling them.
If I had to summarize in a few words, high quality mental and physical preparation allows players to adapt to the speed and competitive level of the college or Milb game.