Need help relaxing

I would just say to you that you need to live in the moment. The only thing that matters is what you are doing right now. The next pitch you make or face is the only thing that matters. Have some fun with the game. Clear your mind of everyting but what you are doing right then and there. If your thinking that you need to relax you wont. Dont think about anything but hitting the next good pitch you see. The only pressure there is , is the pressure you put on yourself. So when someone says RELAX, all your thinking about is you must not be relaxed because everyone is telling you to relax. Block everything out and just play the game. And remember it is just a game. Let it be fun and it will be fun.

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Does anyone here have any idea's on how to relax or anything that would be helpful, please repond.

I would like to recommend that you obtain and work through a book: Heads-Up Baseball : Playing the Game One Pitch at a Time. It's a little more than $10 at Amazon, but the information it contains is golden. It's the next thing you need to play baseball after getting a glove, bat and cleats.

Yoga is not a joke.......It's very real....

Simplify your life - see the ball hit the ball. I know that sounds crazy but my point is break things down to the basics.

Most stress ultimately is self-induced to some degree. It sounds as though your coach is understanding of your issue with being unable to relax. That's a plus. Continue talking with him about your situation.

Blue Dog states "Yoga is not a joke". Yoga, Tai Chi and even any number of the martial arts can help you learn to relax and 'center' yourself. This may be a bit too esoteric an answer for some folks but certainly is a legitimate avenue to explore. Your local YMCA, community college and many school district 'community education' programs offer both Tai Chi and Yoga. Maybe you ought to give it a try.

Talk to your parents, minister, counselor, friend, whomever. Sometimes this is a good way to get some insight as to why you feel so pressured to perform and not relax.

One simple exersize you can do on a daily basis is just find a place that is very quiet and sit for five minutes with your eyes closed. Try not to think of anything during that time. You will be very surprised at how difficult this is at first. It will seem like forever and your head will be anything but clear, but after you practice this a while you may find it something that relaxes you and prepares you for every aspect of your day. It will carry over into your routine, whatever that may be.

Just "blank out" your mind-see the ball, hit the ball, see the ball, catch the ball. Don't try to think, just react. Practice is the time to think about and work on mechanics, form, etc.; when the lights come up for game time, don't think, just trust your body to react. Yogi B. said it well "I just look at it and hit it", or something close to that.

A tip from my wife's birthing classes: focus on your foot until you "feel it", then relax it; then do your ankle, and relax it, then your knee, then your thigh, then your abdomen, arms ,etc., saving your mind for last: it's a body relaxation technique and it really does work.

my suggestion is a simple one that i use all the time before you get to your game play a cd of a song that you love and no the words 2 listening to it a few times then go play and just keep singing the song in your head sounds weird but it keeps my mind at peace

Yoga is a very effective technique for learning how to relax. Don't sell it short. Barry Zito, among other professional ballplayers practices it.

Is there a website where i can learn some Yoga tricks.

There are no "tricks"to success--you have to bust your a S s to make it work

haha

I know that TRhit, I meant was there a website where it explained to you how to do yoga so then i could do it every morning.

Yoga is a life changing experience......Find someone who can teach you yoga stretching exercises.....A new world will open up to you......Mentally and physically........

I don't want to bore you all with my stories but i need some help bad:

This spring/summer/and fall have been the worst baseball (hitting Wise) ive played. Im in a huge slump. When im not in a game and a kid is pitching i do awsome and crush the ball, but its something about the pressure i havn't been able to quite figure out. When im wokring with my hitting instructer in Live situations and hes throwin around 80+ i do real well, but when i face a kid thowing 75 in a game i mess up and always end up looking at real good pitches/swinging at ones over my head/ hitting weak groundballs. Its soooo frustrating because i know im better then this but its been going on sooo long its going from a slump to just plain bad. I need to get my head straght for my Junior year (currently in) because its the most important one ive heard.

Any advice on relaxing would be appreciated. Thanks alot

plp556

Find a bunch of funny jokes on the net and print them out and bring them to a game, and right before just read them and laugh. It'll help reduce the stress, thus helping you relax

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Some really great suggestions here. Try them. Choose the one that works for you. It's not one size fits all.

Music, in the moment, one pitch at a time,...all great suggestions....even "work your behind off!"

Yoga, martial arts, etc are all ways to train the mind and body to stay calm, centered, and on task in the face of great Drama. Have had great success with my players with meditation, takes time to learn but well worth the effort.

Lots of books, websites, and courses on the process but it is basically simple to learn.

Itsagreatgame said it well...

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One simple exersize you can do on a daily basis is just find a place that is very quiet and sit for five minutes with your eyes closed. Try not to think of anything during that time. You will be very surprised at how difficult this is at first. It will seem like forever and your head will be anything but clear, but after you practice this a while you may find it something that relaxes you and prepares you for every aspect of your day. It will carry over into your routine, whatever that may be.

Try early morning before the day gets crazy...Sometimes it helps to focus on breathing as a way to keep on track....Let the thoughts pass by without reaction....The space between the thoughts is the calm you seek and what you want to be able to access later with a few deep breaths.

Has worked well with my players...

Some people can never learn to relax--it is their makeup

Sounds to me like your mind isnt on the game.

It sounds to me like your mind is focusing on things that have nothing to do with the game.
Like your teammate's potential reaction to your play.

Perhaps - if you focus on the ball - and only the ball - you wont need to visit the Dalai Lama or bend your limbs into a pretzel.

Try that - focus on the ball - and only the ball.

Good luck.

"ohh i better get a hit or ill look horrible infront of the team and stuff like that."

You have a fear of failure.

Baseball is mostly a game of failure for hitters. A .300 hitter fails 7 out of 10 at bats.

Once you start accepting that failure is ok you will start to relax.

You may consider visiting a sports psychologist.

plp556 : 'baseballtoday' today is on the right track in my opinion.

You stated that you are 16 and playing on an 18U team. That's a great accomplishment and it probably means you're a darn good player.

Confidence is very important for a player and it appears that you have earned the respect of others by virtue of playing 'up' with an older team. You expect alot out of yourself and this is good because it most likely pushed you to where you are now.

I'm not going to tell you to relax per se, but focus on what you have already accomplished. Enjoy what you've earned. Obviously you didn't get to where you're at by commiting errors and striking out all the time.

Build upon your success and strength. Don't be fearful, be hungry and want to add to your treasure. You've EARNED it. Go ahead and EARN some more.

Keep us posted on your progress and enjoy!

Baseballtoday : Being from the Pacific Northwest (and the coast at that!)I would have thought with all the rain you get in Seattle that your screen name would have been 'baseballtoday?' with the emphasis on the question mark!

What do you do when the rain is prolonged... go to Sequim and play in the rain shadow? Now that would be a good place for a Puget Sound area baseball complex.

Plp556,
Let me recommend another book ... ”The Mental Keys to Hitting” by H.A. Dorfman.
Fungo

Something that used to work for me was as I walked to the plate, squeeze the bat hard with both hands - white knuckles etc - for a count of 10. When I let go, imagine all of the tension flowing out of your body through your hands (which will be tingling anyway). Then take a deep breath, step in and rip...

Thanks for all the quick replies everyone!

plp556 - Another great book is Mind Gym, by Gary Mack. It is one of the books that Barry Zito says has helped him focus and relax (actually, I think he does yoga, too). Good luck!

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Originally posted by gotwood4sale:
Baseballtoday : Being from the Pacific Northwest (and the coast at that!)I would have thought with all the rain you get in Seattle that your screen name would have been 'baseballtoday?' with the emphasis on the question mark!

What do you do when the rain is prolonged... go to Sequim and play in the rain shadow? Now that would be a good place for a Puget Sound area baseball complex.

GOTWOOD - adding the question mark is a pretty funny idea.
We dont go to Sequim cause it's too radioactive.

BTW: I grew up on the North Side of Chicago.

baseballtoday? : Did Mr. Burns relocate his nuclear power plant from Springfield to Sequim? You will have to enligten me about Sequim and it's radio active qualities.

I have long lost relatives there. It's been a very long time, but if I remember correctly, they only had one head each and they didn't glow much in the dark...actually that glow may have been the nightlight.

Although we didn't spend much time there I do remember learning some real good 'Duck and Cover' moves.

Now you've got me wondering what my radio active 'half-life' might be!

Take care of that corner of our great country.

baseballtoday? : The North Side you say?! Would that be north of Comiskey Park?

I'm a White Sox guy but now that the Cubs have Moises Alou in their rearview mirror they may be able to muster up some post season success in the future.

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Originally posted by gotwood4sale:
baseballtoday? : The North Side you say?! Would that be north of Comiskey Park?

I'm a White Sox guy but now that the Cubs have Moises Alou in their rearview mirror they may be able to muster up some post season success in the future.

I was actually thinking about Satsop not Sequim. So you are ok on the radiation.

Yeah, Im a cubbie. Grew up on Addison/Pulaski. Just a few miles west of wrigley.

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plp556,

I can somewhat empathize with you - my son has recently experienced what seems like the same problem. I know it can be very frustrating, but know in your mind that it is TEMPORARY. It could be anxiety related. Sometimes, a player when put in a situation where he feels pressured to perform to a certain level (and this could be self induced) involuntarily changes the way he would normally go about doing things. For instance, when facing a faster pitcher, the anxious batter may start his hands forward too early instead of keeping them back - this makes it very difficult to sit back on the off speed stuff, which makes the batter very vulnerable to a crafty pitcher/catcher. My advice is to focus on "slowing" things down - just the opposite of what you may be doing in "pressure" situations. In order to slow yourself down, you will need to "trust" your ability, which you have demonstrated during the non-game situations. Take a little more time before firing the trigger - relax, read, then react. Best wishes.

baseballtoday : Yeah, I'm a Cheesemaker (or would have been if I'd stayed in Tillamook long enough to enter high school). Grew up on 2nd and Cedar. Just a block and a half from Hoquarton Slough.

How's that for comparison.

baseballtoday? : Then Sequim remains on the 'A' list for a baseball complex after all of my 'glowing' remarks! Sorry Satsop!