Shutting out the noise

Good athletes don't hear the noise when they are focused and pitching, hitting, fielding, etc..

Exactly!

Definitely have to side with RJM here. They have to learn not to hear it. I taught my son that at an early age and he's done well with it so far.

Bingo.  I asked my kid once if he heard us in the stands.  He said no. 

 

Of course he doesn't hear us at home either. 

"Clear the mechanism"

 

Seriously, I've talked to my son about this before, when he is on the mound, he doesn't hear or see anything.  Granted, he hasn't played in a situation with overwhelming noise, but it's the same principle - focus.

 

He pitched a HS game several years ago.  My father (his grandfather) and a friend of his showed up at the game.  His friend is like 6'5" with long white hair, can't miss him.  They stood about 10 feet in back of the backstop, directly behind home plate the whole game.  After the game, I asked son if he saw Pop there.  He didn't notice them at all.

 

Focus - when these guys are dialed in, they don't see or hear anything outside of the field.

I think most pitchers have that one game where they let outside distractions get to them, then they realize what they have to do to drown it out.  My son had that situation in about 11 U ball where a dugout was really loud, banging helmets yelling, etc.  Let it get to him, but he has learned to drown it out now, not let it bother him.

 

He will look for us before the game, make sure we are there supporting him, but never hears us, he says.

Originally Posted by bballman:

…Focus - when these guys are dialed in, they don't see or hear anything outside of the field.

 

I don’t agree that they don’t see or hear ANYTHING outside the field, but I would agree they are much more focused than those not playing the game. But I wasn’t talking about plugging everyone’s ears all the time. I was thinking much more about those players who can’t seem to quite get the focus needed.

 

Now maybe some here have a magic wand they use that makes every player under their charge be able to block out every possible distraction, but that’s certainly not “normal” for the players I watch day in and day out. I’m sure every coach at one time or another has used a drill or something else on a player that the other players didn’t need, and that’s what I’m talking about.

 

Once played for a Catholic school basketball championship in New England as a kid in the 70's.  When I saw pictures later I was shocked to discover that the HS gym we played in was filled to the rafters with about 1,000 people.  Lot of different reasons why it happened but it did.

 

We made a big 4th quarter comeback from down 9 or 10 to win by 6 or 7.  My mom asked me later how we could concentrate with so much noise.  Again totally surprised and didn't recall any noise besides a kind of loud buzzing sound. 

 

What I do recall was as soon as the game ended and we won it was like the lights came back on and I heard everything but before that...nothing.  My only stretch in the zone I guess you could say. 

I remember when Bonds was chasing the record there were some pitchers wore ear plugs. I also know that Milton Bradley and Rafael Palmeiro wore them....Apparently none of them were good athletes.

My son is usually pretty good about tuning out the crowds or opposing dugout. The only time I have seen him react to outside noise was this summer. His summer team had a promotion where if the home team pitcher strikes out the leadoff batter in the 7^th inning everybody gets a free Big Mac from the local micky D’s.

 

The last home game he pitched in was a fireworks night, it was one of the bigger crowds of the year probably 1,200- 1,500 people. The PA announcer starts the chant of Big Mac, Big Mac… it really got loud after two strikes and after the 3^rd K, the crowd really cheered.  He and the 3^rd baseman got a big laugh over it, later he told me he said to 3B that he did it for the people.

 

Most times he has no clue what’s going on off the field. I have never seen him react to any noise.

You came and asked a question, you got very appropriate answers.

 

This is a skill that is learned over the years. Sometimes its really hard for a MLer as well, as in the recent case of Joe Nathan's response to booing from the home crowd.

 

I don't think there are any drills for this kind of thing..

 

Come on Stats, you are much smarter than that.

Originally Posted by TPM:

You came and asked a question, you got very appropriate answers.

 

This is a skill that is learned over the years. Sometimes its really hard for a MLer as well, as in the recent case of Joe Nathan's response to booing from the home crowd.

 

I don't think there are any drills for this kind of thing..

 

Come on Stats, you are much smarter than that.

 

Actually, I asked a couple of questions.Has anyone experimented with earplugs or some other noise stifling thing for hitters or pitchers?

 

And

 

But what pitcher or hitter wouldn’t benefit from reduced distractions?

 

That was it. Did anyone answer either question, or did everyone automatically start throwing out anecdotes and clichés about what they believe happens and what they believe is true? As you noted, even MLBrs react to noises off the field, so why is it so unbelievable that kids from 5-25 might hear things as well?

 

Of course the only drill is experience, and I don’t remember saying anything that said that experience should be somehow gotten around by something like an ear plug. I was thinking about a player who was having some kind of trouble but couldn’t seem to be coached around it. It just might be that the problem was the inability of the player to focus enough on what was being done to understand it.

 

My questions had nothing at all to do with intelligence, but rather were only question that came to mind. If you and the others never want to question anything, I’m all for it. I don’t know how that makes for much of a life or encourages progress, but if that’s what you want, I’m wishing you the best.

No, my son has not personally experimented with anything like that.  I have not seen any kids ever do that.

 

Maybe there is a benefit.  But if a pitcher or any player can focus enough that they don't really get distracted by the outside noise, then there really wouldn't be a need for there to be a reduction in distraction since they are not distracted in the first place.  Maybe there are some players out there who need the assistance, but if they start using it at an early age, they will never learn to tune it out on their own as the years go by.  I think they are better off learning to deal with it internally.  JMHO.

Ran track in college.  When I was competing (high jump)I had complete tunnel vision.  I had no idea of what was going on around me.  Most of the time there was other events going on, runners all over the place and people cheering.  Yet I noticed none of it.

 

Today thinking back on that I have no idea/concept of what it felt like to be in that "zone".  I know I blocked everything out but I have very little recognition of what happened from the time I took my place on the apron until the time I landed on the matt.

 

Im guessing over time players develop the same sense of focus.

 

 

I'll answer it from the perspective of someone who never has the crowd on his side (unless injured...)

 

It is most definitely an acquired skill to "not hear" what's being said, and I don't think it's a skill that is on its own--rather, it's a byproduct of being able to enforce your own rhythm and focus on the actions you need to take. My mind simply doesn't have the ability to process ancillary information when I'm focused on ensuring that I'm in a good position, watching the pitcher, planning my movement if the catcher blocks me out mid-pitch, tracking the ball to the glove, replaying the pitch in my head, making a decision, communicating that decision/moving to where I need to be on a hit, etc. 

 

I don't think it's a coincidence I notice the crowd more when I'm not on the dish, because my mind isn't as engaged with these tasks. Keeping that in mind, I would postulate that a position player in the field has probably more of an issue than a catcher, pitcher or batter.

When I pitched, I heard everything. I never really understood people that said they "don't hear" anything. To be honest, I don't really believe that. What I do believe is that there are different levels of intent while listening. When focusing on a task (I.e. pitching to a batter), there are several factors that an individual must be in-tune with in order to successfully complete the task. Those that are better at completing such tasks successfully are those that are mentally able to sift through information and enable themselves to focus on the importance of what matters within the context of a current situation.

 

As time went on and I threw more pitches, the information necessary to complete the task became more ingrained in my head. And, as I reached higher levels of baseball, the distractions were easier to ignore because the information that required my focus had become second nature. I'd imagine those that competed at a higher level than me have such a process ingrained as second nature to an even greater extent, and that when the secondary distractions increase, their awareness of the importance of the situation at hand does as well.

 

I'm not sure how I would have reacted to such situations as a 12/13 year old. Probably not as well as some of the kids on TV do.

 

As for earplugs - I'd worry that such a practice may hinder a player's ability to communicate on the field, especially at youth levels - when coaches verbally communicate with players more than when they're older. Different levels of hearing ability would be another thing a player would have to learn to deal with. I agree with the premise that it would probably be better for young players to not have to deal with distractions, but I'd worry that earplugs would be a distraction as well.

 

 

 

This may open up a marketing opportunity for someone.  A batting helmet that also doubles as a sound dampener. Close off the ear holes, make it fit tighter and there ya go.

 

I have had to use ear plugs and ear muffs in different situations, I can’t stand to wear them. I couldn’t imagine trying to wear them and play a sport.

 

Stats try to score a game wearing ear protection and see if it helps with your concentration. I guess studies ( I am putting a disclaimer here that I did not and will not search for any) have shown that when one sense is taken away other senses become stronger, but would putting in ear protection in  for an at bat or pitching for an inning help performance, I don’t know.

 

I’d vote for handing out muzzles to the crowd as they enter the stadium, it might even increase attendance at many games. At least I would entertain sitting in the bleachers as opposed to standing out in left field!

I'm very focused to where I can tune out outside distractive noises . . . like when I'm watching a baseball or football game and my wife calls me for dinner and I don't hear it at all, even when she's in the same room. 

Originally Posted by bballman:

…Maybe there is a benefit.  But if a pitcher or any player can focus enough that they don't really get distracted by the outside noise, then there really wouldn't be a need for there to be a reduction in distraction since they are not distracted in the first place.  Maybe there are some players out there who need the assistance, but if they start using it at an early age, they will never learn to tune it out on their own as the years go by.  I think they are better off learning to deal with it internally.  JMHO.

 

I think everyone leaped to a huge conclusion in that I never once suggested that it should become a permanent thing, or even something used every practice. There are loads of drills in baseball that are used only to get some point across that doesn’t seem to be getting across any other way. I thought it just might be possible that not being able to get focused might be something lots of players might experience during their development, and that doing away with as many distractions as possible just might be something that could help some players along the road.

 

Through the years on bulletin boards like this one, I’ll bet I’ve seen literally hundreds of posts about how distracting parents are when they’re standing behind the backstop or in the stands constantly chirping worthless advice to players. It just seemed to me that it would be easier to show everyone, including the player, how much better they might perform without all that useless “help”.

Originally Posted by mmm1531:

…Stats try to score a game wearing ear protection and see if it helps with your concentration. I guess studies ( I am putting a disclaimer here that I did not and will not search for any) have shown that when one sense is taken away other senses become stronger, but would putting in ear protection in  for an at bat or pitching for an inning help performance, I don’t know….

 

S’funny you should say that. Some years back we had one parent who was particularly vulgar, obnoxious, and loud, and even though I’d purposely sit on the opposite side our team was on, his voice still came through loud and clear. My sister came to visit one year and had a set of Bose noise cancellation headphones her daughter who worked in R&D at BOSE had given to her, and she was going on and on about how great they were on the plane. I told her I had a great use for them, and she let me take them to a game. It was absolutely fantastic! Al I did was turn on the nose cancelling switch, and everything just went to the background and left me in peace.

 

I began using them at every game, and I found it did a couple things. Since people could see I was hearing “impaired”, I quit getting asked all kinds of those usual questions scorers get asked during the game, as though they have nothing better to do. The other was, it really did allow me to focus better on the job at hand. It wasn’t as though I couldn’t focus before and was a lousy scorer, but rather that it became easier for me to pay attention to a lot of the little things a lot better. So, in the end I do believe it made me a better scorer.

 

And when you think about it, why is it many scorers are in press boxes or booths? It’s to isolate them so they can better focus on the game at hand. IOW, it makes it easier.

I wouldn't want to diminish any of my senses or capabilities on any field of competition.  I would much rather be alive to all sensory input and trust my brain to sort out stuff that might be relevant to competing from stuff that isn't.

 

I asked my son if noise affects him on the mound.  He said really enjoys the sound when he is on his game and a chirpy bench gets real quiet around the third inning as they realize they're in for a long day.  He also said that after wrestling under a single spotlight in the center of dark gyms packed to the rafters with screaming fans, noise from baseball fans seems distant and insignificant, not the least bit distracting. 

Personally I think parents need ear plugs more than the players do!

If a batter wears  ear plugs to block out noise how does he hear the calls?!?!?!?
DUH!

Originally Posted by Swampboy:

…I asked my son if noise affects him on the mound.  He said really enjoys the sound when he is on his game and a chirpy bench gets real quiet around the third inning as they realize they're in for a long day.  He also said that after wrestling under a single spotlight in the center of dark gyms packed to the rafters with screaming fans, noise from baseball fans seems distant and insignificant, not the least bit distracting. 

 

Obviously your son isn’t a very good player, since the eggspurts here say:

Originally Posted by justbaseball:

Originally Posted by RJM:

Good athletes don't hear the noise when they are focused and pitching, hitting, fielding, etc..

Exactly!

 

Of course I don’t think your son isn’t a very good player, mainly because I don’t know your son from Adam, and I don’t believe for one second that players, good bad, or in-between don’t hear the noise. I don’t know of any studies on the subject, but I suspect if there were, they would show that different players hear different things, depending on a variety of reasons.

 

I’m sure some kids have hearing that’s better than normal, and some worse. Some hear high sounds better, some hear low ones. But those are physiological reasons. Then too it could be that a kid has something on his mind like a girlfriend or an impending butt chewing from the coach that would cause him to hear some things and miss others. But in the end, no one can really know what’s distracting and what isn’t.

Posted by TPM:

If a batter wears  ear plugs to block out noise how does he hear the calls?!?!?!?
DUH!

 

All he has to do is look at the umpire. DUH!

 

I’ve seen a number of deaf players, and never noticed that they had any trouble with the calls.

Hearing, unless you have a hearing problem, you hear the noise. For many they actually feed off the noise.  They love it!  It actually helps them perform better.  At the same time others might be intimidated by a large crowd.

 

I think if you ask any athlete what they prefer... A very small silent crowd or a very large loud crowd, they would choose the big, loud crowd.

 

Sure the loud crowd can have a negative effect on performance at times.  It can make communication more difficult.  That is why many football teams will pipe loud noise into their practices.  Loud noise can cause collisions between baseball players. Athletes must learn how to deal with noise and negative comments.  Obviously Johnny Manziel flipping the bird was based on something he "heard".

 

I think when athletes say they don't hear anything, they just mean they can deal with it, it doesn't cause loss of focus, or keep them from getting the job done. 

 

Regarding the Little League type of noise from the big crowds.  It is a much different, more supportive type of noise.  It would be great if all big crowds were that nice and simply cheered for their team.  Unfortunately, that changes at the high school level and changes a lot more at the college level and even a lot more at the professional level.

 

Now if someone believes they can perform better with ear plugs, good for them.  I think most actually use the noise to perform better. Other than golfers!

Originally Posted by PGStaff:

…I think when athletes say they don't hear anything, they just mean they can deal with it, it doesn't cause loss of focus, or keep them from getting the job done. …

 

I agree, and not to be picayune, but if that’s what they mean, I wish that’s what they’d say, because others take it and run, generating yet another myth. J

 

IMHO, ANYTHING that distracts a player in a good way or bad, changes the way things take place. It might be that a player loses focus on a popup and drops it, or that a pitcher gets pumped up and puts a few more revs on his slider making it snap more at the end. I’m not talking about that though, and never have. I’m thinking about the kid who’s been told over and over again how to do something, but just can’t seem to get it. Well, maybe it’s because he’s distracted, and I don’t see anything wrong with removing as many distractions as possible in order to give that player the opportunity to get the task done correctly.

Obviously your son isn’t a very good player, since the eggspurts here say:

Originally Posted by justbaseball:

Originally Posted by RJM:

Good athletes don't hear the noise when they are focused and pitching, hitting, fielding, etc..

Exactly!

 

Once again Stats twists the words to fit his agenda. Do pitchers hear noise once they start their windup? Do hitters here noise when the pitch is on the way? Do fielders hear outside noise in the middle of tracking a ball? No. I wouldn't want to be wearing earplugs while the outfielder next to me is yelling "Wall!"

 

Players may hear noise between pitches. But they're too focused from the start of the windup to the final execution of the play. The bench jockeys rely on opposing players hearing noise between pitches. Good athletes don't hear the noise when they are focused and pitching, hitting, fielding, etc..

 

I've never played baseball in front of more than about 2,000 people. I played high school basketball in loud arenas and football in high school stadiums loud enough to create a roar. Between plays a player can feed off the noise. The only time I ever heard the noise during a play was running for a touchdown. But at that point the execution was down to nothing but a sprint.

"True Story"

Years ago when I batted off Bob Gibson [Basin College League in South Dakota], I could not see the ball , it was the size of an aspirn tablet. I went by the sound of the ball.

 

It was the only noise in the Stadium of 1,500 fans.

Bob

 

I think sometimes stats doesnt express himself well or he does post in a certain way to get attention.
I think he means is it productive for a coach to yell out instructions to a batter up at the plate or to the pitcher on the mound?

Interesting discussion!  I don't know this, but have heard many former professional athletes suffer from hearing loss.  I suppose that is true for the fans too.

 

I think there is a difference between hearing something and having that noise affect your  concentration.  A basketball player could be going in for a layup and the place is going crazy, he hears the noise, but it doesn't really register. The noise does not have a negative effect. Once the basket is made, the noise then registers.  

 

I'm sure most of us have either played or been a spectator at events with a large crowd. Usually the noise is nothing but noise.  You hear the noise but the only noise that registers is that in your immediate vicinity.  If you are at a big college or pro football game, you can understand what those right around you are saying, you have no idea what is coming from the other side of the stadium, but you know it is noise.  If you were out on the file that noise would be even louder. Obviously everyone hears it because sometimes they can't even get the play off.  It's too loud, can't hear the snap count, can't audible.  once the play starts the receiver runs his route, sees the ball into his hands, concentrates on the play and the noise doesn't matter.  He heard it, he just can't remember he heard it.

 

Bottom line, players hear noise they just don't know it.  Kind of like when my wife is saying something when my thought is elsewhere.  I hear that she is talking, but it doesn't register. I don't believe you can turn off things like eyesight and hearing.  

 

It's like reading a book while watching TV.  Nothing on the TV registers, you don't even know your hearing what is going on on the TV, then all of a sudden you hear something that draws your attention away from the book on on to what is on the TV.

 

Anyway, that is my theory.  As always very likely to change my mind.

 

 

I agree with this.  Maybe when you ask some athletes, this is the reason.  I know I can ask my son something 25 times if he is focusing on something else and he'll have no idea that I even asked him something until I do something drastic to gain his attention.  He had to have physically heard me as he was 10 feet from me, but it didn't register.  Like PG, if I'm focusing on something on TV and my wife asks me a question, I know I heard something, but I honestly don't know what she said. 

 

It's semantics really.  If you didn't register what was said, did you really hear it?  If a tree falls in the forest, did it make a sound?  An athlete needs to learn to tune out the distractions and focus on the task at hand.  

 

Losing your hearing will bring about it's own set of problems IMO.  For a pitcher, a runner starts to steal before the pitch, teammates yell "step off, step off!!"  Can't hear it because of the earplugs.  Two fielders going for a fly ball or pop up.  One yelling "I got it, I got it!!"  Other fielder doesn't hear him and they crash into each other.  Batter/baserunner gets a hit, ball is behind him and fielder bobbles the ball.  Coach starts yelling "GO, GO, GO!!"  He doesn't hear it because of the earplugs and does not advance a base.  Baseball is a sport of communication, losing your hearing to help you focus will bring about other challenges like the above.

Originally Posted by TPM:

I think sometimes stats doesnt express himself well or he does post in a certain way to get attention.
I think he means is it productive for a coach to yell out instructions to a batter up at the plate or to the pitcher on the mound?

 

Well, once again you’d be wrong. All I did was ask a question and you think I did it to get attention, then ASSUME I asked it in order to take some kind of wild off-the-wall shot at coaches. Why is it you insist on reading so many things into anything I say?

Originally Posted by bballman:

…An athlete needs to learn to tune out the distractions and focus on the task at hand.  

 

ABSOLUTELY! But sometimes that’s harder for some to do than others. People learn different things at different rates.

 

…Two fielders going for a fly ball or pop up.  One yelling "I got it, I got it!!"  Other fielder doesn't hear him and they crash into each other….

 

Why do you insist on trying to use an example I made it a point to note in the OP wouldn’t make a lot of sense?

 

“It wouldn’t make a great deal of sense for fielders, other than maybe to teach them to concentrate, because a lot of defense has to do with verbal communication.”

 

… Baseball is a sport of communication, losing your hearing to help you focus will bring about other challenges like the above…

         

Yes it is, and that’s why I tried to describe it as something akin to a drill for someone who was having special difficulties, not for every player every game, all game. Have you ever seen anyone pitch in a game with a handkerchief under his arm, hit with a doughnut on his bat, play infield during a game with a Pancake Flat training glove, or any of thousands of other drills used in the game to help players improve various skills?

 

PGStaff hit it on the head when he said it was a DISCUSSION! All I was trying to do was get people to consider something and discuss it, not to say it’s what every coach should do all the time to every player.

Sorry stats. Thought I was discussing this.

Man, just because someone doesn't 100% agree with you doesn't mean it's not a discussion. You ask a question, you will get differing opinions doesn't mean it's not a discussion.

In the middle of your delivery and when fielding? I sometimes heard comments from the opposing bench between pitches. But once I looked in for the sign I was in a zone. The only distraction I ever experienced I brought on myself. I let an umpire tick me off with his mini strike zone.

 

I think PGStaff's post described it well. I heard everything. Over time, I learned to listen to and focus on what was important. I like the term "white noise." It fits.

 

 

You did say the following Stats:

 

 

Sounds like you're saying a fielder could benefit from earplugs. 

 

 

 

 

No, I have never seen any of these things done in a game.  I have seen these things done in practices or bullpens, but never in a game.  

 

Bottom line is, you asked if using some kind of earplug to block out noise could be beneficial.  My answer is no, I don't.  I think the cons outweigh the pros and I think there are better ways to learn to block this out.  JMO, and that's what you asked for.