Why do we spend so much time on the physical side?
http://baseballbytheyard.blogs...al-side-of-game.html
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Very nice stuff you have written in your latest blog.
I don't think that most players do enough mental training, which probably accounts for a large percentage of failure. Mental training is especially needed when there is injury, JMO.
The organization that son is in now has their resident psych speak on a regular basis to milb teams (author of 10 minute toughness) and it has helped. He also has had huge improvements in his game from his p coach, a former ML pitcher who pitched a perfect game with a career record of 245-193 and ERA of 3.70. If he has learned anything at all from him, it has been a lot of the head stuff. Mental training doesn't just apply to pitchers either.
He also does physical training with his trainer which is incorporated with mental stuff (pushing past the limit type of stuff).
My sons college coach did a lot of head stuff with them, which seemed ridiculous at the time, but with the winning record he has, it's obvious it works. He came away with a lot to think about often. Unfortunetly if coaches did some of the stuff with younger players, they would call it abusive. I think that coaches, who really understand the importance of the mental aspect can incorporate some things in their program. These things can be simple, like breathing excecises, focus, to tougher work outs.
Again, good stuff.
I don't think that most players do enough mental training, which probably accounts for a large percentage of failure. Mental training is especially needed when there is injury, JMO.
The organization that son is in now has their resident psych speak on a regular basis to milb teams (author of 10 minute toughness) and it has helped. He also has had huge improvements in his game from his p coach, a former ML pitcher who pitched a perfect game with a career record of 245-193 and ERA of 3.70. If he has learned anything at all from him, it has been a lot of the head stuff. Mental training doesn't just apply to pitchers either.
He also does physical training with his trainer which is incorporated with mental stuff (pushing past the limit type of stuff).
My sons college coach did a lot of head stuff with them, which seemed ridiculous at the time, but with the winning record he has, it's obvious it works. He came away with a lot to think about often. Unfortunetly if coaches did some of the stuff with younger players, they would call it abusive. I think that coaches, who really understand the importance of the mental aspect can incorporate some things in their program. These things can be simple, like breathing excecises, focus, to tougher work outs.
Again, good stuff.
meachrm...thanks for sharing your blog. It's a nice reminder of the importance of the mental side. I purchased The Mental Game of Baseball a little over a year ago for my son. I'd say that he read maybe two chapters, took a break, and didn't pick it back up. It's time that he does some more reading. We also received an email from Quality AB's, the mental side of hitting (Steve Springer) last week regarding his CD/DVD combo. It's higly recommended by baseball people here in our area, and my son's future college utilizes the program too.
I do mental game coaching and believe it is the difference maker! I have worked with many pro players that had all the physicall skills to be in the Bigs, but could not get out of their own way when it came to their thoughts. There are a lot of methods to teach a player how to focus, trust and play the game one pitch at a time, but it is just like every other part of the game - the only way to get good at it is to practice! The problem is that most don't know how to practice - instead they are just told - "visualize it" or "you have to be tough", yet they are not given the HOW part of it. Rick Harig - Performance and Development Coach www.baseball-cap.net
Personally, I would say that 100% of the game is mental. Yes, everyone has a maximum physical potential (some greater than others) but most people never reach that potential. It's the people that show mental toughness by working hard training to improve their game while their friends are at the beach, that stay an extra hour after practice, and who dedicate themselves to the game that will be successful. You may think that people get to the major leagues by pure talent, but I'm here to say that most of the time that isn't the case. Nobody is born a natural baseball player. Some people are born with a higher maximum potential for aspects in the game such as running, power, etc., but the people who are most successful at this game are the ones who are mentally strong enough and determined enough to be successful.
I'm not sure how clear that was so to summarize, I believe that the game is 100% mental because in order to improve yourself physically you have to be tough mentally.
This is why it is so important for all those "average" players with a passion for the game to NOT GIVE UP! If you work hard and you are mentally tough you can and will succeed.
I'm not sure how clear that was so to summarize, I believe that the game is 100% mental because in order to improve yourself physically you have to be tough mentally.
This is why it is so important for all those "average" players with a passion for the game to NOT GIVE UP! If you work hard and you are mentally tough you can and will succeed.
T.W., I agree that it is 100% mental, but so are so many other things in life. There is an old saying that stands out in my mind; "The will to win is not as important as the will to prepare to win."
With that said how do we get the young players to respond in a fashion that gives them the best chance at winning and of even more importance to succeed in life?
If you are anything like I am, I believe that an athlete will grasp a concept much more effectively if they can see it and touch it.They do not retain or learn as much if they just hear the spoken word.
At the high school age, I feel that a huge obstacle in a players way is the failure to understand just how short that 9th through 12th time frame really is. By the time they reach the 9th grade their attention span is limited and they usually can't or don't want to spend the time working towards a goal assuming that they have a goal to begin with.
I'm not sure where this originated but I found it useful in getting a young man's attention and holding it. We know that few will go on to play at a higher level so we also want them to be prepared going out into the world in a relatively short time. So here is the something to "see and touch" concept.
Regardless of where it is (locker room, weight room or even in the dugout), use bricks or cinder blocks. The average life expectancy is roughly 78 years of age now. So this will require 19 and 1/2 bricks or blocks 19 times 4 = 76 the 1/2 block is on the left side to represent the first two years of life. Outline the outer edges,the mortar, with a magic marker surounding the 19 1/2 blocks preferably at eye level. Use paint or something to cover the fourth block. This gives a visual represention of the time span of a high school athletes potential career. Like most of us we do procrastinate and we want to limit that. That one brick out of nineteen and one-half makes them visualize just how brief their time really is in high school.
As a coach I would spend time talking with them about setting goals and I am sure that most coaches do, but I found that using tools such as this helped to focus a player's mental energies into a much more productive and positive manner, and hopefully they retained some of that as they continued on in life.
By the way I absolutely enjoyed this thread even if it is a few months old.
With that said how do we get the young players to respond in a fashion that gives them the best chance at winning and of even more importance to succeed in life?
If you are anything like I am, I believe that an athlete will grasp a concept much more effectively if they can see it and touch it.They do not retain or learn as much if they just hear the spoken word.
At the high school age, I feel that a huge obstacle in a players way is the failure to understand just how short that 9th through 12th time frame really is. By the time they reach the 9th grade their attention span is limited and they usually can't or don't want to spend the time working towards a goal assuming that they have a goal to begin with.
I'm not sure where this originated but I found it useful in getting a young man's attention and holding it. We know that few will go on to play at a higher level so we also want them to be prepared going out into the world in a relatively short time. So here is the something to "see and touch" concept.
Regardless of where it is (locker room, weight room or even in the dugout), use bricks or cinder blocks. The average life expectancy is roughly 78 years of age now. So this will require 19 and 1/2 bricks or blocks 19 times 4 = 76 the 1/2 block is on the left side to represent the first two years of life. Outline the outer edges,the mortar, with a magic marker surounding the 19 1/2 blocks preferably at eye level. Use paint or something to cover the fourth block. This gives a visual represention of the time span of a high school athletes potential career. Like most of us we do procrastinate and we want to limit that. That one brick out of nineteen and one-half makes them visualize just how brief their time really is in high school.
As a coach I would spend time talking with them about setting goals and I am sure that most coaches do, but I found that using tools such as this helped to focus a player's mental energies into a much more productive and positive manner, and hopefully they retained some of that as they continued on in life.
By the way I absolutely enjoyed this thread even if it is a few months old.
Compare baseball to football. A great athlete who does not have the mental makeup can make it to professional football before crumbling...Vince Young, Pac Man Jones for instance. I think that baseball weeds out the athletes who do not have the mental tools much sooner - they seldom make it to MLB. Maybe Milton is an exception.
CoachO - Just went back up and read your example. Great exercise.
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At it's foundation the development of one's talent and ones performance for the vast majority of atheltes is mentally based.
...motivation, and mental state drive both development and competition. Without a desire and an ability to manege devlopment and to muster resources in competitive play a player has little hope of developing, competing or moving up.
44
.
At it's foundation the development of one's talent and ones performance for the vast majority of atheltes is mentally based.
...motivation, and mental state drive both development and competition. Without a desire and an ability to manege devlopment and to muster resources in competitive play a player has little hope of developing, competing or moving up.
44.
Your talent will get you between the lines. But it's what's between the ears which will keep you in the game.