Earlier this year, Cy Younger Award winner Roy Halladay pitch a perfect game and a no-hitter in the same season. He attributes part of his success to having a pre-pitch routine. “I tell myself to pitch the same and stay in a rhythm. I’m not concerned with the score, or striking out everyone. I tell myself to just trying and make pitches. That’s your only job,” said Halladay. Pre-pitch routines are designed to help pitchers: Focus on the process of executing a pitch Prepare consistently for each pitch Feel confident before executing Trust their motion or technique Some ball […]
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15
Nov
2010
Use Pre-Pitch Routines to Help You Focus
13
Nov
2010
Coping with Performance Anxiety
Stress and performance anxiety is a part of everyday life for athletes. The good news is that not all stress is bad stress. In the right amount, stress helps you focus better and achieve what you want. Stress can help athletes be more alert, motivated, and gain a competitive edge. But too much anxiety, non-stop stress is debilitating to an athlete’s health and performance. If you experience too much anxiety, your performance suffers because it makes you physically tense and cripples the ability to focus. Some athletes feel this when afraid to lose, get embarrassed, or afraid of injury. […]
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12
Nov
2010
What is Mental Toughness?
A quality of mind or intellect characterized by a refusal to be intimidated, a determination to finish a contest even when things are going badly, and an ability to control emotions and remain highly focused when under the pressure of intense competition. Mentally tough athletes have a psychological edge that enables them to be more consistent, determined, focused, confident, resilient, and in control under pressure.
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11
Nov
2010
From The Bullpen to The Record Books
Over the years, Phillies ace Roy Halladay has built the reputation of being a machine with incredible work ethic, but his career didn’t start out this way. In 1995, he was drafted first round by the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1998, he made his first Major League start, and carried a no-hitter into the 9th inning against Detriot, unitill Bobby Higginson hit a solo-homerun with two outs. Halladay’s talent was obvious, but mental barriers such as low self-confidence, lack of focus, and a fear of failure kept him from reaching his potention on the mound. In 2000, Halladay set the record for highest ERA ever, among MLB […]
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10
Nov
2010
Challenge Your Athletes During Practice
Keeping practice interesting is a big challenge for coaches at the professional and amateur level because some athletes have short attention spans and trouble focusing for long periods of time. When athletes are bored with practice, it is simply because they don’t feel challenged enough. When athletes don’t feel challenged it leads to less than optimal concentration, which causes ineffective practice. Studies have shown that some exceptionally gifted people do not do well in school, not because they cannot handle the work, but because the class is not challenging. The work is too easy for them, and this notion […]
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08
Nov
2010
Successful and Unsuccessful Youth Coaches
Youth coaches are critical to kids’ sports experiences. They can influence whether young athletes enjoy sports and want to continue to play. Some coaches can get kids excited about sports, while other coaches may discourage kids or take the fun out of sports. A good coach can keep kids’ interest in sports alive. What does a good coach look like? Good coaches are able to put winning in perspective. They realize that winning is not the most important part of sports. They see the importance of striving to win, which may be more important than achieving the win. Good […]
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05
Nov
2010
Being Supportive After a Loss
For sports kids, maintaining confidence after a loss is always a big challenge. Athletes tend to be critical of their performance when they lose the game or don’t play up to their own expectations. Parents can sometimes add “insult to injury” when they pick up on mistakes, get frustrated with their athletes’ performance, or unknowingly punish kids with the silent treatment. As a sports parent, it’s important to understand the mental game challenges athletes face after a loss. Here are the top five tips for being supportive after a loss: 1. The goal is to help your athletes maintain […]
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04
Nov
2010
Building Team Cohesion for Success
Individual talent alone won’t make a team successful. Team members must be able to understand and take advantage of each others strengths to be successful. That’s teamwork. Coaches play an important role in enhancing teamwork. They set the tone for the whole team. If the coach is committed to the team, players also see the importance of being committed. In contrast, coaches who are not as committed imply that the team isn’t that important. Coaches can encourage teamwork by treating each player equally. For example, a coach may have a team rule that if players miss practices, they don’t […]
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01
Nov
2010
Winning Isn’t Everything, but it is Fun…
All kids want to win unless they purely participate for the social aspect of sports. Winning is fun. Most parents want their kids to be successful in sports. You might examine your motivation for wanting your child to be successful in sports. For example, do you want bragging rights? Or, do you want your children to gain confidence through sports that can be transferred to other areas of their lives? Do you want your kids to learn the power of discipline and hard work and how these positive qualities can translate into success? When kids are having fun and […]
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20
Oct
2010
Game-Time Coaching Tactics
A baseball coach’s behavior (overt or covert) can have an influence on the attitude and performance of the team coming down the home stretch or an athlete trying to win a game. Having a positive and supportive attitude in close competitions will help your athletes succeed and model the behaviors you want them to learn. Here are some mental game tactics to apply during crunch-time or to prepare for close games. Stay Composed. The team feeds off your behavior. If you come unraveled in the last two minutes of the game, your players notice this behavior and may too […]
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