It’s true – mental toughness really does win baseball games. As you probably know, one of the baseball related subjects that’s continually in focus here at The Lending Coach is that of the mental side of baseball.
Without a strong mental game, a player’s physical performance will always be limited.
Sports Psychologist Bill Cole
Today I’m linking to Bill Cole’s article “Mental Toughness Wins Ballgames” and I invite you to click on the link and read the entire piece.
Bill Cole is one of the most successful performance psychology consultants working today. He truly is a pioneer in the field of sports psychology, as he was the first person in the world to be awarded a Bachelor of Science (with honors) in Sport Psychology.
He has been mental game coach or consultant to thousands of high school, college, professional, world champion and world record-holding athletes.
His website can be found here – and he offers a valuable 65-question assessment tool at no charge to assist you in determining what is getting in the way of your performing to your full potential.
The Article
In his article, he writes about the 5 key things he focused on with the Stanford baseball team during their heyday:
1. Learn To Control Your Focus: The most important part of the mental game is “attentional control”. Where you place your focus, in what way, and for how long is key.
2. Keep Your Mind In The Here And Now: Good baseball is played one pitch at a time. Do that and your mind stays in the moment, the now.
3. Stay Poised And Patient: You want to play aggressive baseball, but you also need to remain self-aware, and tuned in to what is happening around you. This is vital to being a plugged in player who makes things happen
4. Develop Confidence And Self-Belief: If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? Everyone around you can tell you how good you are, but if you discount this encouragement, it will never enter your head and heart.
5. Use Mental Rehearsal: Get a competitive advantage with your mind by playing the game in advance, using visualization. Go to the movies in your mind and mentally rehearse what you will be doing in competition.
Again, here’s the link to the entire article…and I’d invite you to check it out!
