Pre-Game Mental Preparation
Baseball players spend hours doing batting practice, fielding ground balls, and doing strength and conditioning, but how much time is dedicated to getting prepared mentally?
Many baseball and softball coaches tell us their players performed poorly because “they lost their heads” or “psyched themselves out,” which suggests that mental preparation in baseball is a huge key to success.
Mental preparation can determine the outcome of a game.
Players who feel confident, focused, and ready are more likely to start the game well and this can lead to momentum. And you know what momentum can do for your team.
Without pregame mental preparation, your mind is open to random pregame thoughts, including doubt, second-guessing, and even small, insignificant distracted from fans, mistakes, or your opponents.
Here’s a common scenario…
John expects to have the perfect game and not make any mistakes. He thinks this mindset will help him play better.
But the reality is that it hurts his game. When John does not achieve his expectations, he gets frustrated and doubt can set in: “Why am I 0-2 at the plate today?”
How can YOU mentally prepare for baseball games?
Your pregame warm up routine is the perfect time to get your mind right for the game.
This is a time to build confidence, get focused, and fine tune your level of intensity.
Every time you step on the field, you want to have a calm, confident mindset.
What are the mental skills you should include?
First, you want to have a mental routine you do prior to each game.
During you’re pregame mental routine, you should:
- Let go of outcome expectations
- Be proactive with your confidence
- Park distractions in your life and enter the role of the athlete
- Focus on one-pitch-at-a-time
- Stop practicing and become the performer
Your pregame mental preparation does not guarantee team success, but it will help you get into a mindset to improve your performance and consistency.
Let me know if you have found the ideal routine to play with confidence, focus and consistency to share with other readers.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- Boost Confidence via Preparation – De La Cruz
- New Season Mental Preparation
- How to Develop a Ball Player Championship Mindset
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Get The Mental Edge for Baseball and Softball
If you have trouble taking your practice game to competition and under perform in games, your mental game might be the culprit! Baseball and softball players contact me everyday wanting to know why they become scared, anxious, afraid to make mistakes, and lack trust in their skills during games…
You might have a ton of physical talent and perform great in practice, but if you can’t get the job done when it counts, something is missing and the problem is an inferior mental game–not talent or motivation.
We’ve spent the last six months developing a program to teach you how to improve your mental game in 8 easy-to-apply lessons–the same TOP lessons that I teach to baseball and softball players everyday in my one-on-one mental coaching program!
When you are up to bat, you must clear your mind of all thoughts, and only focus on the ball. Do not set a goal, except for hitting the ball. Don’t set your goal to get a double, or hit it past the fence. Your only goal is to make accurate, and acceptably strong contact.