Mental Game Tips To Increase Confidence
Do you wish you had more confidence as a baseball player but don’t know how to increase your confidence?
Would you produce greater results on the baseball field if you improved your confidence?
Most young baseball players would answer the previous question with a resounding “Yes!”
You probably hear many people (parents, coaches, professional players, sport commentators) talk about the value of “confidence” for baseball players.
Think of games where your low confidence negatively affected your performance on the field…
You may have committed errors on routine plays in the field… or had a string of bad at-bats… or made mistakes on the base paths… or made some mental errors on the field.
And you can also recall games where your confidence was high and you played tremendously well… hit the ball well, stole a base or two, displayed great range in the field and were on top of your game.
We all know that confidence is an essential component of optimal performance.
The big question is how to develop that much needed confidence.
Brandon Martinez is a 23 year-old, right-handed pitcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system. Martinez was drafted in 2009 and has pitched in Single A baseball for the last three years.
Martinez has battled inconsistency and challenges in his six-year minor league stint.
Martinez began the 2014 season in the bullpen with the Great Lakes Loons. Martinez pitched well enough (3.23 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings) to be moved into the starting rotation.
Martinez believes his success is more than growing into his role. Martinez points to his improved confidence as the determining factor for his recent success.
MARTINEZ: “Maturity isn’t the right word. It’s more just a confidence that I know what I have to do, and I know I can do it.”
Martinez described how he was able to steadily improve his confidence.
MARTINEZ: “The more you do something, the better you get at it. Everything is a learning process, learning to do things the right way, from pitching to work ethic.”
You can follow Martinez’s road map for improving your confidence.
Try these tips to increase your confidence on the field:
- Understand that all skill development is a process. Technical skills (like hitting) and mental skills (like confidence) require attention and time to develop. So be patient throughout the process.
- Preparation, practice, and a strong mental game are the best ways to increase confidence. The more prepared you are, the more confident you become. The better your mental game, you more confidence you have under pressure.
- Stay focused on your improvement. If you have a tough game, find something to build upon for the next game. Remember confidence is built over time. Learn from adversity.
Want to improve your mental game for baseball the fastest way possible? Learn more about our mental coaching for baseball or softball.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- How to Stay Confident When Not Winning
- How The Cubs Stay Confident When Behind
- How to Stay Confident During Performance Dips
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Instilling Confidence in Baseball And Softball Players
Confidence, more than any other mental game attribute, is vital for your team’s success. If your players have it and know how to keep it, they maximize their success. Your team cannot reach their full potential unless each player can harness the power of stable and enduring self-confidence–so your team can perform as a confident team.
Your players might possess a ton of physical talent, have great coaching, and train harder or practice more than anyone else in your league, but if they do not have the self-confidence to match, your team can’t utilize this talent.
“Instilling Confidence in Baseball and Softball Players” program consists of one 72-minute audio CD that includes 7 days of confidence-fueling exercises. You’ll also receive a simple-to-follow 74-page coaches’ manual that guides you through the 7 team session you’ll conduct!