How to Have Proactive Confidence
Are you struggling to find the level of confidence needed to succeed as a baseball or softball player?
Does the success of other players around you cause you to question your abilities and further detract from your confidence?
Though gaining confidence seems to be a difficult task, it is not as complicated as some players make it out to be.
Let’s examine one major obstacle that blocks players from building high confidence: focusing too much on other players’ talents.
One big confidence killer is focusing on others’ talents.
There are two types of comparisons you might make:
- Focusing on the stats of other players or comparing yourself to teammates.
- Focusing on the technique, mechanics or methods in which other players improve.
Comparing your skills to others who are better than you hurts confidence or doesn’t allow your confidence to grow because you put others on a pedestal.
But to build high confidence, you need to focus on what you have and your plan to improve your game on the field.
Every step forward builds confidence.
Such is the approach of New York Yankee infielder Gio Urshela… Urshela was 23 years-old when he made his MLB debut. In his first three years, Urshela had difficulty at the plate with season batting averages of .225, .224 and .233.
Urshela was released by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018 and was invited to spring training by the Yankees as a non-roster player in 2019. With the Yankees, Urshela turned his career around hitting .330 in 115 games for the Yankees.
Urshela credits his increased production on narrowing his focus on himself, his play on the field, his strengths, areas needing improvement and a personal plan designed to develop his skill set.
URSHELA: “When I stopped watching other people, and focused more on watching my own videos and improving what I needed to improve, and focus on myself, things changed. In the past, I focused a lot on watching other players. I watched a lot of video, especially of Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout.”
“Then I told myself, ‘Why am I watching their videos? They’re amazing and some of the greatest hitters of all time, but instead, I should watch more videos of me, because I want to be a better version of Giovanny Urshela.'”
Urshela’s minor league hitting coach Phil Plantier concurs with Urshela and the importance of focusing on oneself.
PLANTIER: “The sooner that a young player understands what they do well and who they are as an individual… They start living up to their potential.”
Being the best version of yourself improves performance and, with improved performance comes improved confidence.
Focusing on Your Strengths
Stop looking around to ball players who you think are better than you.
Start by identifying your strengths, talents, and unique skills you bring to your team.
Next, what areas can you improve in your game? Fitness, technique, mental strength?
With the help of your coach, set goals and goal getting strategies that will help you improve the weaker parts of your game.
When you step on the field, focus on your talents and the preparation you are doing to be the best version of yourself!
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- Boost Confidence via Preparation – De La Cruz
- Be the Driver of Your Confidence
- How to Build Steadfast Self-Confidence as a Ball Player
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on iTunes
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on Spotify
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!