The Mentality to Use When Losing

How Ball Players Become Resilient Through Adversity

When you are down in a game, you cannot afford to get down on yourself.

Being over-focused on how many runs you are down in the latter innings of a game can negatively affect your mindset and demeanor on the field.

Instead of focusing on a comeback, you view that run deficit as daunting and insurmountable.

When you are down a few runs as you head into the ninth inning, you can choose different mental approaches.

Three of these approaches are:

1. You can try to do too much and swing for the fences. Trying to win the game on one swing of the bat ratchets up the pressure… It’s either Home run or bust. Do you play your best baseball under undue stress?

2. The second mental approach when trailing late in a game is to focus on potentially losing the game… In this scenario, you doubt your team’s ability to mount a comeback…

Maybe you think the opposing reliever is too dominant for your team to successfully bounce back and you just want to get off the field as quickly as possible.

3. Option number three arms you against negativity, keeps you focused on the task at hand and gives you the best chance for a late-game rally…

Let’s call it the Yogi Berra mentality, “It ain’t over til it’s over.”

This mentality is the secret weapon that many clutch players adopt to rally late in games.

The only way to get back into the game is to never take yourself out of the game mentally.

The Ohio State baseball team has a unique philosophy when playing the game of baseball.

Buckeye manager Greg Beals preaches playing the whole game and staying mentally tough until the very last out.

At the center of Beals’ philosophy is the concept of playing one pitch at a time, fighting for every inch for the entirety of a game because you never know what can happen.

BEALS: “We talk about 27 outs, 27 on both sides of the ball, so let’s be as tough as we can for all 27 outs. We talk about the whole game and we talk about the mental toughness of playing and responding to the good and the bad.”

The Buckeyes recently have struggled in the early innings of game scoring first only once in a stretch of eight games.

The Buckeyes’ “27 out” mentality has kept the team in those games mentally allowing them to pull off seven victories in that eight game span including a pair of victories against in-state rivals Ohio University.

When you believe you are always in the game, you will keep fighting and looking to take advantage of those opportunities that come your way.

Remember, a wild pitch, a favorable hitter’s count, a pitch up in the zone, a hit batter or a botched fielding play by the opposing team can be the break you need to mount a comeback… but only if you stay in the game mentally and fight till the last pitch.

Try this tip to staying in the game mentally despite the score:

The “27 out” mentality requires that you think differently about late-game deficits. Trailing in a game does NOT automatically mean you will lose the game.

Challenge your negative thoughts about late-game deficits.

Think of all the crazy comebacks you have seen in baseball and remind yourself that anything can happen.

Resolve to fight till the very last pitch!

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!

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