Improving The Mental Side of Your Game
How frustrating is it to put in all the physical work just to fall short of your goals?
You have probably been at this point in your baseball career where you wonder,
“I have worked so hard but never seem to get over the hump.”
Performance is like baking… you need all the ingredients for your cake to come out just right. Forget one little ingredient and the end product will be totally off.
That’s the reason hard work alone does not produce the best end result. What is missing for you to get to the next level? The mental game ingredient!
After winning the American League East Division in 2015 with 93 wins, the Toronto Blue Jays are looking to get to the next level this season. The Blue Jays lost to the Kansas City Royals, 4-2, in the American League Championship Series missing their opportunity to play in the World Series.
The Front Office decided it would be critical to add another ingredient in the mix and have committed to focusing on the mental side of the game.
The Blue Jays hired Angus Mugford as their first-ever Director of High Performance geared towards the mental and physical development of the players.
Mugford’s goal is to provide players with all the mental tools necessary to gain a competitive advantage. Mugford believes these mental skills are often the difference between winning and losing.
MUGFORD: “I think the key part is understanding that the margins of winning and losing are so small. There are many instances where you could look back at one play, one pitch, one event that could have meant everything. So that’s the key: What are the little things? Are they going to make a difference?”
Mugford wants his players to be proactive instead of waiting for slumps in performance. This proactive approach helps players better prepare for games and play at a higher level with more consistency.
MUGFORD: “Rather than just wait for things to go wrong, look at what are [the player’s] habits and things that help them be successful. That way they can be more consciously aware of what they’re doing well and hopefully they’ll be able to do that more consistently.”
The greatest benefit of mental training is that these skills can become so ingrained in a player’s mindset that responding mentally strong in pressure situations becomes a conditioned reflex.
MUGFORD: “When [the pressure is on], [mentally tough performers] focus on the process of what it takes to be successful. And they’re so well trained in that that it’s not about rising to the occasion. They are able to fall back to the level of their training.”
Tip for improving your mental game:
Review some of your best and worst games. What was the difference between your performances in both games?
Pay particular attention to the mental game factors that affected your performance. When did you perform with confidence and focus, for example?
Write down 1-2 mental skills that you will commit to work on for the next year that helped you perform your best. Develop s mental training plan that focuses on these 1-2 mental skills. For example, where are you today with your focus and where do you want to be?
Remember, skills require training and training takes time. It’s a good idea to seek out expert advice to help you view your performance in an objective way and provide advice and proven strategies to assist your mental game.
Contact us to request a one-page test that can help you identify some weak areas of your mental game or to request our mental training programs.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- Mental Keys to Higher Confidence for Ball Players
- Integrating Mental Training Into Practice
- Do You Focus Too Much on Numbers
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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.
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