Mental Game Building Blocks & How We Practice

Greetings All,

This fall we are going back over the the fundamentals of the game ... fielding, hitting, throwing, pitching ... along with what I believe is the key force-multiplier in baseball -- the mental game.

In addition, we are teaching our players how we practice, so that they understand our points of emphasis, can embrace them and get better.

Regarding the mental game, here are the core principles that I believe form the basis of all mental game training:

Responsibility -- Each player is responsible for his thoughts and actions. Umpires, opponents, other players, even coaches have no power to give you a poor attitude or make you have a poor performance. You have a choice to make each moment. You can, with God's grace and help, make a difference in your thoughts and actions. You can make an excuse or make a way.

Routine -- Every successful person has routines that work, from the big to the small. We have times for going to bed/getting up, what we eat, how we spend our time, what has to happen each day, etc. On the baseball level, we have how we prepare (especially on game day) to get ourselves mentally ready to play. On a micro-level, we have how we approach each AB, each pitch, each play in the field. A good player has a checklist that he consistently goes through that works for him. Over time, this breeds consistency and confidence. Confidence ultimately grows out of preparation, and routines are a big part of preparation.

Communication -- How we communicate to ourselves and each other is huge. H.A. Dorfman said that he never met a successful person whose mind wasn't "full of positive thoughts." Your thoughts are your communications to yourself. Listen to what you are saying to yourself, including tone of voice. How we communicate to others is key, as well. Telling some one what you want, in a positive way, is the best course, as opposed to "Don't this" or "Don't that." There is a place for restrictions, for sure, but there is also a better way to communicate that. We strive to be positive and clear in what we say. It leads to positive and clear actions.

Focus -- Learning what to focus on (i.e., the baseball, the situation, etc.) and how to focus upon it is critical. There are ways to increase focus during practice and games. Routine certainly helps, but the ABC's that we'll cover are key, as well (building these into your routine will reap huge rewards). Focus is practiced, too, in practice and on your own. It can and does improve, with proper attention.

Task at Hand -- The next pitch or play is where our thoughts are. What just happened, except how it affects the situation and thus provides needed information, is left behind. Keeping the game simple -- "one pitch at a time" -- makes the results we want attainable. Conversely, if our concern is first and foremost with the results -- "get a hit" or "we have to win this game" -- then ironically, the means for getting there is hampered. To be successful in baseball or life, focus on the very next task that God has put in front of you.

Perspective -- This is really the foundation of all our efforts. Starting with the understanding that nothing on the field ultimately defines who I am and that the world will continue turning regardless of the result frees me up to play my best. A healthy perspective, in other words, leads to success on the field. And as we learn to give each pitch and play our attention, then the "big" games are just like practice. And our performance soars on those moments, as a result.

Two Bonus R's ... Relentlessness and Resilience -- These concepts are key, as well, because they sum up a lot of the attitude that results from a good mental approach. If we are relentless in our work, our learning, our effort, then we will find success. It's a matter of time. Let's remember, too, that baseball is a tough game. Line drives get caught; bloopers fall in; umpires miss calls. Being resilient means that we will overcome these obstacles and get stronger. We expect bumps in the road. But we know we can overcome.

As for how we practice, here are the elements that we want to be distinctive about our Mustangs practices:

Athleticism -- Baseball players are athletes. A lot of modern baseball training (particularly at the youth/select levels) ignores this fact. Our practices are designed to both build and reinforce athleticism, particularly the kind required for baseball. You see this in our warmups and in how we work on throwing. We are building explosiveness and quickness. If we spend our time on conditioning (and we will), it will be spent on the conditioning that will make you a better baseball player.

Businesslike -- The practice field is our office. Baseball is on the agenda. That's what we talk about. That's what we do. We show up with a purpose -- individually and as a team -- and we work until our job is done for the day. Thus, we minimize distractions and we seek to make our time profitable. We show up ready to learn and improve. Practice is our meat and potatoes and we take care of so we are ready for desert (the games). We earn the right in practice to do what we do on game day.

Efficiency -- We want our players to be doing something -- learning, being productive, working on getting better -- during the entire practice. That is the goal. When we are teaching or reviewing, we want all players paying attention. We try to work stations and in groups to minimize standing around. We run to where we are going. We make every minute count. We watch while others are being instructed, as well, so that the learning becomes cumulative. Our practice time is valuable, and we act like it.

Game-like -- We come to games with practice faces. We play like we practice, so we make efforts to make practice more game-like. This takes a lot of forms, from live pitching like that we'll see in the games, to timing throws on the IF to simulate a runner, to measuring every bullpen. The key here is objective measurement (as opposed to subjective opinion as to how we are doing). We also look to create artificial stress to simulate game stress. We will be better on game day as a result.

Deliberate -- We work in such a way (always with a plan) to take advantage of and maximize strengths while eliminating/minimizing weaknesses. To do this, we need to be able to self-evalutate and also plan to consistently work on and perfect our approach while also shrinking those areas that are weaknesses.

Team Emphasis -- Our time is limited, so we take advantage of when we are together to focus principally on work that will benefit our team as a whole. We can and are working on our own, particularly on our weaknesses as we move toward turning these into strengths. We want to make sure that our team is on the same page in our approach, our schemes, plays and calls, and that each player understands where he fits in what we are doing.

So, there you have it -- how we think and how we practice, in a nutshell. As I have told the players, we could spend the whole fall talking about each one of the mental game building blocks. It's a process of season- and career-long learning. So, we'll keep at it.

I look forward to seeing you all on the field ...