At the 18A or 18G level the difference between the physical abilities of the players is not that great, and the difference between the teams is not that great. So what’s the difference between a team that wins and a team that loses? The dividing factor is mental attitude, the effort they give, the mental alertness that keeps them from making mental mistakes, and the concentration and the dedication.

 The key is for the player to regulate her mental performance as she regulates her physical performance. She must learn the strategies and the skills for controlling herself and her situation in the ball game. She must handle worry and anxiety, often based on the pressures of performing; she must take responsibility for that performance. She must approach her game with commitment, concentration, and confidence. This is not an easy task, but it’s a necessary one if her goal is to be the best she is physically able to do. This is where the mental training starts; with that goal.

  GOAL SETTING

  Establishing proper goals. Goal setting makes the player’s purpose clear and gives direction. In other words, by setting goals, the more aware she is of what she wants, the more likely she will do what is necessary to get it.  When selected properly, goals become a player’s most important tool.  Set realistic, reachable goals. Non-attainable goals lead to discouragement, frustration, and loss of motivation. On the other hand goals should not be too easily reached. They should challenge the player, pushing her towards her limits. The player should evaluate her performance daily, determining whether or not she is making progress. Her goals must be adjustable – able to set higher or lower. Goals should not be changed too quickly.  Before adjusting goals players should ask themselves, “How much effort am I really putting into reaching this goal?”  The player should really think about it and answer honestly. A player not performing up to a goal can change the goal. A player not performing up to an expectation must change her attitude. Goals serve you, expectations serve others.

  Players should set daily goals such as; I’m not going to strikeout this game; or I am going to get 2 hits this game. However, don’t be satisfied reaching that goal. If during your first at bat you get a hit, change your goal to 3 hits. If you don’t strikeout the first at bat, change your goal to hitting the ball hard. Always strive to improve.

  Aside from daily goals, players need to set long-range goals. A hitter might set her goal to hit for .350 average, however midway through the season she is batting .230, it would probably serve the player to change her goal to a more realistic figure, maybe change it to .300. Goals should encourage the player to work hard and be rewarded for her efforts. NO GOALS SET, NO LIMITS REACHED.

  Focus and control are essential elements in great players approach to their game. Controlling their game results from proper focusing, which is a result of properly set goals. Focus should be on a specific performance. “My goal is to hit the low outside pitch”. “My goal is to get a better jump on balls hit over my head”. “My goal is to pitch more effectively on the inside part of the plate”. “My goal is to concentrate better on game situations before the batter hits the ball to me”.

  The right goals are the building blocks for self-improvement. The focus on self-improvement will then form the belief that the player is responsible to herself and for herself-for what she does, not what the opponent does. How a player talks to herself determines how she thinks. How she thinks determines how she plays.

-Goals should be limited in numbers – Attention can be directed on those few.

-Goals should be prioritized – The most important to you or the most immediate should be at the top of the list.

-The goals should be in writing – By writing them down, commitment to specific and directed behavior are increased.

-Goals should be viewed regularly – By looking at the Goals, players can judge their behavior and performance honestly.

  “Doing one’s best” is a popular goal, it’s a rare achievement however.  In order to know her potential – and her limitations – a person must make the effort to go beyond. Exceptional players are willing to push themselves further and higher. They have made a commitment to themselves. They have set goals for themselves, and they hold themselves responsible to attaining them.  GOALS SET WITHOUT COMMITMENT ARE WASTED. Players must work hard on their weaknesses, in addition to working continually on their strengths.  The degree to which each player holds herself accountable and responsible for her actions will be a major factor in determining the degree of her learning, improving, and succeeding.

Creating a Desire for Improvement

   The single most powerful predictor of success in the long run is commitment, not just a “willingness,” but a desire to work hard toward achieving her goals.  There are many players who recognize the need for hard work, who have the opportunity, but are not motivated enough to put in the time and effort. These players lack a burning desire to improve themselves.  We have all heard “Practice makes perfect,” or “Perfect practice makes perfect.” Practice alone does not make perfect. The right type of practice must accompany the right kind of dedication. Here are some things to think about the “right” type of practice;

-          When hitting off the tee during batting practice, do you just mindlessly swing at the ball sitting on the tee trying to get through the bucket of balls? Or does your batting practice have purpose? Are you working on a specific item such as, “I am having a hard time hitting the low and outside pitch, so I am going to use this opportunity to work on hitting the ball to the opposite field”.

-          When doing live or machine batting practice do you place yourself in possible game situations? Do you imagine a runner at 3B with less than 2 outs and you have to score her, or imagine a team mate on 1B, and you have to get her over to 2B, then you have to hit her in.  If you know a certain pitcher has had success pitching you inside, would you not want to work on hitting the inside pitch?

-          After your batting practice do you ever go out and run the bases? Huge mistake in not wanting to be a better base runner. Practicing reading the balls off the bat, practicing lead-offs, practicing tagging up, practicing hook slides. So many things to work on during another player’s B/P.

-          When taking infield, are you just going through the motions during the warm ups? Or do your warm up have purpose? Are you working on different aspects of fielding such as, “I need to work on my backhand skills, or I need to work on getting a better jump on the ball?” How many of you, during another player’s B/P, are content to go to the outfield to shag balls?  Would it not serve you better to practice your primary position while the B/P is going on?

  We see it all the time, wasted opportunities to work on getting better. You see, sometimes it’s what you put into the practice, not the practice itself. Once you start practicing these game situations you will become more confident in your abilities when the situation faces you during a game. The most successful athlete is the one who stays “loose” or relaxed during performances. Staying relaxed enables the athlete to consistently come out on top, not always, but consistently. 

Visualization

  A physical performance is the outcome of a thought. Players cannot ignore the mental activity that precedes the physical action of the body. The mental message will dictate the physical action and help determine its quality. A negative thought is not a quality thought and does not lead to quality actions. Negativism is an attitude. It’s the attitude of a player whose nerves are not as strong as she would like them to be. Attitudes can be changed, but first they have to be recognized. It’s quite common for players to think, “I don’t want to boot this ground ball”, or “I don’t want to walk this batter”. The word “don’t” will NOT get through to the body. The word carries no image in the mind. The phrase “boot this ground ball” does bring forth an image. The body tends to do what it hears most clearly; the mind tells the body what it sees most clearly. So thinking about what you “don’t” want to happen greatly increases the chance it will happen.

 Do this practical exercise; shut your eyes for 30 seconds and “don’t think about elephants”, Repeat this phrase several times. So did you think about elephants? Of course you did because the mind cannot use the word “don’t” as an image.

  “I hope”, is another phrase to be avoided. Hoping you will means you don’t believe you can. “I hope I don’t strike out”, means you are afraid you will. They are not directed toward success, but rather at a hope not to fail.  The “I gotta” is also a negative phrase. “I gotta get a hit now”, puts pressure on yourself to perform and typically the player will tighten their grip more, tighten their body trying to get that hit. Being relaxed is one of the important things in performance.

  You are responsible for your own thought patterns. You have to recognize when useless, inappropriate, or counterproductive thoughts start creeping in and substitute them with Useful-Appropriate-Productive thoughts.  You yourself are the only ones that have the choice to change how you think and visualize yourself.  It takes effort and practice to change thought patterns, but it can be achieved.  Steve Sax, a MLB player on the Los Angeles Dodgers had a rough time in 1983.  Though never regarded as one of the top fielding second basemen in the league, Steve Sax inexplicably became incapable of making routine throws to first base, committing 30 errors that season. This is referred to in baseball terminology as "Steve Sax Syndrome". He would throw the ball into the stands, into the dugout, or down the Right Field Line.  A thought pattern recommended by some was to tell himself “I am not going to throw the ball away.”  That thought pattern focused the player’s mind on committing a throwing error, thereby directing his body to do just that. A productive thought pattern for this scenario would have been, “I am going to hit the Firstbaseman chest high, nice and easy.”

Responsibility

  Winning players recognize that every player meets with occasional failure. They understand that the failure reflects on the performance NOT the performer, not the person. A winner will simply try again and work at being more effective next time. Even if the next time is not a successful time, the winners will assess her efforts, take responsibility for her actions and make the necessary adjustments.

  Responsibility begins with a willingness to acknowledge who we are and what we are – and what we want to become. Do you “own up” to what you’ve done or caused to happen? Or to what you haven’t done? Or prevented from happening? Many players don’t behave as if they are responsible for what they do or cause to happen. They try to give the responsibility away, and by doing that, they forfeit control of their own actions.  Improvement for these players come at an extremely slow rate, if it comes at all, and the player’s potential is neither reached nor approached.  A great example of this attitude was demonstrated last year.  Our team was tied 4-4 in the top of the 6^th inning. The opposing team had runners on 2^nd and 3^rd with 2 outs. A ball was hit to our SS, as she approached the ball, it took a “bad” bounce and hit her in the head. The ball bounced into shallow LF and both runners scored. We lost the game 6-4. Now this player could have used the bad bounce as an excuse, but she didn’t. She said that she should have charged a little harder and made the play. This player took responsibility for her own actions when it would have been easier to blame something else.

 The degree to which each player holds herself accountable and responsible for her actions will be a major factor in determining the degree of her learning, improving, and succeeding.

Accepting Responsibility

1.       The player is control of her own fate

2.       The player recognizes choices (she chooses to blame others, or chooses to think negative thoughts)

3.       The player learns from her mistakes.

4.       The Player feels in charge.

5.       The player feels enthusiastic, aware of personal power

6.       The player “Wants to, is free to, and loves to” approach to softball

7.       The player feels she has caused her own success, which reinforces confidence.

  Failure-oriented players have a protective device – the excuse. Bad bounces, bright lights, an injury, blaming teammate’s performances are all part of failure-oriented players avoiding responsibility. Using excuses, the player eases the disappointment of a failure. She also gives herself an explanation for her performance.  Frequent use of the excuse indicates a greater failure than the one she is trying to cover up: the failure to be honest with herself.  She believes that “luck” is responsible for her infrequent success, and that her effort is useless. She protects her self-esteem by not trying hard. By giving a half-hearted effort, she assures the very failure she wishes to avoid.

  People also give away responsibility by saying, “I have to,” usually these words are spoken without any thought. These words suggest the player doesn’t have a choice. An example; “I have to be on time.” No one has to be on time, they choose to be on time. I have to listen to my coaches, no you don’t “have to”. You may choose to listen to the suggestions given by the coaches, but it’s your choice to do so.

Rejecting Responsibility

1.       The player is controlled by luck, fate, or the breaks

2.       The player doesn’t recognize she has available choices

3.       The player does not learn from her mistakes

4.       The player feels threatened

5.       The player feels pressure, frustration, and resentment

6.       The player feels “I have to” or “I must” to get things done

7.       The player uses excuses as a defense against failure

  A good player doesn’t point the finger away from herself; she points it at herself (BUT DOES NOT WAG IT).  Self-blame diminishes a player, taking responsibility makes her grow.  Too many players confuse the two. Accepting responsibility is just recognizing the facts, learning from them, and applying what was learned in the future. Blame, shame, and self-degradation are wastes of time and energy. They sap a player’s power.

Reminder for Players

1         Think about what is being thought and visualized. It’s what you say to yourself and what you imagine in your mind that count – it will determine your behavior and performance

2         Change “I have to” and “I must” to “I have decided to” – “I want to”

3         Change “I don’t want” or “I hope” to “I want to”

4         When involved in something that doesn’t seem to be working to your satisfaction ask, “What can I learn from this?”

5         Become aware of when and how excuses are being made. Ask yourself why you need to use them. Start to catch justifications, explanations, and blame before they are expressed to others. Then work on eliminating the thoughts, so you don’t even express them to yourself.

6         Practice taking risks and accepting the consequences. Observe and compare how the good players and the poor players deal with responsibility.

7         Define what can and cannot be controlled on the field.

8         Examine and judge yourself honestly.

9         Remember this: One of the strongest principles of behavior is human choice. If you do not take responsibility, you have still made a choice. A wrong one!

ATTITUDE

  Attitude: Our state of mind as we approach and experience our lives. Each year; each season; each day; each game; each situation; each pitch. Not always the same attitude, but ALWAYS within our capability to control it.  Attitudes influence our appearance to others, the words we speak, the actions we take, the way we feel physically and mentally, and influence to a degree our success in achieving our goal.

  Attitude is not really an emotion, there are similarities, but attitudes are primarily driven by thoughts and emotions are driven by feelings.  An attitude can change – or be changed. We are never stuck for life with an attitude we do not want. But we – not the situation, not the other people – must control the change, so it’s a change for the better.  Softball players reveal their attitudes the way they approach and play the game, what they do, and what they say.

  Everyone can recognize a “bad attitude”, but there are other attitudes that may seem positive but really are not. A player that cheerfully ignores a bad situation, pretending it isn’t bad at all, or tolerating it has a weak attitude. Players that think “I’ll do my best, and if that isn’t enough, so what?  I’m not a loser because I’ve tried.”  The problem with this “positive” attitude is that it accepts defeat. It becomes an easy habit, a habit of the mind. A loser’s attitude.  Accepting the possibility of defeat is realistic. Accepting the possibility of defeat DOES NOT mean being willing to be defeated. It does not mean accepting defeat before the results.

CONFIDENCE

  The young softball player has as her most powerful purpose, the desire to be an outstanding player.  She sets goals; she dedicates herself to working hard to attain them. She drives forward, taking responsibility for developing her skills and attitudes.  Behind all this lies the attitude player’s say will most likely influence their success: Confidence. The lack of it, they say, most influences their failures.

  The development of confidence requires risk-taking.  It comes through gradual success. Each success encourages us as we go to the next step. That is why the specific goals a player focuses on each day is so important. The greatest obstacle to confidence is fear. Fear of failure. The game of softball is statistically derived from failure.  A player that has a .400 batting average (which in the Major League would be a Hall of Fame player hands down) has really failed 6 out of 10 times hitting. 

  No one can make us feel as if we are failures without or own consent. Confident people never consent.  Confident players approach risky and challenging situations without the possibility of being a failure. They relish the challenge, all the while knowing they may fail at their task, but that is all. They remember they have succeeded in the past, and will again in the future.

  Fear is a monstrous liar. It tells us that situations are harder to handle than they actually are, and it tells us we aren’t capable of dealing with the situation successfully. The Fear Monster breaks down our confidence, brainwashes us, and makes us play losing mental games. You know what? We built this Fear Monster!!! Out of our own imagination. Fear is only about failing in the FUTURE, but as softball players there can be no future; there can only be the present. If there is not future, there is no distraction, NO Monster.  Fearing to make mistakes will lead to mistake-making.  Fearing to lose will make a loser. But what can be done about it?

  The first step is self-awareness. Get yourself out of the batter’s box when you hear, “I gotta get a hit here.” Take a long deep breath and let the air out slowly. Change your self-talk so it focuses what you WANT to do in the situation. “Hit the ball hard up the middle,” and visualize the ball screaming off your bat.  Get back into the box, take another deep breath and in a relaxed tone; “Just see the ball.” Then center your eyes on the ball as it’s released. A pitcher that is in a bases loaded situation, after walking 2 batters may be telling herself, “Don’t walk this next batter.” Fear of the future! When she recognizes this, step off the pitching plate and take a deep breath, change the self-talk to, “I’m going to throw a screwball in.” She visualizes exactly where the pitch is going to go. Get back on the pitching plate, take another deep breath and focus on the catcher’s target. No thoughts now; just that singular focus.

  REMEMBER:  The successes you achieved in the past are more real than the failures you fear in your future!

  Thinking positively is an empty command. And just changing, “I can’t” to “I can” will not break down any barriers. The player must believe in the self-talk she tells herself and act upon it aggressively, or doubt will remain – and weak performance will continue.  To gain confidence, you must learn.

LEARNING

  The typical athlete goes all-out during competition, that’s easy. The exceptional athlete goes all-out during preparation for the competition. That’s difficult, demanding. The ability to learn and make the necessary adjustments is highly valued by the outstanding players. They know the value because they were willing to pay the price.  Everyone learns, even without trying. Intentional learning, however, is what separates the mediocre players from the stars. You have to be honest with yourself. Sometimes you get yourself out, sometimes the opposition beats you. When that happens, you have to adjust and learn from it, you cannot be afraid to change.

1.       Never be satisfied with your knowledge, performance or skill

a.       If you don’t set limits on your abilities and performance, you will continue to seek perfection.

b.      Players who become satisfied and comfortable will seldom recognize the many ways and opportunities to learn and improve.

c.       If you learn from your mistakes, it’s experience.

2.       Think and talk the solution, not the problem

a.       When a player justifies, explains, or blames, she is making it difficult to become an effective learner.

b.      Two steps involved in learning from mistakes

(1)    Ask yourself, “What will I have to do differently next time?”

(2)    Visualize yourself doing it correctly

3.       Keep the emotions under control

a.       When emotions are strong it’s difficult to understand, learn, and retain.

b.      After mistakes or errors, emotions add pressure, rather than reduce it. Players have the tendency to revert to their “old” ways (the ways that lead to the mistake in the first place) when under pressure.

c.       Use the 2 steps above to correct mistakes, not the emotions.

4.       Have an open mind

a.       A closed mind is a closed door on the opportunity for improvement.

b.      The best way to have an open mind is to be curious – have a questioning attitude.

c.       Questions can help improve the preparation and your game.

5.       Use failures to learn

a.       The greatest players experiment and change. They know that all improvement comes from change.

b.      They are willing to tolerate temporary failure to gain long-term success.

c.       Failure is not failure, unless it’s failure to change.

6.       Be Persistent

a.       Softball players are impatient, they think they should be getting it faster. Their intention to be good learners can be cancelled out by this attitude.

b.      The best players are persistent; after the others have quit, the winners will still be working. Looking for another approach, trying to find a better way.

  When we fail to learn, we’ve learned to fail!!