By Chris Check
PBR Ohio/Michigan Scout 

Opening Day has come and gone for high school, college, and Major League Baseball.  This is an exciting time of year for players and coaches, who want to put all the work accomplished in the off-season to work.  

It’s also a curious time as many players who have made good strides with better fundamentals and mechanics during the preceding months, suddenly start regressing to old unsuccessful habits in the weeks prior to official workouts and the beginning of the season.  This is not relegated to only young and high school players but also many college and professional level athletes. 

What has changed for these athletes?  

They seem just as strong, fast and athletic as they were a month or two prior.  Their diet is good. Their rest is fine. Off–the-field issues are positive.  So what has changed?  

For most that experience this problem whether momentarily or chronically, it usually is a change in their thought pattern.  Players start thinking about certain things surrounding their performance rather than the execution of the performance itself.  Here are some thoughts that tend to hamper a baseball player:

1. Becoming Statistic Oriented - "I have to hit .350" or any other statistic that takes your mind off of what you can control: execution.
2. Physical Fear - Younger players who may have conscious or subconscious fear of getting hit by the ball.  This interrupts their anticipatory skills at the plate and in the field. The athlete then fails to get into a proper and powerful hitting or fielding position on time thus leading to bad body mechanics to compensate for being late.
3. Fear of Failure
   1. "I need to be perfect" - This leads to physical and mental tension which actually slows down your physical and mental capabilities.
   2. Overly concerned with what the coach, your parents or others think.
   3. "Will I get released, cut, dropped in the order, or benched?"

These thoughts distract our mind from the positive thought process needed for execution. 

Failure is a part of the growth process. Recalibrating your thoughts regarding failure is an opportunity to develop into an even better player, fail less in the future, and achieve more.

All athletes have to deal with these issues.  The good news is that the way we think before, during and after competition is something we can control.  As a player, learning how to refocus your thoughts in a productive manner is essential for consistent success on and off the field.

Tools are available to athletes and coaches alike in the form of books, articles, and videos by sport psychologists, coaches and athletes.  The athlete must practice these techniques and thought patterns in practice and competition until the lines are blurred and it becomes habit.

Turning our mental game into a tool for success takes time and consistent effort, just like batting practice, lifting weights, or increasing speed.  It also takes courage to step out of your physical and mental habits or comfort zones.  

Exploring what we can and cannot control, followed by a conscious effort focusing on what we control is one step.  

Letting go of what we cannot control and giving that mental energy to the positive action of focusing on what we can control is the second step.  

Subtracting or minimizing the subjective and emotional ties to the results is a sign of a mature athlete.  Exercising this discipline expands mental comfort zones and takes courage.  

The more you exercise courage stepping out of a comfort zone, the more confident you become to face new challenges.  Facing new challenges (good pitching, bigger schools, older players, and higher leagues) is a key for continued growth and development. 

You can only consciously focus on one thought at a time.  

It’s your choice to focus on those detrimental thoughts to success or the positive thoughts involving execution.  

It’s game time.  It’s time to focus one pitch, one play at a time, so we can move towards our desired results. 

The time to think is over. It’s time to execute.

Chris Check is currently an associate scout with the Cleveland Indians. He is a reputable baseball instructor and speaker around the greater Cleveland area. Previously, Check served as a graduate and part-time assistant at the University of South Alabama. He also served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at his alma mater, Baldwin Wallace, where he played his collegiate baseball. 

Previous Check List articles include:

+ Objective and Subjective Evaluation
+ Developing Mentally and Physically