Prep Baseball Report Minnesota is excited to team up with- The Mindstrong Project. Our goal in this endeavor is to continue to provide the most up-to-date pertinent information and resources to the baseball community in the state of Minnesota.

Periodically, The Mindstrong Project will be providing content for the Prep Baseball Report Minnesota website; as they continue to work to build human performance through education while building an awareness of how the mind and body work together to sustain a consistent confident approach to game performance.

In this month's installment; The MindStrong Project introduces Austin Hanson......

 

Hey guys,

I hope everyone is enjoying the Fall as we prepare for winter sports and the winter training season.  My name is Austin Hanson with the MindStrong Project.  After interning with MindStrong last summer I was happy to accept a position this summer as Director of Mental Performance for Youth and High School Athletes.  Prior to being with The MindStrong Project, I completed my Master’s degree in Sport & Exercise Psychology from Minnesota State University, Mankato – where I was trained under a few of the best in the business.  I also had the opportunity to serve as a volunteer assistant coach for the Maverick baseball team during my time, where I implemented many psychological concepts working with the players including pre-game visualization and breathing.  During that time I was also able to consult with various high school baseball, hockey, soccer, football, and wrestling teams in the Mankato area.  On this platform I was given the opportunity to meet a team’s specific needs, whether it be addressing negative thoughts, focus, handling pressure, team-cohesion, mental toughness, gratitude, pre-game routines, grit, goal-setting, habit-building, and much more. 

In my short time with The MindStrong Project, I’ve had the opportunity to work in a few different capacities.  Perhaps my favorite experience so far has been working with the JP4 Foundation, directed by Jeff Huth, who’s main mission is “Enriching the lives of youth through baseball.”  The foundation, named after Johnny Price IV, a Lakeville, Minnesota native whose infectious personality and love for baseball impacted those around him, offers summer camps for kids in Twin Cities neighborhoods that have limited access to baseball, provides scholarships to deserving high school baseball players, and raises money for baseball families experiencing hardships.  This summer, JP4 Foundation partnered with Minneapolis Police Activities League (PAL) and The Sanneh Foundation in St. Paul to give roughly 100 kids the chance to experience baseball from high school, collegiate, and professional instructors.  Within each camp, The MindStrong Project was given a voice to speak to the campers each week regarding the power of the mind.  Week by week, the campers took a trip around the bases through our Diamond Series (Purpose, Standards, Systems, Vision).  My greatest joy came from seeing growth in our campers from Week 1 to Week 8.  I will continually be proud to serve the JP4 Foundation moving forward, as it has served me. 

My other primary endeavor with The MindStrong Project has been the launch of our MindStrong Academy, which is a 10-week course based on our Diamond Series, Breath Work, and Reflection.  Our Diamond Series is built to create a strong foundation of purpose, standards that hold us accountable to that purpose, build habits and routines that put our purpose into action, and a vision to keep us on track.  If you have read our past articles with PBR, you have seen Harvey Martin talk about the competitive edge that intentional breathwork provides.  We implement breath work because it is the language through which our body speaks to our mind.  If our body is tired, our breathing changes.  If our body is threatened, our breathing changes.  If our body is relaxed, our breathing changes.  Through our breath, we are able to better understand how our body reacts to different situations.  On top of that, breathwork allows our athletes to adapt to stress in ways that teaches the body and mind to stay in the moment, which is where peak performance happens.  We also reflect on who we are, what we’ve learned, and where we want to go.  Self-awareness becomes the tool through which we align who we want to be with who we are: as an athlete, as a student, and as a human.

This past week in our MindStrong Academy with Minnesota Mash Baseball Club, we arrived at 3^rd base, talking about the importance of a strong vision.  I truly believe most people have a good heart and want to do good in the world, but they don’t know where to start.  Thus, they settle.  They become a watered-down version of what their heart desires to be.  We all want to change the world, but the thought is scary and daunting.  The world is so big.  There’s so much bad stuff out there.  There is so many ignorant people out there who “just don’t get it.”  These are the excuses we come up with to justify our own behaviors.  This brings me to my main point: What we choose to see becomes our reality.  Let that sink in.  What we choose to see becomes our reality. 

So, if we continually choose to see the world as a messed up place, we have a hard time motivating ourselves to be our best, because why try?  We say, “At least I’m not as bad as THAT guy…” The problem with that is that it is a victim mentality.  We are setting the bar too low for ourselves because we lose hope of a better tomorrow for ourselves and the world around us.  We give other people the power to decide our behaviors.

This is where vision becomes massively important.  You have to see the world in a way that supports your purpose.  You have to understand that world around us (media, coaches, friends, experiences) effects the world within us (thoughts, perceptions, emotions).   We are constantly bombarded with stimulation that wants to distract and deter us from accomplishing our goals.  Further, we have a brain that is wired for survival that makes our thinking innately negative.  How can we possibly change the world if we don’t intentionally create a vision that keeps us hopeful?  This is the power of visualization.  Take back control of the story.  We create the narrative.  Create and continually re-visit the blueprint for success.  If we don’t, we fall victim to our surroundings and our negative thoughts.  Truth: those we see as positive generally have a positive story in their brain.  Those we see as negative generally have a negative story in their brain.  Which do you wish to create?

“If you can imagine it in your mind, you can create it in your life.” – Unknown

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Viktor Frankl

Reflection:

How do our surroundings play a role in our reality?

How do our thoughts play a role in our reality?

How does vision-setting enhance our purpose?

What is one thing you could do to change your vision?

 

I hope this message served as a good reflection piece to the importance of vision.  As a reminder, The MindStrong Project is available for your athletes in multiple avenues.  We coach mindset training, breath work, and sauna/ice training.  We can do this for your whole organization, a team, or for individual clients.  We are happy to come to you! Feel free to reach out:

 

Email: [email protected]

Follow us on social media:

Instagram: @themindstrongproject

Twitter: @themindstrongp

Facebook: The Mindstrong Project