Mental toughness helps baseball student-athletes thrive in their sports
Introduction
For student athletes in baseball, the mental game is more important than in any other sport. As one of the four “major” sports in the United States, baseball is the most demanding and challenging. It requires just as much mental control as physical preparation. It also involves more dead time than any other sport, which gives players a lot of time to overthink every action and develop anxiety. During their free time, players must manage their thoughts and prevent themselves from spiraling into negative scenarios.
As you already know, this is easier said than done.
Unfortunately, most coaching in baseball is spent on physical preparation, while the mental aspect of the game is almost completely neglected. Ironically, this is also the factor that impacts the player’s performance the most. Even if the mental game gets a lot of attention in sports psychology, it is far from being implemented in coaching and training sessions. Therefore, it’s time to change that. To succeed in baseball, student athletes need more than skill mastery: they also need mental and emotional mastery. That’s exactly what we’re going to address in this article. If you are a baseball player or a parent or coach of a student athlete doing this sport, this article is for you.
Mental training in baseball: the role of relaxation
Fortunately for current and prospective student-athletes, the subject of mental health gets a lot more attention than it did in the past. As part of this conversion, people also mention words like meditation, focus, and relaxation. There is a strong reason for this: taking control of one’s mental game begins with learning to relax and focus. Given today’s fast-paced world, this is incredibly relevant.
For baseball student athletes, honing their mental toughness should always begin with a focus/ relaxation practice. Learning to observe one’s thoughts, detach from one’s emotions, and focus on the present is such an underrated skill in baseball, where attention is crucial for high performance.
Cultivating the skill of focusing can be achieved with a daily practice of meditation, breathwork, or focusing time. These practices don’t need to be very long or complicated to begin with. Simply choose a form of meditation you enjoy and schedule it in your daily life. The application of these exercises daily will have the greatest and most profound effect on your player's minds. It will teach them to detach from negative thoughts on the field and prevent them from immersing too deeply in their emotions. Outside the field, meditation and focusing practices will lead to a better student athlete balance and help them cope with stress and personal difficulties.
Practice states of flow
‘The Zone’ (or the state of flow, as defined by psychologist Michael Csikszentmihalyi) is a mental state where attention is freely invested into achieving your goals. It's a full immersion in your immediate activity, wherein you forget about time and space. Your thoughts are silenced, your mind is focused, and the body does exactly what it needs to do.
When performing in the flow, athletes are deeply immersed in the game and reach outstanding results with minimal effort. They feel ‘at one’ with the game and no other distraction can take over their focus. ‘The zone’ is also referred to as ‘flow’, a concept grounded in positive psychology and defined as a state of optimal performance.
Applying these in the practice of student-athletes would look like this:
1. Be mindful (aware, but non-judgmental) about your thoughts and feelings as you approach the competitive environment.
2. Check in with yourself to see whether you feel anxious because the level of the game is above your skill level; or if you feel somewhat bored because the game is too easy for your current skill set.
3. If anxious, use an emotional regulation technique, such as relaxation, to relieve your anxiety. If bored, use a focusing technique, such as imagery, to increase your concentration.
4. Visualize yourself becoming excited, prepared, and confident while taking part in the game or competition.
5. Let yourself become engaged with the game, remain fully present, and have fun competing.
Manage your emotions during difficult moments in the game
Ultimately, mental toughness in baseball comes down to one thing: knowing what to do with your thoughts and emotions when they show up, especially when you lose. Student athletes’ training should include practices where they learn to navigate those difficult moments too.
One thing that you can do is simply learn what you say to yourself when you make a mistake or are under pressure. Do you criticize yourself? Do you spiral into the most negative scenarios? If you do, know that all these negative thoughts will show up outwardly. Every emotion and thought you experience will impact your performance level. So to cultivate more mental toughness, practice speaking to yourself as if you were encouraging your best friend during the most difficult moment of their lives.
Did you make the wrong move? Don’t despair. Say to yourself things like “That’s okay, I made a mistake, I still got this.”
Otherwise, if you choose to go with your automatic thoughts, you will default to the usual self-criticism which only makes you lose momentum. On the other hand, cultivating student athlete empowerment both on and off the field begins with choosing a conscious way of responding to moments of stress.
Learn how to handle losing in baseball
There is no other scenario when your mental toughness shows up better than when you’re losing a game. Many student athletes do not have the tools to handle losing and succumb to temporary emotions of rage, frustration, and disappointment. Yet losing a baseball game with dignity signifies mental strength and self-confidence.
As most people are aware, winning every game is not possible, so accept that and learn how to improve for the next game. The best advice for dealing with a loss is:
- Learn from it. What could I have done better?
- Be honest when you’re upset. It is okay to be upset, but when you get up the next morning, turn that frown into determination for the next game.
- Always practice good sportsmanship and treat your opponent with respect.
Even when losing a game comes as a surprise at the end of the match, don’t let this ruin your mood. Yet the most important thing is to manage your thoughts and emotions when you see the loss coming earlier in the game: that’s when you have to keep your mindset on playing the best game rather than get lost in despair and disappointment.
The role of mental strengths for student athletes in baseball
Student athlete’s mental health partly depends on their performance in sports. If they regress or fail to advance in their sports, this will impact their mental well-being. This is one of the reasons why cultivating mental toughness in all sports—but especially in baseball—is so crucial. Student athlete’s services should provide plenty of resources and support for players to practice their mental strengths. Those who do learn to cultivate their mental toughness will experience psychological benefits, such as:
- More resilience during stressful times
- Quicker recovery after losing a game
- Improved self-esteem
- Better concentration on the game
In essence, mental toughness in baseball refers to the act of controlling your thoughts and emotions during those dead moments in the game. It’s all about making your mind into a best friend. How can you train it to support you? What type of thoughts could you cultivate daily to help you during those moments of pressure? Ultimately, your student athlete experience will have a lot to gain from the simple act of thinking more empowering thoughts!
Summary of practices for mental toughness
If you want to create a student athlete planner and include practices for mental toughness, here are the main ideas you should take away from this article:
- Choose a form of meditation or exercise that helps you focus. It’s vital for your ability to relax during games and remain neutral to difficult moments. If you choose mindfulness meditation, you can simply start with a 5-10 minutes daily practice.
- Cultivate states of flow. When you’re in the zone, your mind is less likely to wander in negative directions. Choose an activity where you usually get lost in the moment and increase the time you spend in the zone. Once you have enough practice, try to bring the state of flow during games and practices.
- Manage your emotions by changing how you speak to yourself. If you keep telling yourself off when making a mistake, how are you going to perform?
- Learn to handle losing. Most likely, a lost game does not mean the end of your sports career. Learn to detach from the outcome and see the experience as an opportunity to learn.