1. The Mental Game Plan
Pitching
A. Pregame Routine
1. Go over the game in your head
2. Learn what you can about their hitters
3. Simplify the game to prevent mental errors
B. Prepare for worst case scenarios- Do you know why you always have anxiety attacks
during difficult situations. Simple, you have not prepared yourself for them!
1. If someone makes an error tell him “it’s ok”, then bear down because you might need
him to pick you up when you make mistakes.
2. Take the time before every pitch to tell yourself “If the ball is hit to me what is the
correct thing to do”.
3. No one likes a stat head. Worry about wins, losses, batting averages, era’s etc at the
end of the year. Your main focus needs to be development. The Cardinals are not
scouting you at the age of 12.
Baseball was invented for the purpose of having fun!!!
Good attitudes and winning are just as contagious as bad attitudes and losing.
A. First objective-Get a rhythm with all of your pitches early in the game by
using the 2nd And 3rd best pitch early in the count. You can always throw the
fastball to even the count. This way as the game progresses, you have a good
feel for all of your pitches.
B. Presence-Make the hitter believes that you will throw any pitch at anytime in
the count. If you make a mistake give the hitter a look like that is exactly
where I wanted to throw that pitch. Demand respect when you’re on the
mound and the hitter will more times than not give it to you.
C. Confidence- Have you ever wondered why some players look confident while
others don’t. It is simply the fact that those players have prepared themselves
to the best of their ability. When you step on the field knowing you have
prepared yourself mentally and physically it becomes very obvious to
everyone you are confident. How does this happen, first you must train your
body physically, second refine your skills, third learn everything about your
competition, finally stick to your game plan. Control the things you can and
let everything else go if you don’t it will affect your performance.
Tiger Woods once said; his Dad would make him practice in the worst possible conditions.
When he asked his father why are we out here, he gave a simple response “you have to be
prepared to win under all circumstances.”