Breaking the Mental Baseball Barrier - A Timid Hitter is a Defeated Hitter

Do these Hitters Sounds Familiar?

Timid Hitter #1:

Kevin is an 8 year old in his second year of organized play.  As he steps into the batter’s box, you can tell from the look on his face that he is not comfortable.  In fact, he’s terrified. 

As the pitch is thrown, you can already see his feet shuffling his body back away from the plate.  The pitch is a strike and Kevin swings. But he doesn't even come close to the ball.  Even if he had made contact, it would have certainly been a weak grounder. 

Kevin is frustrated, and his dad wonders what he can do to help his son.

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Timid Hitter #2:

Stephen is a 17 year old in his first year of varsity play. He’s had some success in his younger years, but is finding it harder and harder to keep up with his peers. His parents, coaches, and teammates have grown to have expectations of Stephen as a player, but now he just isn't able to perform like he used to. 

As Stephen steps to the plate, he looks as if he’s pressing.  As the pitcher winds up for the delivery, you can see the wheels are turning in Stephen’s head with “what if” scenarios.  He’s second-guessing everything.

As a called third strike passes by him, Stephen’s coach wonders what could be going on in his head.

Outfielders in Baseball

While it may seem like these two scenarios are drastically different from one another, these two hitters are facing the same, very real issue. They’re letting their apprehensiveness and mental states affect their play. These two players are defeated before they ever step foot in the batter’s box. 

While these were just two examples, these scenarios could have applied to literally thousands and thousands of players all around the country. There is no doubt that these players have the physical ability. They just don’t have the necessary aggressive mind-set that will allow them to be successful.

Luckily, changing a hitter’s apprehensive mental state is not nearly as difficult as you may think.  There are a few great tactics that can change a timid hitter into a dominating hitter.

1.    The Tennis Ball Drill – This is far and away my favorite way to build confidence in a young hitter that is timid and scared of the ball.  I've personally seen this approach take a bottom-of-the-lineup hitter to the league all-star team in a single season. 

To conduct this drill, tell the batter that you will be pitching tennis balls, so there is no reason to be afraid of being hurt by the ball.  Have him take his normal batting stance only instruct him to be much more aggressive than normal. 

A coach or a parent should act as the pitcher and stand slightly closer to the batter than the normal pitching distance.  The coach/parent should then begin to pitch the tennis balls normally but at a much higher speed than what the batter normally faces.

Tell him to attack the ball. Tell him is it OK to swing at pitches slightly outside of the strike zone. The purpose here is not to differentiate balls and strikes, but instead to build confidence and aggressiveness.

At first, the batter will be unable to make contact with any of the pitches. But after a few sessions, you will find that the batter will start to foul-off some of the pitches.  Then after a few more sessions, he will begin hitting a majority of the pitches with good contact.

As the sessions continue, his confidence will build and insecurities will disappear.  Players who have been successful with the tennis ball drill often say that when they finally play in games versus their peers, opposing pitchers look like they are pitching in slow motion.

I love this drill for several reasons:

a. The tennis ball is light and hollow, so it removes the batter’s fear of becoming hurt by the ball. He can focus completely on hitting

b. The closer pitching distance and faster pitches force the batter to start their swing before the pitch is thrown. This removes the batter’s tendency to over-think balls and strikes.

c. The tennis ball is smaller than a baseball, so it forces the batter to tighten his swing and have better bat control in order to make good contact. 

Perform this drill in 20-30 minute sessions over several weeks and continue as needed.  The transformation will astound you.

2.    Hit-First Strategy – A common issue with some older players is over-thinking or over-analyzing while at the plate. Over-analyzing is just another way of saying that the player is using negative conscious thought at the plate. Ideally, a batter should be using subconscious thought by letting his training and muscle memory control his actions at the plate.

To overcome using negative mental states, I like the idea of using the hit-first strategy during practices and games. To do this, simply have the batter practice approaching the plate with the thought that the next pitch WILL be a strike and that he WILL swing.

Prior to the pitch, the batter should not think about balls or strikes, type of pitch, or swing mechanics. His only thought should be that he IS swinging and hitting the next pitch. 

To clarify, the idea is not that the batter will ACTUALLY swing at the next pitch. The idea is that he clears his mind of all external thought and has one, single focus before the ball is released. The decision about balls or strikes and how to hit the pitch should occur after the pitch is thrown through subconscious thought.

This technique can be very effective for batters that are in slumps or that tend to over-think.

Baseball Field

3.    Mental Re-setting – How often do batters make an error on the field or make a mistake at the plate and let it affect future at-bats?  We’ll, it shouldn't surprise you to know that it happens in every baseball game ever played. 

This is the reason that baseball is such a game of streaks. Good and bad, streaks are part of the game because of mental conditioning.  Players let past actions affect future performance.  It’s not physical. It’s mental.

A great way to break negative mental thoughts is through a technique called mental re-setting or mental re-programming. 

To do this, simply have the hitter create a positive mental trigger.  This trigger should be something simple that he can do anywhere, such as pinching his elbow, clapping his hands, or looking at 2^nd base. 

To program the hitter, he should begin performing this trigger every time he does something well.  So every time he makes a fielding put-out, he should perform the trigger.  Every time he gets a hit, he should perform the trigger.  Every time, he steals a base, he should perform the trigger. This should continue for a couple of weeks until the positive mental trigger is set.      

Then, after the positive mental trigger has been established, the player can perform the trigger every time he needs to re-set his mental state. 

For example, if a player strikes out or makes a fielding error, instead of dwelling on the mistake, a player can perform the positive mental trigger and re-set his focus on his good performance.  The trigger can literally be used at any time when doubt or negative mental thoughts creep into a batter’s thought to remind him of success.

Sound crazy?  Well, this technique is called neuro-association, and it has been used by literally thousands of athletes to control their mental states.

So, get out there and work on those aggressive mental states.  Whether you are a player, a coach, or a parent, you can use these techniques to build confidence and develop an aggressive and successful hitter!

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