Softball Mental training strategies are built from mental training skills and help softball players to manage psychological actions and reactions during games. Softball is an amazing sport where athletes can be frantically executing a play or patiently waiting for a play. Exactly what goes on in the mind during that time will determine what happens on the field during those moments. Following are the strategies that you can use to focus and perform at your best potential when you need to.
Softball Mental Training Strategies
Distraction Control
Before and during a game is when we mostly consider how distractions can effect performance. By making mental training strategies as important as technical and tactical skills, they can be relied on . The key is to learn how to use the skills in practice situations so that they can be available when they are needed before and during games.
You can practice mental training skills:
- before practices
- during practices
- in their every day activities
- during school
- after events
External Distractions
There are so many things during a game that can be a distraction. Spectators, parents, friends, teammates and even the coach can be a distraction. When a ball is hit, there are a number of things that can go through a players mind before the ball even gets to the glove. Following are some things that might effect the ability to field the ball.
- Where is the baserunner?
- How good is the receiver that she might be throwing to?
- Are there runners on base?
- Anxiety increases as the
- What is the score?
- How many are out?
- How important is the game?
How do you put those potential distractions aside and focus on what needs to be done on the play?
Internal Distractions
Confidence, self esteem, fear, and even arrogance can create internal distractions in softball. Feeling incapable of making the play will put doubt in anyone’s mind which can effect performance even if they are not aware of it. The ability to clear the mind and be in the moment is an important skill that can be practised in almost any situation.
Imagine this. It’s an important game. As you prepare for the game, you are thinking about all of the preparations that have been done through the season to prepare for this moment. The bag is checked to make sure everything is in it and it’s time to go. The pre game meal has been consumed and you are off to the field. As you arrive, you feel the butterflies in your stomach as the excitement is building. You love the game so much and can feel the environment as you step into the dugout and get out your glove to warm up.
With softball mental training skills, you will enjoy every part of the game regardless of what happens because you know you have prepared as well as you can. This is the time to have fun and let your body and mind do the work.
Emotional Control
It’s a play-off game in the tournament and you need to win this one to advance to the finals. Your team did not have a very good game earlier in the day and you are playing a team that has beat you before. Your team is feeling a little uneasy and have to shake off the nerves before the game begins. What do you do?
This process begins long before the game is even scheduled. By learning mental training skills and rehearsing strategies during the pre season, and during games that do not have as much importance, you can have control of your emotions when it’s needed. A league game is a perfect time to experiment and refine these tools. By working with a plan through the season, when you get to the game that counts, it will be an ordinary occurrence that you can move through with ease.
Game Readiness
With all of the things that are encountered in a day, being able to transition to the field is important to ensure that you can play to your potential.
Every athlete has their own ideal preparation for softball. Some like to be psyched for the game and some would prefer a quiet and relaxed review of the game and visualizing playing at their best performance. The type of pre-game activities players chose to implement as a part of their ritual will allow them to get their mind prepared for what is to follow. After becoming familiar with game preparation skills, then it’s time to design a pre game plan that will always help to get into the best state that will have them ready to go as soon as they step on the field.
Mini-preparedness activities are great to help athletes to be on their game with a shorter preparation time.
Stress Management
There are as many things that can be stressful about softball. One of reasons for that is that everyone has their own level of stress that is triggered under various conditions. It is most times triggered by a feeling of inability to meet the demands of the situation. This could have to do with the game or even something that might have happened outside the game that you might have to deal with.
By learning mental training skills, you will be able to manage your stress with strategies to either park the situation or to deal with the situation at hand and move on to having fun and enjoying the game.
Self Regulation
Knowing what you are regulating and what you would like the process to be, will enhance self regulation as you are monitoring and executing your physical, mental and technical goals. By being empowered and taking ownership of your own path, you will hold the key to your own success.
Work to devise tools that allow you to monitor your self regulation and to implement a self-directed progress. If you learn the skills, you can refine them so that you have a plan and a specific method of achieving that plan.