Softball Competition Composure

The New Way in Softball - playing fall ball - Mean Parents and Fans

NCAA Super Regional playoffs…. Texas Longhorns vs Oregon Ducks game 2. An incredible display of softball competition composure and using mental training skills to maintain it. The game turned into almost like ……. well, … a hockey game. Elbows, shoulders, charging, showboating, it was all there. I have never seen a game like that before. Tensions were high having a player and an assistant coach being ejected during 2 separate incidents.

Now… as a player what do you do to maintain your composure. Can we say relaxation, cue words, refocusing skills, and just….. take a breath. With the amount of emotion and the level of emotions during that game it was the team that was able to control their emotions the most that was the victor. Most of the errors that happened during the game after the 5th inning were more than likely due to the chaos that had transpired during the game.

Now…. as a coach what do you do. How do you keep your team focused on the task at hand instead of the ejection of your teammates and the high levels of stress and anxiety that would have almost overtaken your athletes. What would I do? Time out blue!! Reminding the team of the task at hand and that the unusual circumstances of the game are going to put their mental training skills to the test like never before. Calm the nerves, take a breath and move forward… focus on what we need to get done and re group. Triple C I call it.

Calm – take a breath…. aaahhhhhhh …. let the air out of the balloon…..

Cool – no worries at all… moving on

Collective – we are a team and we will be a team

I have never seen a game like that before ever. Extremely exciting yet nerve wracking as well. Then add the home town fans. Oh I love this sport!