Your Mental Game: Let’s Reign It In!

How many times have you either witnessed a player, was the player, or played with a player, that had such amazing potential—swung the bat well, practiced well, worked hard, embodied athleticism through what appeared to be an effortless body physique, and made workouts/movements appear effortless. You know the type of player I am talking about.

I played with countless girls that I envied at practice, but as soon as we took the field and one mistake was made, she would crumble before your eyes into a heap of uselessness. No one needed to say a word to her, because she would do the negative self-talking within seconds, and she was done. Literally done. I too have been that player.

I also was a player that carpooled back and forth to Boulder, twice a week with the coach and coach’s daughter. I witnessed first hand what constant berating, pressure to preform, and to answer all the tough questions afterwards did to an above average player. She got burned out pretty quickly after those seasons with her dad at the helm of being the coach, and I’m pretty sure she didn’t even make it to high school ball.

Every single team I’ve played on, and every year I coach, I run into these kinds of girls, and I have to tell you it is all too often, either the coach’s daughter with the most mental roadblocks, or the daughter of a parent that is has crossed-the-line and is overly involved. Not every time though—my dad never coached me—some girls just tend to be overly emotional, are inherently incredibly hard on themselves, and/or constantly expect perfection.

Regardless of the how these emotions come out on the field, what this all ultimately comes down to; is players allowing their mental game to interfere with their physical game.

Too many times, especially at a young age, players are finding themselves not being in control of their thoughts, emotions, focus, and recognizing/practicing prior to a game, what she needs to do to perform at her absolute best.

The good news? Mental mindsets and toughness can be taught, practiced, and reigned in to be a manageable asset that compliments the physical movements you work so hard on! But those physical movements you work so hard to maintain, are useless if you can’t get ahold of the mental mindsets that go along with them.

Which is why I have taken it upon myself to help you, especially during these tough times, work on taking your mental game to the next level. It took me years to work on my mental toughness, attitude, and focus, so my goal as a coach, is to help girls get their mental games reigned in much faster than it took me. I want to get to know you, understand you, and help with whatever struggles may be setting you back from achieving success, and preforming well when you need to. So let’s get to it, there’s no better time to learn, strive, and achieve!