One of the most common things you will come across in sports is the phrase “It is such a mental game” or the famous Yogi Berra quote “Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical”. Everyone knows the importance that mental skills play in the success or failure of an athlete. The interesting thing is however that only a small portion of players from youth, travel, showcase, high school and college have ANY exposure or get proper training to truly develop their mental skills.

Does your player have the ability to play but something seems to hold them back? Do emotions get in the way when something goes wrong? Do they practice great but in a game or crunch time in a tournament those skills talents and abilities don’t seem to come out at 100%? Does anger come out when something goes wrong? Have you gone from showcase to showcase and even though you know your child is good enough, he/she still hasn’t got an offer that they want? Have a read below.

At a showcase baseball tournament, a D1 college coach and a D1 college scout from top colleges were both asked about what solidifies your decision when deciding on a player when the physical talent and skill level of so many of the players are almost identical? The answers were exactly what I was expecting from a top level program.

“Their mental approach to the game”

”How a player reacts to a questionable call”

“Their emotional reaction to a mistake”

“Their confidence, how they bounce back after adversity”

And when asked about what makes that so important in deciding who you want on your team, the answer was also what I expected.

“Because we have the resources and coaches and time to work with a player to develop and fine tune their pitching mechanics, their swing, their on field skillset but we honestly do not have the ability to devote a lot of attention to developing a player’s mental skillset. When it cuts down to the chase, when all skills are similar, the player with the better mindset, even if their skill is a tiny bit less, the stronger mental skillset is one I will always choose.”

Coaches and scouts are looking for a strong mental game, not only on field talent.

As a parent, do you pay for a private hitting coaches to develop their swing? Does your child have a pitching coach to develop their pitch assortment, accuracy and speed? What about a speed coach, personal trainers, nutritional consultants…..? Everyone knows that the mental skills play a huge role in sports, so why does your son/daughter NOT have a mental toughness trainer to develop one of the most important skills needed to get them to the next level? Especially when it is becoming one of the top skills coaches and scouts are looking for.

The investment in developing an athlete’s mental skills when they are young is something that WILL make the difference and help them stand out in a showcase tournament when a scholarship is on the line. The funny thing is that I hear parents say all the time something like “That kid just has a great mental approach to the game” like it is an inherent skill that they popped out of the womb with. The truth of the matter is, many of those players who seem to “just have it” are actually working with a mental toughness trainer like me.

Why do you hire a pitching coach, hitting coach, athletic trainer when your child is younger? Because it gives your athlete a chance to become the best player they can be by developing and practicing skills over a longer time frame. That helps them aspire to reaching their goal of playing high school varsity, getting a D1 scholarship, getting drafted or playing pro. Where is THEIR mental toughness trainer?

If you know your athletes is not playing to their true potential or if emotions are getting in the way or if just want to give your player an advantage over others, reach out to me and add me to your athlete’s list of expert trainers. Start developing their mental skills so they will be fine-tuned in their mental approach come crunch time.

CALL ME or CLICK below for your free mental toughness evaluation: