The little chat?

[CoachJD]

The Mental Keys to Hitting: A Handbook of Strategies for Performance Enhancement​

80 ratings arrow_drop_down
by
H A Dorfman and Rick Wolff

The whole book a can be summed up in a few words. Breathe, see the ball, be easy (relax) and confidence. But there a lot of cool stories so it's fun to read. Visualize line drives and let them happen. Thinking and planning (usually when facing tougher pitching) are done in the on deck circle and in the hole. You do not want your mind cluttered with mechanical cues. Thats what practice is for and if you should have confidence in the box because you know you have prepared/practiced. Come game speed, the subconscious mind is a better hitter.

Oh, sure, the mechanical cue thing I agree with. We're probably thinking of different things when we talk about not thinking.

I have girls who "don't think" when they go up to hit. That means they go up there with no concept of score, count, runners on base, who the pitcher is and what she throws or how hard. They don't look for a pitch in a location. They can strike out on a changeup in the first two at bats and not understand they might get a changeup in the third. That is the "don't think" I'm talking about.

 

[Rolling Hard]

If they are unaware of the situation and are not spending their time on deck and in the hole gathering info, they should probably try bowling or frisbee golf.

 

[peter.kottke]

I tell my players that the after at bat communication (whether to the on deck batter or in dugout) is to help their teammates. It’s actually a tool to help the batter who is doing the communicating.
One difference between good and great is duration of mental recovery period after “failure,” and softball is full of “failures.” By having the player immediately thinking “what can I say to help my teammates after that?” I find that their mental recovery time after an at bat that otherwise might have them down and not 100% in the game for a bit is made shorter.


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[Bullseye]

I have girls who "don't think" when they go up to hit. That means they go up there with no concept of score, count, runners on base, who the pitcher is and what she throws or how hard. They don't look for a pitch in a location. They can strike out on a changeup in the first two at bats and not understand they might get a changeup in the third. That is the "don't think" I'm talking about.

Work on your coaching ability.

 

[CoachJD]

Work on your coaching ability.

At what point after someone starts playing the sport for the first time (as in literally has never worn a glove or held a bat) do you get deep into the weeds on the mental side of the batter/pitcher matchup?

And when do you do that when you have an entire team of players playing for the first time, all developing at vastly different rates?

Also, keep in mind, you have about three weeks to work with them before they have to play games. So is it Day 1 of practice, Day 15, or somewhere in between?

 

[Tatonka]

Well, I don't know if the eye roll is needed but if you just struck out on 3 straight pitches, I probably wouldn't want to hear what you got to say. In all seriousness I really think you want less thoughts running thru your head. Breathe, see ball, hit ball. Simpler the better. I have seen players chat for 20 to 30 OR MORE seconds. I am like, "WTH are they talking about."

Let's not forget the coach who feels that this is the appropriate time to give last minute mechanical tips also.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Let's not forget the coach who feels that this is the appropriate time to give last minute mechanical tips also.

Yeah, a couple of my favorites. "level swing up there" or "dont drop your back shoulder"