How to Hit Like Pete Rose
Sorry if you missed my conversation yesterday with Ces
Coulson.
On the one hand it was pretty deep — but on the other it
was so simple.
Sort of like hitting: See the ball, hit the ball. That’s
what Pete Rose told me about hitting.
“You’re talking to the wrong guy,” he said after I asked
him about the mental aspects of hitting, “I was pretty
simple: See the ball, hit the ball.”
Ces, MVP of the 2006 USSSA Women’s Slow Pitch National
Championship, talked about being centered. You may have
heard that term, but it’s unlikely you’ve heard it talked
about the way she did.
I reckon the people that listened that didn’t get much out
of it didn’t actually do what she was saying at the time.
But whether you heard her or not, and whether you did what
she said or not here’s the point: it’s not about doing
something once.
It’s about practice.
How did you go from a non-driver to a skilled driver?
How the heck did my brother get so good at conducting that
he could conduct the NY Philharmonic?
How did Luther College Baseball go from worst to first and
then stay there in the mid-80′s?
How did Ces Coulson going from being a really good player
to a great player?
How do you think you go from being a choker who
consistently under performs to a clutch champion?
How do you think you go from the level you’re now at to the
next level?
Yes, practice is the answer to all those.
But you also have to know what to practice. In order to
take the shortest route to your goal (a straight line), you
must
1) know the right things to practice 2) practice them
So my encouragement to you is to have a “practice.”
Practice is a noun and a verb.
A practice is a set of exercises — or just one exercise –
that you do daily.
Practice being confident. Practice letting go of negative
emotions. Practice being calm and self-assured.
It’s like how the military takes a guy off the street and
turns them into someone that keeps his/her cool under live
fire.
Practice. Training.
As you do your practice you change. Just like your muscles
change when you run or lift weights.
“You are what you practice.” — Richard Strozzi-Heckler
You don’t just arm yourself with tools you can use when the
heat is on, you become someone different.
So that “the heat” doesn’t seem so hot anymore.
Scouts being at your games. Parents yelling at you. Close
games. Making mechanical changes. Having two strikes on you.
They don’t seem like heat.
That’s what practice will do.
As long as you practice the right things.
You are what you practice.
Have a good practice.
Sincerely,
Tom
Dr. Tom Hanson
www.HansonsGym.com
p.s. Guess where you can find the right things to practice
and get support to keep you going? Where you can be part of
a team that helps you and answers questions?
The Gym.
Loaded with the right things to do to put you on a straight
line path to the next level.
Join the few, the proud, the practiced…
http://www.hansonsgym.com/site.php/subs/subscription_plans
p.p.s. I’ll be posting the Ces Coulson interview in there
later today.
p.p.s. Members, be sure to visit Jay Kamin’s blog in the Gym (under Main > Blog
Please forward this email to people.
7-Second Baseball and Softball Confidence
I’ve got a good buzz going today.
One because I did my morning mental training (as seen in my
BREAKTHROUGH! program inside www.HansonsGym.com)
And two because I’m getting more and more great feedback
from people using the info from both my $0 program, “How to
Overcome Failure and Play as Great in Games as You Do in
Practice” and the BREAKTHROUGH! program.
I’ll share a couple:
————————-
Dan writes:
Tom,
Our 10/11/12 year-old team won a game last night that
we should have lost. We were without our 2 best pitchers,
one injured, one sick (who we expected to start the game).
There were a few innings in the game where the 3 different
guys pitching found themselves with the bases loaded and
one or even no outs. They managed to get out of these jams
by doing the ABC routine!!
We practice it with our pitchers every practice and last
night, it was great to see the boys on the mound with their
chin up, taking deep breaths, and connecting with the mitt.
It was amazing to watch the ABC’s work so well!
Thanks,
Dan Rasimowicz
btw, the team is at the top of the standings in our league,
and your mental prep has played a big part to put us there.
(And we haven’t instituted the ABC’s yet for hitting or defense.)
————————–
And here’s one from a former yipper, a HS pitcher about to
turn outfielder when he started tapping a couple weeks
ago…
————————–
“I pitched last night in my first varsity game of the year.
I hit my first batter on the first pitch. i ended up only
giving up 1 run in the first inning.
I then pitched 5 scoreless innings before I was pulled
after the sixth inning when I pitched my way out of a jam.
I ended up with 1 run, 3 K’s, 5 hits, 1 BB and 2 HBP on 80
pitches and I got the W with the score being 3-1.
it was one of the most mentally and physically draining
experiences of my life but I was very pumped up when our
closer finally finished it.
I had total control of my fast ball, especially after the
first inning. I didn’t even throw it for a ball in the 4th
inning when I struck out 2 batters.
My slider was good but I wasn’t nearly as confident
throwing it on the inner third of the plate as I was
throwing it on the outer third (one of the hit batters was
a slider).
I was not nervous warming up, but I was a little
in the bullpen, and a little during the first and the
beginning of the 2nd inning.
I know this is late notice but I was really hoping that you
would be able to talk tomorrow at 7 45 central time, please
let me know.
Thanks for everything you have done for me!”
[end quote]
————————–
It’s a fun buzz to get that feedback, but even funner to be
the ones out doing it!
I’m writing this week about the 1983-1985 Luther College
Baseball team (worst to first). We overcame a lot of
adversity during those years, and were able to be
confident despite it.
But lets stick with the examples above. Did you notice that
both of the people above faced adversity?
Starting pitcher a no-show? Bases juiced with 0 outs?
Or how about having been benched all spring as a pitcher
because you are obliterated with fear (yips) and then while
making a first varsity start (“If I blow this I’ll never
get another chance”) and HITS THE FIRST GUY with his first
pitch!
No one gets a free ride in baseball. Bad happens.
The ability to generate confidence in just a few moments is
*vital* to success.
You can’t afford to let what happens on the field determine
what happens in your nervous system. (Well, not if you want
to succeed or enjoy playing anyway.)
You must be able to take a punch. But how do you do that?
Practice your mechanics super hard and hope you’ll be OK
when the storm hits?
Wishfully hope nothing bad happens?
Please.
In my BREAKTHROUGH! course Lesson 2 is called “7-Second
Confidence.”
It teaches you how to condition yourself simply and quickly
to generate confidence super fast. It puts confidence
literally at the tip of your finger.
Players (and coaches and parents) find that useful.
Like between pitches.
You can get access to it now at
http://www.hansonsgym.com/site.php/subs/subscription_plans
Otherwise, good luck.
Dr. Tom
Tom Hanson, Ph.D.
www.HansonsGym.com
p.s. The exercise I start my day with is Lesson 1 in the
BREAKTHROUGH program: “Emotionalize Your Goal”
Click here now, do in just moments from now
http://www.hansonsgym.com/site.php/subs/subscription_plans
