How to Bring Back That Winning Feeling
Bring back, that winning feelin
Woah, that winning feelin
Bring back that winning feelin
Cause it’s gone,gone,gone wooooooh
– with apologies to the Righteous Brothers
As a baseball guy, I like to watch other sports for tips on baseball coaching, mental toughness, and confidence.
I watched Apollo Ono win the 500m short track speed skating gold in the last Winter Olympics.
I could see the electricity rocket through his system after he crossed the line. Fists clenched, arm muscles fired, and a primal yell erupting from just above that ridiculous patch of hair on his chin.
We can only imagine what that winning feelin’ is like.
But you know, that’s not so bad.
Our imagination is extremely powerful.
I’ll bet if I said I’d give you a million bucks if you could right now generate the emotion he felt at that moment you could get pretty close.
How would you do it?
You’d stand up, jump up and down a few times, clench your fists, fire all the muscles in your arms and legs, and let loose a primal yell.
At the same time you’d visualize your winning the million dollars, or cashing in huge on some stock deal, or getting a date with Paris Hilton (or whatever would really set you off).
Keep doing these things — I mean for real doing them, no holds barred — for one minute and you’d be pretty close, don’t you agree? You’d certainly be pumped up, you’d certainly be excited.
Would you like to feel that way? Then do what I prescribed above.
DiMaggio’s Baseball Batting Streak…Random Chance?
Very interesting baseball batting article here — and all about the “myth” of the hot hand…
THE RAYS WIN THE WORLD SERIES! See it here first…
My friend and fellow Rays fan Nancy Laine created a really, really great video for you to watch.
Strike that — for you to feel.
As you watch it — feel into it. Imagine you are each guy in the video. Feel what it would be like to be him at that moment the photo was taken.
Feel what the words say (i.e., gratitude).
The movie grabs you by the shirt collar and nearly forces you to powerfully visualize. But you still could hold back.
Don’t.
Let go and feel the feelings that come with the images and music.
And one more thing about how great this exercise is: it was made BEFORE the Rays clinched the East. So before they were even in the playoffs.
Lesson: See, hear and feel now what you want to see hear and feel in the future.
If you’re serious about your baseball future, contact my friend Nancy Laine and talk with her about having her make one of these for you (or your son or daughter — what a perfect gift! The Holidays are coming up… give the gift of confidence.)
Call her at 727-787-9825 or email her at Nancy@NancyLaine.com
Go Rays,
Tom
Dr. Tom Hanson
Baseball Coaching Lesson from Joe Maddon: 9=8?
Go Rays.
What a great thing. Worst to first.
From laugh at to laugh with in one year.
How do you do that?
If you’ve been around with me for a while you might be able
to guess.
If not, you’re apt to recognize what they’ve done, but not
put words to it that satisfy you.
That gives you less power to pull a “Rays” yourself.
(or to “Rays” yourself up by your bootstraps) (or “give
yourself a Rays”), or…
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“He with the best distinctions wins.”
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That means you’ve got lots more power to effect change if
you can better distinguish one thing from another in a
given context.
A guy worked on my computer last night and now I have loads
more power. He can distinguish what things mean and what
will happen if you push the keys in a certain order.
I’ve got fewer distinctions around computers than he does, so
I’ve got less power to get what I want with them than he
does.
A guy worked on my car a couple of weeks ago. Now it runs
better.
He can distinguish what things do and what will
happen if you twist and turn and bang and clang on things
in a certain order.
So he’s got more power than I do to create desired results
around a car.
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Joe Maddon has taken a team — highly talented, we can’t
overlook that — and led them to be today’s Rays because he
has a lot of distinctions around team performance that
other managers don’t have.
Too often coaches look at their team and see only
technique, strategy, and physical conditioning issues.
But the distinction Joe Maddon makes is in the domain of
self-image.
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Given our talent level, we perform consistent with our
self-image.
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The Rays last year had much the self-image as they had the
previous 9 or 10 years: “We’re bad. We lose.”
If that’s your self image, what do you think your
self-conscious is picturing when you are losing or in a
close game?
We perform consistent with who we see ourselves to be.
Who do you see yourself to be? What is your pictoral
representation of yourself?
As an individual? As a team?
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Positive team self-image happens when a leader creates an
emotional context conducive to self-image growth.
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Like a gardener, the leader must cultivate the soil the
seeds are in.
He can’t make them grow. He can’t change who they are at
their core.
But he can create a “context” in which they can tap into
their potential.
Tim Gallwey says: Performance = Potential – Interference.
A good “gardener” removes not only the external
interference (the stuff from the outside that can interfere
with free flowing performance), he also helps players
remove internal interference.
Doubts. Fears. Dejection. Disappointment.
Joe Maddon is a great gardener.
A devotee of Heads-Up Baseball (he influenced our thoughts
as Ken Ravizza when we were writing it, so that one cuts
both ways), Maddon sees things others don’t see.
He has distinctions others don’t have so he has more power
to create desired results with a team than almost any other
manager.
So add this distinction to your tool kit: self-image.
Works at the individual and team level.
Want to expand your performance? Expand your self-image.
How do you do that?
The 9=8 thing is all about expanding the team’s self-image.
Planting the visual seed: “If we all focus on doing our jobs great
for this one game today, we can end up being one of the
last 8 teams playing.”
He had the distinction “self-image.” He planted a visual
image/seed. And cultivated it, and cultivated it and
cultivated it.
The Fall is harvest time.
Tom
Dr. Tom Hanson
www.BaseballConfidence.com
www.FreeBaseballConfidence.com
Baseball Coaching Mini-Course: How to Play Raysball
Hail the Mighty Rays!
I had to pass this on to you today — one on line article
is virtually a baseball coaching/mental training program onto itself.
Here’s just a sampling of the quotes:
“We were just trying to put some good at-bats together [in
the eighth] and I think the best example of that was Aki’s
at-bat,” Pena said, admiringly. “Staying within himself,
seeing the ball, working the count to 3-2, then fouling off
a bunch of pitches and finally getting a walk.
“That’s not easy, man. You’ve got to be cold-blooded to be
in that situation and concentrate on only seeing the ball,
and staying in your zone and stuff like that. Needless to
say, it’s not normal for a human being to maintain, stay
poised in a situation like that, and Aki did it
unbelievably. … It takes its toll on a pitcher. … I
think that was the key at-bat in that rally.”
B.J. Upton followed with an RBI single to tie the game at
3, before Pena’s two-run single then put the Rays up, 5-3.
“[My] first reaction was, ‘I want to do something really
big,’” Pena said. “But again, calm yourself down, don’t get
too excited, go back to the basics. ‘I know this guy throws
hard, but what’s the ultimate thing you want to do?’ You
want to see the ball and you want to be relaxed and that’s
going to give you the best chance possible to actually do
something. And I was able to execute my plan, and next
thing you know, base hit to right field.”
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My suggestion: go to the link below and print out the
article, then go through it with a highlighter for the
several great mental game quotes.
FULL BASEBALL COACHING ARTICLE
Post it somewhere for frequent reading.
And pass this email on to your whole team.
Tom
Dr. Tom Hanson
p.s. Baseball coaching bonus: Take your pick of great no charge mental training at
http://www.BaseballConfidence.com
Baseball Training: Lesson from the Olympics
“Focus on me,” said the gold medallist in the 100m women’s
hurdles Dawn Harper.
That’s what she said was the key to her victory.
She got some help when the women with a comfortable lead
tripped over the second to last hurdle.
But the winner can’t control that. She can’t control what
anyone else does.
And THAT was the heart of her success that night.
(Of course major talent and massive training had to be
there too.)
And that “focus on me” advice had come from Coach Kersee, a
long time high level track coach (husband of Jackie
Joyner-Kersee).
And from great Gail Devers.
Think of all the distractions at the Olympics. The people,
the ceremony, the tradition, the Chinese food… plus all
her competitors.
She’d trained a lifetime for this moment. The Olympic
Finals.
“Keep your head in your lane,” is a line I’ve used a lot
with track and swimming athletes.
Stay focused, stay on track. Focus on what you need to do
to give yourself your best chance of being successful.
Harper’s ability to focus on herself made the difference.
For baseball and softball successful players and coaches
develop their Way. Like, The Way.
I was coaching a couple of pro players yesterday fine
tuning their Way.
Think of a great player and you can sense he or she has a
Way.
Clemens had a way of doing things. Jeter has his approach.
Pujols has his approach.
They know they can’t control their outcomes. They can’t
make the other athletes trip over the second to the last
hurdle.
So they don’t waste their energy focusing on that.
Yes, they scout their opponents and strategize, but when
the lights come on (it’s time to throw the pitch or see the
pitch or run the finals), their head is in their lane.
So our challenge is to determine our “Way.” Our *”Here’s
what I do.*
(I’ve got the same thing going with my corporate clients –
what is your routine that puts you in position to win each
day?)
For my pro players, the challenge is to settle in (or
throttle in) to that Way before they get released.
Results thinking is seductive.
And deadly.
Staying focused on your process (your Way) is a path of
mastery few take on passionately.
Coaching, like the 100m hurdle winner, is essential.
My “Zoned In” and “Dominate” dvd programs are my
fundamentals on how to best focus on you. Watch the short
video here:
http://www.baseballconfidence.com/Hit_&_Pitch.html
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You’ve still got time to get in my arm health seminar. If
you aren’t impressed after the first class send and email
and I’ll refund your investment.
If you have pain, stiffness, are recovering from an injury,
are having trouble throwing, want to recover faster, want
to be more consistent, etc., take the course.
Listen to the quite-impressive-I-must-say-but-not-atypical
intro to the class and register here:
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=3692082
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Congratulations to the hometown Citrus Park team — making
the Final Four in the U.S. is extraordinary.
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Sincerely,
Tom
Dr. Tom Hanson
www.BaseballConfidence.com/Products.html
Please forward this email to anyone who might be interested.
Thank you.
“Who Said THIS?”
“Hello again, it’s time to play one of my favorite baseball coaching games…
Who Said This?”
The rules are simple… guess who said THIS!?
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“My confidence really isn’t there right now. It’s kind of in the back of your head right before you throw it, you feel like you don’t want to throw a certain pitch in a certain location. And I just can’t think like that. I’ve got to get that out of my head, I guess.”
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That’s a good guess, Mr. Pitcher. You can’t think like that and pitch great at any level.
But what level is this guy?
A. Fearic Frank, a 12-year old getting ready for Cooperstown
B. Wayne Whiner, a high schooler
C. Mal Hal, a college pitcher
D. Scott Tochange, a big league All-star
It could be any of those, of course.
Players at all levels wrestle with the same mental game challenges.
Pitchers need to trust their stuff. Commit to a spot/target and let it fly.
Anyone can do it alone in their back yard. But when the pressure is on it’s much tougher.
The more trained you are, the mentally tougher you are, the easier it is to focus and trust.
That’s why good coaches drill their players as much as they do on mechanics and fundamentals: so that their technique holds up under pressure.
But the challenge of “pressure” is psycho-emotional, not physical. So why don’t more coaches drill their players more on the mental and emotional aspects?
Typically they don’t know how. Their coach didn’t so they don’t.
But more and more coaches are seeing it and are investing in mental game drills.
Way to go.
Doing so will not prevent players from thinking thoughts like the guy above.
But they will will make them MUCH less frequent, last much less time, and be much less difficult to change.
The answer: D. Scott Kazmir, Tampa Rays, 2008 All-star.
(That ’scott to change if the Rays want to win the division.)
Happens to the best of them. Don’t feel bad if it happens to you.
Feel bad if you don’t do anything about it.
Sincerely,
Tom
Dr. Tom Hanson
www.HansonsGym.com
p.s. Do something about it at
http://www.baseballconfidence.com/Products.html
For you Youth Coaches and Parents, watch the videos at http://www.baseballconfidence.com/Little_League_Baseball.html
p.p.s. I can’t resist commenting on Kazmir’s use of the word “you.” Go back and read the quote out loud as it is, then go back and read it again replacing the “you” and “your” with “I.” Like this…
“My confidence really isn’t there right now. It’s kind of in the back of my head right before I throw it, I feel like I don’t want to throw a certain pitch in a certain location. And I just can’t think like that. I’ve got to get that out of my head, I guess.”
What do you notice about how the statements *feel* to you while you say them?
More baseball coaching on that another time, but it has to do with taking personal responsibility.
Take it yourself here:
http://www.baseballconfidence.com/Products.html