Mental Game: Visualization

Hey guys,

So let's talk about a very important part of the mental game today: visualization.  Many people view visualization as a lie, so let me first tell you some of the athletes who use, or have used it.  Jack Nickalus, Mark Mcgwire, and Albert Pujols are just a few that use or have used this technique.  It works.  You hear too many times that baseball is 90% mental, but then little to no time is spent practicing the mental part of the game.  If you truly want to be good at this game then you need to spend time working on the mental part.  Today I wanted to give you guys a routine that will allow you to do things you never though possible.

Here it is:

You're all familiar with the showcase workout.  You know, catchers throwing to second, blocking balls, and receiving pitches, then taking BP?  Or outfielders throwing to third, then home, and then taking BP.  Well here's a secret: Before you go to sleep every night, go through one of these showcase workouts in your head.  I'll give you a more specific catchers' example:

First, throw 3 balls to second base, then 3 to first and 3 to third.  Then go ahead and block your balls, and receive.  Now, move on to your batting practice.  Make sure that all of these things in your head go perfectly.

However, that is not it.  If you are a position player, take at-bats off any pitcher you can think of.  If you are a pitcher, face the toughest lineup you can face.  Put yourself into adverse situations, but don't even think about failure.  Overcome all adversity with all of the confidence in the world.

This all seems very simple, but it really does work.  Your mind is the most powerful thing in sports.  It can either take you to the major leagues or end your career.  My next few posts are going to be about different parts of the mental game.  I hope you enjoy them.  Please let me know what you think!

Tip of the Day: Make your visualizations as realistic as possible.  See yourself going beyond things that you have done before.  You truly can add distance and miles per hour to your ball, just by seeing it happen over and over in your mind.  You will begin to believe that it's routine, if you do it enough.  The more vivid your visualizations become, the more benefit your game will see.

Thanks!