I am working with a 14-U select team this season. My job is to develop the hitters and teach them how to be become better and more proficient in understanding their hitting mechanics and mental game. Most hitters are responding quite well and are having great seasons. However, one athlete in particular is struggling with consistency at the plate. As soon as he begins to struggle at bat, you will see his demeanor change, and all prior hitting mechanics instruction goes out the window. It looks as though he’s forgotten everything we’ve been working on for the past year. It’s frustrating for him as he doesn’t know how to bust out of these spells that seem to take him over.
Last night I gave his particular case some more thought and woke up this morning at 3:30 and couldn’t sleep. The sympathetic part of our autonomatic nervous system kept running through my subconscious (I know, weird). Don’t ask me why, I’m usually a deep sleeper and rarely lose any sleep. I started reviewing a bit on what effect the sympathetic system has on our stress levels, etc. and everything became clearer to me. His sympathetic nervous system is running on overdrive.
Have you ever been woken up in the middle of the night by a loud crash? Thoughts begin to race through your head, your heart rate immediately increases, muscles tighten, and your hair on your neck may stand up. Why? All of these are caused because of your sympathetic nervous system kicking in and alerting you that there may be a problem. It’s our automatic fight or flight alarm system. It’s the same system that produces widened pupils when scared, or sweat when nervous. Now the system that counters the sympathetic is the parasympathetic system; it helps bring your body back to a more relaxed state. It helps lower your heart rate, shrinks your pupils, stops the sweating, relaxes your muscles, etc. If the sympathetic system is the gas pedal, the parasympathetic system is the brakes.
Sorry for the interlude, but I felt like that was necessary to explain my point better with this particular athlete. If he sees his offensive struggle in practice or in a game as a threat to his team, stats, self-esteem, whatever, his sympathetic system will automatically start. If this happens while he’s trying to focus on hitting a baseball, he’s in deep trouble. Just think how well you can focus on something else when you are deeply scared about something. Again, your focus is on the main problem; it’s your built-in alarm system your body has created to deal with potential harm. Except this system needs to be kept relatively quiet during an at bat or else your concentration may be severely compromised.
If you’ve struggled staying relaxed in the box or you get highly nervous in crucial situations, try these following tips to keep your Sympathetic Nervous system in check:
1. Call time and step outside the batter’s box and take two or three long, deep breaths. I know it seems silly that deep breathing could work so efficiently, but you got to give it a shot. True deep breathing will include your stomach muscles unlike when we breathe normally and only use our chest to breath. When this deep breathing occurs, it sends a message to our brain that everything is ok. The brain will then send a message in response to your muscles to relax. This will in turn allow you to relax and let your body respond how it was trained to work. Tense muscles will always constrict your performance as an athlete. Learn how to breathe deeply throughout your performance to keep your body in the right state to perform.
2. Practice more. Many people experience stress in athletics when they find themselves in situations that are unfamiliar or uncomfortable. The more your practice different situations, the less uncomfortable you will feel when you encounter a similar situation. If I frequently hit batting practice off a pitcher or coach who is lobbing the baseball at me, I’m likely to feel more stress in a game where I face a pitcher throwing a 95mph heater. On the flip side, if I face a lot of 95mph fastballs in practice, I might be more relaxed when I saw that same velocity in a game.
If the mental part of baseball intrigues you, you’ll want to check out the few advisory board members we have on The Pitching Academy. These three guys are amazing in the mental side of the sport. I’m sure they would love a question or two from you. There is also some good mental bonuses here when you pick up our Pitching DVD.
