The Success Secret All Great Softball Players Use
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Often parents and coaches ask me if there is one single thing their athlete(s) can do to help insure their success on game day.
In a perfect world I could give your athlete the magic bullet that would guarantee spectacular success and an end to all game day anxiety and frustration.
The truth is I have no silver bullet but I may be able to offer you a bronze one!
You see all great fastpitch players, sometimes without even knowing they're doing it, employ a secret that invariably leads to their consistent success on the diamond.
I call it the Power of Expectation.
Champion athletes that manage to perform at peak levels, closest to their fullest potential, carry with them an expectancy for success. To them success is not a surprise, but rather inevitable.
Conversely, athletes who experience a higher level of failure also carry with them an expectation on game day; particularly in the most pivotal time of the game. However their expectancy is one of doubt, uncertainty and perhaps even failure.
The crazy and sad fact is that the physical profile of the athlete than expects success and the one that expects failure (or less than success) is often virtually identical. Both players will achieve success at the plate, on defense or in the circle; one of them is just able to do so far more frequently. Why?
Here are five action steps your athlete and team can do to activate the Power of Expectancy:
1. Trust Yourself - An expectancy for success starts with trusting in your abilities and your preparation. Consistently successful athletes rarely experience mental doubt or physical uncertainty when performing a task on the field. Doubt and trepidation on the diamond always lead to failure. Quoting Wayne Gretzky: "You miss 100% of the shots you don'r take."
2. Have a Plan - This means preparing properly for game day success. Remember...PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. Successful athletes spend significant time on both their physical and mental game outside of team practices. if your athlete feels physically and mentally prepared come game day success should be the byproduct of her proper preparation.
3. Allow Mistakes to Motivate Not Devastate - For any athlete attitude is always a CHOICE. In softball mistakes are part of the game. If your athlete allows these mistakes to crush her confidence the expectancy of doubt and failure will creep in. However if mistakes are perceived as opportunities to learn and grow they can actually be motivating instead of devastating. All great athletes are defined by how they respond to the inevitable mistakes the game throws at them.
4. Remember Past Successes - Often younger athletes under the stress and pressure of the moment forget successes they have achieved before in similar circumstances. Successful athletes know they will succeed because they have done it before. 5. See Your Success in Advance - In addition to remembering past successes "seeing" future success is also essential in activating the Power of Expectancy. Using visualization or mental imagery to mentally rehearse future success is both a fun and highly effective process that all great athletes utilize.
To fully ignite your athlete's Power of Expectancy there needs to be an underlying foundation of rock solid self confidence. If she works hard at cultivating these five action steps above a far greater self confidence level will emerge...causing the genesis of the expectancy for game day success.
As always the secret to her athletic success lies between her ears! Expecting success over failure is a great way to start.
Remember, thoughts are things...so choose them wisely!
I invite you to forward this email to a friend who also might find this information valuable for their athlete!
Thanks for reading!
John Michael Kelly
Softball Smarts
John Michael Kelly Sports
softballsmarts101@gmail.com
For more kid friendly mental performance tips:
Winner's Edge Kids
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