We All Know How to Keep Our Eye on the Ball
It's literally the first thing we learn, right?
And when a batted ball comes our way, we're trained to recognize the trajectory and get where we need to be. We've practiced these aspects of the game so many times, we barely need to think about them. Our body just does what it's supposed to in these situations. Right?
And we all know about the need to be focused for every play. Again, absolute basics.
All Sports are Physically Demanding
All Sports Are Mentally Demanding
But Baseball is in a Class All By Itself
All Sports Are Mentally Demanding
But Baseball is in a Class All By Itself
"Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical"
-Yogi Berra
-Yogi Berra
3 Unique Mental Challenges Of Baseball
Challenge #1: In Baseball, Failing 6 out of 10 Times Makes You An All Star
In any other sport, when you fail 6 out of 10 times, you'll probably be cut from the team. But not in baseball. In the history of Major League Baseball, there have been roughly 20,000 players. And out of those, ONLY 50 have ever hit .400 for the season. And most of them are in the Hall of Fame.
The thing is, to the body, failure is failure. So this presents a mental challenge unmet in other sports: how do we fail the majority of the time and still feel confidence in our ability. Some players thrive on this paradox. But others, not so much.
Not to mention the fact that Baseball is the only sport where your mistakes (errors) are recorded in the scoresheet. Heck, your mistakes are on the scoreboard for everyone to see!!!
The thing is, to the body, failure is failure. So this presents a mental challenge unmet in other sports: how do we fail the majority of the time and still feel confidence in our ability. Some players thrive on this paradox. But others, not so much.
Not to mention the fact that Baseball is the only sport where your mistakes (errors) are recorded in the scoresheet. Heck, your mistakes are on the scoreboard for everyone to see!!!
Challenge #2: While it is a Team Sport, Baseball is PURELY Individual
In sports like Hockey or Soccer or Basketball, you're working with 4-5 other players who will influence the outcome of every play. When someone scores a goal in Hockey, for example, every player on the ice gets a 'Plus' in the stats, while everyone on the opposing team gets a 'Minus.' This is because every player has something to do with the play.
In baseball, when the ball is hit to right field, it is ONLY the right fielder who either catches it and makes a good throw to the infield or not. The pitcher, the catcher, the shortstop and all the other players are basically spectators.
In baseball, you are on your own!
When you're at bat, EVERY eye is on you. When you're on the mound, same thing. And when you slice the go-ahead hit foul, everyone is watching YOU.
The players that can mentally handle this kind of pressure are the ones who succeed. In other words, you could have all the throwing, catching, and hitting skills in the world, but if you can't handle this mental pressure, you'll probably be left behind.
In baseball, when the ball is hit to right field, it is ONLY the right fielder who either catches it and makes a good throw to the infield or not. The pitcher, the catcher, the shortstop and all the other players are basically spectators.
In baseball, you are on your own!
When you're at bat, EVERY eye is on you. When you're on the mound, same thing. And when you slice the go-ahead hit foul, everyone is watching YOU.
The players that can mentally handle this kind of pressure are the ones who succeed. In other words, you could have all the throwing, catching, and hitting skills in the world, but if you can't handle this mental pressure, you'll probably be left behind.
For most spectators - and for a lot of players - this is one of the most loved aspects of Baseball. It's 27 outs. Whether it takes 90 minutes or it takes 9 hours. Until one team is ahead after 27 outs, we play on. (Of course, at the youth level, we do have time limits. But there is no clock or bell or horn that's going to save you the way it happens in other sports. The only way to get out of an inning is to get three outs, however long it takes.
And while this might be Baseball's biggest flex, for players, it presents a very unique challenge.
And while this might be Baseball's biggest flex, for players, it presents a very unique challenge.
Challenge #3: Baseball Has No Clock
This could be the biggest mental challenge of them all! In hockey, a team can dump the puck to run out the last few seconds of a period or to get a whistle that stops play and allows a team to reset. In football, the QB kneels on the ball to run out the clock. In Basketball, there's the shot clock. Baseball is the only sport with no time component. In baseball, you stand out there until you get three outs. Whether that takes 10 minutes for a 1-2-3 inning, or it takes 40 minutes as the batting team goes through the order and puts up 15 runs. It doesn't end with a horn or a whistle. It only ends with out #3.
Again, I think this is the most difficult challenge...
Again, I think this is the most difficult challenge...
The Challenge is the Rhythm of the Game.
How do you stay focused in between pitches?
How do you stay ready for the play without becoming tense and tight so that your performance suffers?
And what about the 45 minutes between at bats? How do you mentally deal with that? Especially after you pop up a ball you should've sent yard?
And when you make a mistake - at the plate or in the field - how do you stay focused while dealing with the thoughts running through your mind as you stand in the exact spot where you made the mistake?
How do you stay physically flexible through all this and mentally manage the irate barking of your coach?
And people think it's all about throwing, catching, and hitting!!!
How do you stay ready for the play without becoming tense and tight so that your performance suffers?
And what about the 45 minutes between at bats? How do you mentally deal with that? Especially after you pop up a ball you should've sent yard?
And when you make a mistake - at the plate or in the field - how do you stay focused while dealing with the thoughts running through your mind as you stand in the exact spot where you made the mistake?
How do you stay physically flexible through all this and mentally manage the irate barking of your coach?
And people think it's all about throwing, catching, and hitting!!!
Most people think of the mental game of baseball as the X's and O's; they think squeeze plays, pitch counts, and infield shifts. In a word, people think 'strategy' when they hear mention of the mental aspect of the game.
And this certainly is not wrong. All these aspects of the game ARE part of the mental component of Baseball.
But there's something much bigger about the mental aspect of the game...
Yogi may have known this, but EVERYTHING we do is '90% Mental'.
That is to say that everything we do in baseball - every swing, every take, every throw, and every catch - we first do in our brains.
And this certainly is not wrong. All these aspects of the game ARE part of the mental component of Baseball.
But there's something much bigger about the mental aspect of the game...
Yogi may have known this, but EVERYTHING we do is '90% Mental'.
That is to say that everything we do in baseball - every swing, every take, every throw, and every catch - we first do in our brains.
This Ain't Your First Rodeo, Is It?
As a Ball Player, you've dealt with these challenges from the beginning. Even way back in Pee Wee, when you stood in left field picking your nose or chewing the leather string hanging off your glove until the ball came rolling your way.
But what if I told you that you could develop mental skills to deal with all the challenges I've named here? That even though you've done great so far, that there was a way to get more dialed in - to get even better as a player in any and all positions and aspects of the game?
But what if I told you that you could develop mental skills to deal with all the challenges I've named here? That even though you've done great so far, that there was a way to get more dialed in - to get even better as a player in any and all positions and aspects of the game?
Introducing...
The Clutch Mind
Laser Focus, Clutch Performance
An 8 Week Program To Develop Mental Sharpness and Strength
How does it work?
Who is this program for?
All baseball players between 13-18 years old, regardless of playing history or skill level. (Some age exceptions are possible! Email art@artburnscoaching to discuss)
Where do we meet?
All meetings are held on Zoom. (If your team is local to the Denver area, I can teach the classes at your team facility.)
When does this happen?
The next cohort is scheduled to start week of June 15th 2025 (days and times TBD)
What's the cost?
$300 Individual (Siblings included) / $2700 Team (Coaches included)
Why should I take this course?
- During this 8 Week program, we meet twice per week. (One meeting is about 45 minutes, the other about 15)
- I will walk students through some very simple exercises and they will be required to do some of these exercises at home. (This homework will never require more than 15 minutes per day, 5 days per week).
Who is this program for?
All baseball players between 13-18 years old, regardless of playing history or skill level. (Some age exceptions are possible! Email art@artburnscoaching to discuss)
Where do we meet?
All meetings are held on Zoom. (If your team is local to the Denver area, I can teach the classes at your team facility.)
When does this happen?
The next cohort is scheduled to start week of June 15th 2025 (days and times TBD)
What's the cost?
$300 Individual (Siblings included) / $2700 Team (Coaches included)
Why should I take this course?
- Improved on-field performance
- Better, more productive work out sessions
- Emotional Regulation/Resilience (Shake it off when Coach gets on you about something or the Ump makes a terrible call)
- Become more coachable
- Better Try-Out performance
- Improved immune, digestive, and respiratory function
- Stress reduction (on AND off field! Did someone say Final Exams?)
- Better college admission interviews
- Better decision making
Learn how to exercise the one 'Muscle' used in all parts of the game!
The reason I used the image of the Brain inside the baseball glove is that the Brain is where everything happens first.
Every swing...
Every taken pitch...
Every throw, every catch...
Every walk, every strike, every stolen base...
Literally, every single thing you ever do with your body or your mind starts out in the Brain. It is the one 'muscle' involved with every part of every sport and every activity in our lives.
In a way, we could say our Brain is the boss of our life!
Neuroscientist Amishi P Jha, Phd, says:
"Attention is the boss of the brain."
At its core, this course is about training attention. At least that's where we start. But to say this is just an attention-training course would be like saying that pitching is just about how you hold the ball.
To register for our next FREE information workshop, click the button below:
Every swing...
Every taken pitch...
Every throw, every catch...
Every walk, every strike, every stolen base...
Literally, every single thing you ever do with your body or your mind starts out in the Brain. It is the one 'muscle' involved with every part of every sport and every activity in our lives.
In a way, we could say our Brain is the boss of our life!
Neuroscientist Amishi P Jha, Phd, says:
"Attention is the boss of the brain."
At its core, this course is about training attention. At least that's where we start. But to say this is just an attention-training course would be like saying that pitching is just about how you hold the ball.
To register for our next FREE information workshop, click the button below:
Meet Your Teacher
Art Burns is a Certified Emotional Regulation Coach and a Hockey Dad. He's also a Beer League Champion.
For most of his life, Art struggled with emotional stress and dysregulation that kept him not only from achieving his dreams, but kept him from his happiness. After a lifetime of coping through alcoholism, workaholism, and a whole bunch of other maladaptive mechanisms, Art finally turned inside for the solution. There he found the one truth that had always eluded him:
We can't control what happens to us in life. The only thing we can control is how we respond to what happens to us in life. This is where happiness and success reside.
Or, as Art's teacher and mentor, Jon Kabat-Zinn says: "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf."
Art's been living in Denver, Colorado, giving "emotional surfing lessons" to hockey players and Cancer patients for the last seven years. He lives with two cats and a 14U defenseman named Casey.
For most of his life, Art struggled with emotional stress and dysregulation that kept him not only from achieving his dreams, but kept him from his happiness. After a lifetime of coping through alcoholism, workaholism, and a whole bunch of other maladaptive mechanisms, Art finally turned inside for the solution. There he found the one truth that had always eluded him:
We can't control what happens to us in life. The only thing we can control is how we respond to what happens to us in life. This is where happiness and success reside.
Or, as Art's teacher and mentor, Jon Kabat-Zinn says: "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf."
Art's been living in Denver, Colorado, giving "emotional surfing lessons" to hockey players and Cancer patients for the last seven years. He lives with two cats and a 14U defenseman named Casey.