Staying Calm and Confident: Softball Season Mental Prep

Physical training and talent are only two pieces of the puzzle that make up a truly great athlete. One of the most overlooked aspects of training is the mental preparation and learning how to handle the pressure every time you walk out onto the field. Softball is a high stakes game. Whether it’s stepping up to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded or your first time as a starting pitcher, sometimes those feelings are overwhelming and can distract you from being your best. In this blog, we'll be going over some of the most popular methods for properly preparing your mind for softball season and ways to keep you calm and confident on and off the field. 

The Power of Positivity

A positive mindset plays a pivotal role in any athlete’s success. Staying positive can enhance an athlete’s self-confidence and allows them to believe in their skills. It can also help with managing anxiety and stress, which inherently leads to better focus and composure in high-pressure situations. A positive mindset gives athletes the skills to bounce back quicker from setbacks or a bad game - one bad at bat or one bad inning pitched doesn’t define a player, their resilience and dedication does. Similarly, athletes who keep a positive mindset often experience overall improved performance due to increased belief in their abilities and the skills they’ve been practicing.

Visualization

Visualization is an incredibly powerful technique. In sports, it involves mentally rehearsing a successful performance. Mental imagery has been shown to be an effective tool for maintaining and improving overall athletic performance and has a significant positive impact on sports achievement. Guided imagery interventions (the practice of bringing positive images to mind for support) have had significant positive impacts on athletes’ performances and cultivate emotional and mental resilience. Mentally rehearsing a movement or “seeing” a perfect game can increase your confidence. 

Positive Affirmations

Similar to keeping a positive mindset, positive affirmations have been known to greatly improve athletes’ mindsets. Affirmations are repeated positive statements that help you deal with negative feelings, thoughts, and situations. They help you reprogram your subconscious to fully accept them as true and create a better picture of yourself and your surroundings while decreasing stress, anxiety, and fear. Affirmations can shift your attitude. For example, an affirmation can take you from thinking or saying, “I hate this hitting drill” to “I like the challenge I get from this drill”. This type of affirmation puts you into a more positive, constructive environment that has been shown to improve athletic performance. An overall feeling of self-belief and confidence can have an incredibly powerful effect on competition and control. Some common affirmations are:

1. I am confident in my ability

2. I have the skills needed to perform well

3. I can stay focused under pressure

4. I can perform well in tough competitions 

5. I feel mentally strong

You can also incorporate skill-specific affirmations into your everyday routine and focus on one aspect of your game that you’re feeling less confident on. 

Goal Setting

Goal setting is an easy practice to implement into your everyday training routine. Setting clear, achievable goals gives you direction and motivation. You should have big, long-term goals that you can break down into smaller goals that will give you a sense of accomplishment when you get one step closer to that long-term goal. No matter how small the goal is, a sense of success can boost confidence and overall positivity and remind you that you’re always making progress. 

Mindfulness and Meditation

Mindfulness and meditation are grounding practices that can help concentration, manage stress, and increase emotional and mental resilience. Meditation is considered a form of complementary medicine that focuses on the mind-body connection. Meditation can help reduce the negative effects of taxing workouts, training, or games, and has shown to help athletes achieve better overall performance in their sport. Even a 5-10 minute meditation after an intense training session can have long-term benefits. 

Gratitude Practice

Practicing gratitude involves acknowledging and appreciating the positive aspects of your life and your athletic journey. Expressing positive emotions like gratitude actually rewires your brain and influences your metabolism and stress levels. The release of dopamine and serotonin in the brain causes people to feel happier and overall less stressed out. Gratitude can also have a long-lasting positive impact on your interpersonal relationships. Grateful, more positive teammates are usually regarded as better teammates and leaders because of their mental toughness and the appreciation of their sport. One of the most prominent positive effects of practicing gratitude is avoiding burnout. When a sport dominates your life and your day-to-day routine, it’s easy to feel burnt out. By including gratitude practices into your routine, it creates a buffer for negative thoughts and teaches you to reframe negative thoughts and situations. 

There are lots of different ways to practice gratitude in your daily life, but these are some of the most common:

1. Keep a gratitude journal. Write down 2-3 things that you’re grateful for everyday, whether it’s about sports or not.

2. Write a letter thanking someone important to you. It can be a coach, a trainer, a teacher or professor, or a friend. Let them know that you appreciate them as a person and thank them for the help and support.  

3. Take a pause. If you find yourself in a pleasant situation or even just in a good mood, take a ten second pause and be present in your body. Take in all the details around you and be completely in your body.