With the 2012 fall season underway I'd like to share with you five "must have" ingredients your athlete MUST have to reach her fullest softball potential on game day.
As a mental performance expert and game coach of nearly 1,000 fast pitch games these are the absolute essentials I have found any athlete must possess and demonstrate for both skill development as well as to stand out in front of scouts (be they college or whatever level your athlete aspires to).
Here's the thing...these five "must have" ingredients are all interwoven together. They are interdependent on each other to truly propel an athlete to greatness.
Change her game forever.
Here are the 5 "must have" ingredients for her success:
1. Preparation - There simply are no shortcuts to success. Exceptional preparation...following a clearly defined plan for both physical and mental preparation...will lead to the rest of these five "must have" ingredients being fulfilled. Without adequate preparation game day performances will be inconsistent at best...a roller coaster ride of mediocrity.
2. A Relaxed Mind - It's cause and effect...the more relaxed an athlete plays the more confident they play. And the more prepared, both physically and mentally a player is the more relaxed they will be come game time. A relaxed mind comes from both physical and mental preparedness and the cultivation of an expectancy for success each time an athlete walks on the field.
3. Self-Confidence - Truly the foundational ingredient for any successful athlete in any sport. A high level of self confidence leads to a high degree of mental toughness and an ability to bounce back from mistakes. Self-confidence emerges as game mastery progresses. Self-confidence also stabilizes when an athlete becomes effort or process focused rather than simply results focused.
4. Focus - A highly confident athlete will be far more able to exert the necessary mental focus and concentration to succeed in a very difficult game like fastpitch. Lack of focus, in my experience, is the single biggest cause of game day mistakes and failure. Without a relaxed mind or confidence focus can be nearly impossible as the mind wanders to both past focus or future focus rather than focusing on the task at hand.
5. Purpose - Without a clearly defined purpose your athlete will not be able to summon the motivation and desire necessary to cultivate the other four "must have" ingredients. Purpose looks like why she plays the game; what her goals are (short term and long term), and how she plans to achieve her goals. Having appreciable "fire in the belly" is necessary to become your best in a game where failure is more prevalent than success.
These five "must have" ingredients for your athlete's game day success are all a matter of choice and effort. Like I always say to the athletes that I coach..."You can be as good as you want to be." If your athlete can truly cultivate these five ingredients her softball future will look bright indeed!
Be sure to read more of the over 100 articles on this blog for more mental performance tips and strategies.
Also check out my hugely popular Game Changer Audio Program with 24 mental performance audio lessons, over 5 hours of instruction, plus my best selling 174 page eBook, How She Thinks is How She Plays, all for the crazy low price of $29.97 (that'sless than the cost of a single hitting lesson!). Invest in your athlete's mental game today. Click Here for more info.
Follow @KellyEdge
As a mental performance expert and game coach of nearly 1,000 fast pitch games these are the absolute essentials I have found any athlete must possess and demonstrate for both skill development as well as to stand out in front of scouts (be they college or whatever level your athlete aspires to).
Here's the thing...these five "must have" ingredients are all interwoven together. They are interdependent on each other to truly propel an athlete to greatness.
Change her game forever.
Here are the 5 "must have" ingredients for her success:
1. Preparation - There simply are no shortcuts to success. Exceptional preparation...following a clearly defined plan for both physical and mental preparation...will lead to the rest of these five "must have" ingredients being fulfilled. Without adequate preparation game day performances will be inconsistent at best...a roller coaster ride of mediocrity.
2. A Relaxed Mind - It's cause and effect...the more relaxed an athlete plays the more confident they play. And the more prepared, both physically and mentally a player is the more relaxed they will be come game time. A relaxed mind comes from both physical and mental preparedness and the cultivation of an expectancy for success each time an athlete walks on the field.
4. Focus - A highly confident athlete will be far more able to exert the necessary mental focus and concentration to succeed in a very difficult game like fastpitch. Lack of focus, in my experience, is the single biggest cause of game day mistakes and failure. Without a relaxed mind or confidence focus can be nearly impossible as the mind wanders to both past focus or future focus rather than focusing on the task at hand.
5. Purpose - Without a clearly defined purpose your athlete will not be able to summon the motivation and desire necessary to cultivate the other four "must have" ingredients. Purpose looks like why she plays the game; what her goals are (short term and long term), and how she plans to achieve her goals. Having appreciable "fire in the belly" is necessary to become your best in a game where failure is more prevalent than success.
These five "must have" ingredients for your athlete's game day success are all a matter of choice and effort. Like I always say to the athletes that I coach..."You can be as good as you want to be." If your athlete can truly cultivate these five ingredients her softball future will look bright indeed!
Be sure to read more of the over 100 articles on this blog for more mental performance tips and strategies.
Also check out my hugely popular Game Changer Audio Program with 24 mental performance audio lessons, over 5 hours of instruction, plus my best selling 174 page eBook, How She Thinks is How She Plays, all for the crazy low price of $29.97 (that'sless than the cost of a single hitting lesson!). Invest in your athlete's mental game today. Click Here for more info.
Follow @KellyEdge
