I want to focus on self-talk using positive affirmations because I feel it’s just as important to have these attributes and abilities as it is to have great pitching mechanics. In my opinion, what sets some minor league pitchers apart from the major league pitchers is their attitude.

These positive affirmations aren’t the answer to everything a pitcher needs, but they are, in my opinion, a vital part of success. What do our athletes say to each other on the mound during the game? How are you preparing mentally before stepping on the mound? I know that if the following principles are applied effectively, it will dramatically improve your performance as a pitcher. Here’s an example I like to remember, not just on the pitching mound, but at any major event in my life. (I use it every day) I only replace the jug for other activities that I am going to do. Every day is the most important day of your life, right? Okay! Positive Affirmations/Internal Talk You can use this example if you are a pitcher, but any athlete can use this same template and apply it to whatever they do, whether it be hitting, fielding, shooting, etc.

Remember, good self-talk is done with confidence, not arrogance! Here we go. “I’m the best pitcher in this league. I’m the number one pitcher because I’m focused and excited all the time, and my skills are the best. Every time I get on the mound I’m physically and mentally energized and ready.” for the best game of my life. I am absolutely sorry today! Today is the best day of my life and today is the day I achieve my goals! On the mound I know I am successful and this is where I make the real magic happen. Going up to the mound, I am excited, with the expectation of many strikeouts and my talented teammates behind me, I am confident! As I find each hitter’s weakness, I attack him one pitch at a time, knowing that each pitch is the most important pitch. He launched. My teammates see me as a leader and their confidence grows when they know I have the ball. I set and achieve big goals and have a clear vision of what the end result of each game will be. I am emotionally, physically and mentally prepared because I continue to work on pitching mechanics, pitching drills and emotional training. I am enthusiastic and passionate every day! I’m the most consistent reliable pitcher on the team. My emotions are positive and I am in full control of myself and my way of thinking.

I’m the best!” It’s important to read your affirmation out loud every day. Change this if necessary, make it your own, but decide today that mediocrity is unacceptable and you’ll start achieving goals and others will want to follow your lead. After a few weeks of reading the affirmation (enthusiastically) that you have written to yourself, you will begin to experience great success.The internal dialogue will quickly help you become who you want to be, be who you want to be right now acting the role!!.

Baseball is a game of failures, Hall of Fame hitters fail 70% of the time and the best pitchers succeed maybe half the time. Not very promising, is it? Do you see why it is important that athletes cannot rely solely on physical strength and natural talent to be successful? The point is to experience all this through many performances on the field, we can use our past experiences to our advantage or disadvantage. We can draw a lot of power from the successes we have achieved in the past. A pitcher can take him back to the moment of his best performance as a pitcher. This can have such an impact on how they approach game day. I’ve worked with several pitchers who have had trouble finding the strike zone.

I will tell you about that time when you felt unstoppable when your game was 100%, everything seemed to work in your favor; they were unbeatable. (They were literally Superman!) I ask them to describe to me what they were thinking, how they felt emotionally and they paint that picture of success in the back of their minds and those feelings come back to them. When the athlete can actually remember those feelings (physically, emotionally, and mentally), he will have no problem zoning out and not only throwing strikes, but having control over all of his pitches. Why? Lots of reasons, but he knows he can do it! He’s done it before, right? Why wouldn’t he be able to do it now? That’s the attitude he begins to establish again, one of complete and unwavering trust. The caster can immediately change their current emotional state from being frustrated to creating excitement and real enthusiasm through self-talk about a successful experience that happened in the past. We can also view past failures as a learning tool for what not to do again.

I remember pitching to an outstanding team with a lot of great hitters. These guys knew how to dunk the ball. I knew this because the three launchers that launched before me were getting shelled. Sure enough, with the bases loaded, my coach calls me in to finish the job and save the game. One hit could score two and that would be the end of it. Now, at that time I was in high school. When I took the mound, it wasn’t with a lot of confidence. With about 10 warm-up pitches in, he was reportedly ready to pitch. Another problem, I was thinking “I hope not”. You can guess where that got me. One pitch, bases loaded, farmer, home run, game over! A couple of days later, I remember my best friend’s father saying to me, Wow, that ball would have gone out of any stadium! Fortunately, I haven’t forgotten the feelings I felt on the long bus ride home that night. I really learned from that experience.

Do not dwell on these performances; Recognize the emotions behind loss or poor performance. Sometimes a pitcher can be in a situation similar to what he was in when he had a bad experience; (The game experience, good and bad, is one of the best experiences a pitcher can have) Understanding self-talk and positive affirmations can change the mindset of pitchers and help them experience a different result the next time they meet. with similar problems. I hope that everyone will take these exercises and principles that they have learned or reviewed and start applying them right away! I am confident that if done correctly any athlete will dramatically improve their overall performance on the mound and also become a better leader on and off the field.