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3 Simple Steps for Your Son To Be More Resilient On the Baseball Field
How would you feel if you made TWENTY THREE outs in one week?
And struck out six times?
And had three of those strike outs in ONE GAME!
(in front of a huuuuge crowd, no less).
Probably pretty lousy right?
Well, *the amazing* Francisco Lindor had that exact week…
…and was named American League Player of the Week!
You see, even the super-beasts of the MLB “struggle”….
…even while they’re KILLING IT.
Francisco had 23 opportunities to tell himself how bad he is.
To worry about “Oh no, I was good before but maybe not anymore!”
When he struck out three times against the Yankees….
…what do you think he was thinking to himself?
Do you think he panicked?
Or was afraid of what his teammates thought of him?
…or thought he couldn’t possibly play well the next day?
Of course not.
And because he didn’t let the negative thoughts swirl in his head, he was ALSO able to hit .425 with 10 RBI and 4 homers.
So 23 outs, 6 k’s, 3 in one game, no stolen bases…from the most productive player in the major leagues last week!!!!!
Do you see what I’m saying here?
This is the game we play guys. If you need EVERYTHING to go perfectly for you to be happy….
…then you still just don’t get it.
This isn’t a game of perfect.
An out in one at bat doesn’t affect the next.
A rough day doesn’t affect the next….
…unless you choose for it to.
So our goal this weekend is for your son (or daughter) to be RESILIENT.
Definition of resilient: “A person able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions”
This game is not easy, and mistakes/outs/bad things in general will happen…
…but what you CANNOT do is be devoured by the negativity and emotion when something doesn’t go your way.
There’s something weirdly satisfying about holding on to your frustration.
(I know, I held on to it with two fists when I was a player.)
You may even feel the need to pout, throw something or have bad body language.
But let me tell you, that behavior is small time.
And you my friend, are most definitely NOT small time.
You are BIG time.
You are strong.
So for your next set of games, I’m not asking you to get hits.
If the hits fall or not is none of our business.
What I *am* asking is for you to be resilient.
Let it go.
Now, it’s ok to be frustrated for a minute, that’s totally normal.
But you can’t hold on to it.
So give yourself 30 seconds, 60 seconds to feel frustrated…
(BIG KEY HERE: you’ve got that time to FEEL frustrated but nobody else should know it. ZERO poor body language, ZERO small time behavior. It makes you look weak and it just makes things worse, I promise you)
After that, there are three ways that I like to “Let it go”:
1. Take a deep breath.
In through the nose, out through the mouth.
The power of a good cleansing breath can NEVER be overstated. So take a BIG inhale of that good clean air….
…and exhale all the frustration out of your body…
and focus on the next task at hand.
2. Hand clap.
I like to do a little double hand clap whenever I need a boost.
I still do it to this day (my wife thinks I’m crazy).
Something about it picks me up emotionally, and it’s a great trigger to switch into “I’ve got good things ahead in this game” mode.
3. Smile
When you smile, things get better. A smile tells your brain and body that things are fine. A smile gives YOU control over your emotions, not the circumstances.
So take control.
Let the average players out there be crushed by their doubts and struggles.
As for you…
You are big time. Behave accordingly.
Clint McGill is the founder of Baseball Notes, former professional player, host of the Youth Baseball Conference and creator of The Bulletproof Hitter.
Clint helps young ballplayers manage their nerves and perform better on gameday. For more info on the highly acclaimed program, click here.
About the Author Clint M McGill
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