You see, managing what is going on in a player's mind is enormous.
But there's two ways a player's emotions are influenced.
The first is through his own thoughts, which we've touched on already.
And the second is by what he is told.
Mom and Dad, if you want your son to play like a Lovejoy, YOU have to make some adjustments as well.
And this isn't a "Oh hey say nice things to your kid because this is just a game and it's the right thing to do."
There's a little bit of that involved, but this is more of "This is what is effective in getting your child to perform at his best."
4. Ask Questions - Don't Instruct
How does the ride home sound in your car?
When little Jones has a sub par game, he gets in the car and the instructing begins...
"Your stance looked too narrow today, make sure you get wider."
"Remember what we worked on practice? You didn't do that today."
"You're hitting a lot of pop ups, we need to hit the middle of the ball."
And Dad isn't wrong about any of these statements, but the fact remains...
...is that this isn't helping.
So little Jones came to the game nervous, made some mistakes and is now hearing all about it in the car.
SOUNDS LIKE FUN!!
But these problems need to be addressed, right?
So, what does the Lovejoy family car ride look like?
Talking with Jono Armold, pitching coach with the Texas Rangers and holder of a Masters degree in Behavioral Psychology ...
...and all around great dude...
...his studies showed that players - like most everyone alive - don't like being told what to do.
(Shocker, I know)
But what they don't mind is being asked questions.
"How were you feeling out there today?"
"What do you think went well today?"
"What could have gone better?"
By asking questions, little Lovejoy is encouraged to take ownership of his own growth and improvement.
Because he's prompted to think about how to improve, he is not feeling embarrassed about his mistakes.
Instead of focusing on all of the mistakes like the Jones' car, the Lovejoy are focusing on solutions and improvement.
And do you really want to know the magic of asking questions?
This one is so important...
It's this:
Little Lovejoy almost always comes to the same conclusion that Dad wanted to tell him about in the first place.
So while Mr. Lovejoy is empowering his son and is now looking for new ways to strengthen his son's confidence...
Mr. Jones is suggesting more batting practice.
"We'll get some extra swings in the cage. That will help iron it out."
But you tell me...
Will more swings in the cage fix the Jones' problem?
So who do you relate to?
I've been a Jones and I'm living life currently as Lovejoy.
And it's good.
It's definitely better.
There are REAL methods you can use to help your son manage his emotions.
And as you know, he's *so* close to being great.
He just has to get over that hump.
He just needs a little help.
So I've put together a training that your son has been missing out on.
And before I get into the details of the program, I want you to know one thing:
It just works.
I've been so excited about the feedback we've gotten from parents so far, because our kids - YOUR KID - want so badly to play well...
...and you'll spend hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars in lessons and equipment...
and nothing on what is ACTUALLY holding him back.
Before today, you didn't know of an alternative - I know I didn't.
But your eyes are open now...
...and right now you have the opportunity to step up and give your son (or daughter:) a MAJOR dose of positive mindset, encouragement and emotional control training that he so desperately needs.
And all it takes is just a SINGLE concept to connect with your son to turn him into a totally different player on gameday...
...to go from a Jones to a Lovejoy.
Here's an email from a recent Bulletproof Hitter student:
So cool!