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The "Do's" vs the "Don'ts"

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[quote][i]Originally posted by bfriendly[/i]
[br]First let me say that I am not a Professional instructor of any kind. However, I do understand the different between Practicing and Playing. Practice is when you work on "Fundamentals", until they become a "Feeling" of how you should perform in a given situation. Playing is when you Only focus on the "Feeling", and you [u]let it happen[/u].....let it happen!
 I used to play a lot of Golf and was so hooked, I read every Book I could find, practiced til my blisters had blisters and always paid attention to the Pros and what they said..........learning is Never ending.
When it comes to Baseball(My other love), the mental side is really No Different......No different at All.

I watched a Coach this past season yell at his kid over and over, DONT SWING at the HIGH ONES, DON'T Swing at the HIGH ONES.......when the next fastball came, it was level with his eyes, and the poor kid really had NO CHOICE, but to swing at that HIGH Pitch and he struck out. His dad went ballistic, and could not figure out WHY he swung at a HIG PITCH when he was just told not to. 
 [u]Your mind does Not understand the difference between DO and DONT[/u]. It merely focuses on the task at hand and the "Subject" of the current thought. THAT is why the young man Saw the High Pitch and Reacted TO it.......he had no choice
 Lets say you are standing on the Tee with a Big lake in front of you, Driver in hand. You really have two Though Options. First you can think "Don't hit it in the lake, Don't hit it in the lake"....Where do you think your ball will end up with That thought?
 Or, you can look for a Little spot in the fairway on the other side of the lake and focus on that. It could be anything. The white 150 yd marker, a tree, a bunker, anything so long as it is a Small target and its on the other side of the lake; best case scenario is you forget there even is a lake in front of you. [u]Put ALL of your focus on that "Little" spot[/u], go through your routine(Which you Practiced until it became a routine) and hit the ball before you let your mind wonder off and go back to the lake......if your mind goes back to focusing on the lake, step away and start over.....A Batter/Pitcher's routine should be No Different! Call time and step out, or Step Off the rubber! Ever see a Pro do that? YES you have, we All have!
 Even at this age the best skilled team will never do well without Proper thoughts......That being said, even proper thoughts will lead to disaster if there are too many of them being poured upon an athlete at the same time. One, maybe two thoughts......no more. Even if there are Two thoughts, they should be one leading into the other. Not simultaneously active if that makes sense......
 Also, when you send your Pitcher or Batter that one short single thought phrase or word, it should "Trigger" a "Feeling" that you have worked on in practice.
 My son and I work a lot on his baseball, pitching, hitting, fielding.......if he is flying open when he pitches, I tell him "Stay Square" vs DON'T fly open.....I tell him to "Stay Back" versus, Don't let your hips go forward when he is batting....."Smooth" is always a good phrase and My kid knows that means to keep his eyes/vision smooth, versus don't let your eyes be shaking.
 I know I rambled quite a bit, but I have seen so many times where parents and coaches alike focus too much on the DON'TS when they should be focusing on the DO's!

BTW- I LOVE this place!
[/quote]

T O P I C R E V I E W
bfriendly	Posted - 06/24/2015 : 12:45:58 First let me say that I am not a Professional instructor of any kind. However, I do understand the different between Practicing and Playing. Practice is when you work on "Fundamentals", until they become a "Feeling" of how you should perform in a given situation. Playing is when you Only focus on the "Feeling", and you let it happen.....let it happen! I used to play a lot of Golf and was so hooked, I read every Book I could find, practiced til my blisters had blisters and always paid attention to the Pros and what they said..........learning is Never ending. When it comes to Baseball(My other love), the mental side is really No Different......No different at All. I watched a Coach this past season yell at his kid over and over, DONT SWING at the HIGH ONES, DON'T Swing at the HIGH ONES.......when the next fastball came, it was level with his eyes, and the poor kid really had NO CHOICE, but to swing at that HIGH Pitch and he struck out. His dad went ballistic, and could not figure out WHY he swung at a HIG PITCH when he was just told not to. Your mind does Not understand the difference between DO and DONT. It merely focuses on the task at hand and the "Subject" of the current thought. THAT is why the young man Saw the High Pitch and Reacted TO it.......he had no choice Lets say you are standing on the Tee with a Big lake in front of you, Driver in hand. You really have two Though Options. First you can think "Don't hit it in the lake, Don't hit it in the lake"....Where do you think your ball will end up with That thought? Or, you can look for a Little spot in the fairway on the other side of the lake and focus on that. It could be anything. The white 150 yd marker, a tree, a bunker, anything so long as it is a Small target and its on the other side of the lake; best case scenario is you forget there even is a lake in front of you. Put ALL of your focus on that "Little" spot, go through your routine(Which you Practiced until it became a routine) and hit the ball before you let your mind wonder off and go back to the lake......if your mind goes back to focusing on the lake, step away and start over.....A Batter/Pitcher's routine should be No Different! Call time and step out, or Step Off the rubber! Ever see a Pro do that? YES you have, we All have! Even at this age the best skilled team will never do well without Proper thoughts......That being said, even proper thoughts will lead to disaster if there are too many of them being poured upon an athlete at the same time. One, maybe two thoughts......no more. Even if there are Two thoughts, they should be one leading into the other. Not simultaneously active if that makes sense...... Also, when you send your Pitcher or Batter that one short single thought phrase or word, it should "Trigger" a "Feeling" that you have worked on in practice. My son and I work a lot on his baseball, pitching, hitting, fielding.......if he is flying open when he pitches, I tell him "Stay Square" vs DON'T fly open.....I tell him to "Stay Back" versus, Don't let your hips go forward when he is batting....."Smooth" is always a good phrase and My kid knows that means to keep his eyes/vision smooth, versus don't let your eyes be shaking. I know I rambled quite a bit, but I have seen so many times where parents and coaches alike focus too much on the DON'TS when they should be focusing on the DO's! BTW- I LOVE this place!
8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
bfriendly	Posted - 07/03/2015 : 22:55:56 quote: Originally posted by SoxIn7 There are studies on do vs. don't and it isn't just in baseball, but in everything we do. Quick test: Have a conversation with someone and tell yourself, don't ask any close ended questions. Repeat it to yourself in your mind.....then count how many close ended questions you actually asked. You will be surprised by the result!! Well said, Or maybe not surprised at allI picked it up in the Mental approach type books that were Golf related Written by Bob Rotela. I totally agree. He coached Basketball players as well as many athletes from many sports...........no reason it would not apply to Everyday life as well. I highly recommend "Golf is Not a game of Perfect" for anyone wanting to read some good stuff and it really gives insights on how some professional HOF people have thunk their way to the top.
SoxIn7	Posted - 07/03/2015 : 10:57:54 There are studies on do vs. don't and it isn't just in baseball, but in everything we do. Quick test: Have a conversation with someone and tell yourself, don't ask any close ended questions. Repeat it to yourself in your mind.....then count how many close ended questions you actually asked. You will be surprised by the result!!
GeorgiaBoy	Posted - 06/26/2015 : 12:28:22 Every kid is different... What works for your son may not work for another... I do however believe that inception; particularly in baseball is helpful... Thinking about what to do rather than what not to do seems to be the path to success more often than not... Even though your saying don't do something and your son is succeeding, that success could be coming in spite of you and not because of you, and will be fleeting once competition catches up and he needs more... What to do,rather than,what not to do,type of coaching...
CaCO3Girl	Posted - 06/26/2015 : 08:58:20 I think the point teddy41 that the poster was trying to make is that there are more constructive things to say to get the kid to remember his training. I'm rather fond of "It has to be in YOUR box kid", which hopefully will remind the batter where HIS strike zone actually is without drawing attention to the high one he wants to swing at, it's out of his box so he needs to ignore it.
bfriendly	Posted - 06/26/2015 : 00:47:19 quote: Originally posted by teddy41 why is any parent talking to their kid during a game?? I think we found the problem Knowing pitch selection is part of the game a hitter better learn or he will never hit. Saying DO hit a strike is no different than saying lay off the high ones. Chances are the kid has been swinging at bad pitches all year. It is like saying Wait on the Ball..chances are kid swings way early on everything and has weight on front foot. I commend you for not saying anything to your kid during a game, but "chances are" you Do say Something.....something.....I do see the parents that sit and will only say "Good job buddy", No matter what happens. But then again I was referring to coaches as much as Parents. However, IMHO there is a Huge Difference in saying "Look for something Belt high and go after it", vs dont swing at the high pitch.... but if telling yourself DON'T hit it in the lake works better for you, keep telling yourself that......Do's simply work better for me and that is what I will continue to focus on. I've also seen quite a few kids swinging way to early consistently. Telling them to wait(thats a Do) is different from "Dont swing early". Working with them to hit the ball to the opposite field(and making them use that approach)seems to help too.
teddy41	Posted - 06/25/2015 : 17:11:51 why is any parent talking to their kid during a game?? I think we found the problem Knowing pitch selection is part of the game a hitter better learn or he will never hit. Saying DO hit a strike is no different than saying lay off the high ones. Chances are the kid has been swinging at bad pitches all year. It is like saying Wait on the Ball..chances are kid swings way early on everything and has weight on front foot.
GeorgiaBoy	Posted - 06/25/2015 : 09:52:18 Good stuff
bballman	Posted - 06/24/2015 : 15:23:31 Great post bfriendly. Really like what you had to say.

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