No matter how many games youth players have played in or how
well they can perform physically on the field or what mental edge
they might possess, one thing is for certain: the game of baseball
is played one pitch at a time. The sooner young players realize
that pitches take care of outs, outs take care of innings, and
innings take care of games, the sooner they
’ll become more relaxed and focused.
No matter how many games youth players have played in or how well they can perform physically on the field or what mental edge they might possess, one thing is for certain: the game of baseball is played one pitch at a time. The sooner young players realize that pitches take care of outs, outs take care of innings, and innings take care of games, the sooner they’ll become more relaxed and focused.
Playing the game one pitch at a time consists of three basic steps: Players must trust the fundamentals they’ve learned and apply those in a game, plan what they’re going to do in a game, and maintain self-control in every situation.
In a game, the only thing a player can control is himself. And you must control yourself before you can control your performance. This is learning self-control. Before every pitch, each player should be aware of the situation, take a deep breath and make adjustments, if needed, to focus on the next pitch.
That means the pitcher, defensive players, and the hitter should be “checking in” on themselves to see if they’re ready to go. In the same context, players should recognize when they’re not in self-control mode and take some time to get there. Meltdowns must be avoided or slowly disappear from game to game. Putting too much pressure on every play or pitch is not fun for kids.
Planning what to do on every pitch should have two basic and simple requirements: Make it simple and make it clear. Pitchers should know where and what they’re going to throw, hitters might be thinking “hit the ball up the middle” or “make contact,” and fielders should be thinking about what they’re going to do if the ball is hit to them or where they’re going if it isn’t. There’s no need to get complicated.
Finally, players must trust what they’ve learned. This is the hardest thing for a youngster to grasp. They want to please mom and dad so badly that they put undue pressure on themselves and can’t relax. Therefore, they forget their plan and subsequently can’t perform. Losing self-control usually follows.
These players must take deep breaths, realize the game is played one pitch at a time, forget about pleasing mom and dad (parents will still always love their kids even if they fail), and trust and remember what their coaches have taught them. There will always be another at bat, another pitch, and another ground ball.
Focusing on one pitch at a time in a game is easier said than done, especially at the youth level. There are way too many distractions for players to overcome in the course of the game. There’s the umpire, the hitter, the other team, fans, parents, coaches and the smell of hot dogs from the snack bar. It’s enough to have a kid’s mind going every which way.
But if each player can grasp the fact that there will always be more games to play in, more pitches to make, and more at-bats to get, they’ll truly recognize that the game is really played one pitch at a time and that’s the one things they need to focus on.
