My oldest son’s team, the Bismarck Marlins, took a bit of beating tonight. Unfortunately most of it was self-inflicted. He pitched two innings and did a pretty decent job. In his first inning he delivered three strikeouts in a row and then the next time he took the mound… something happened. He got inside his own head.
I know from experience that as soon as this happens he starts to ‘lose it’ and becomes more agitated. Instead of resetting and focusing he starts to think too much about what he’s doing instead of relying on what he’s been conditioned to do. If he can master the head games of baseball he’ll be one unstoppable player. I’m really proud of the job he does regardless of his performance because in the long run he’s learning how to overcome some pretty big mental hurdles in order to succeed with the physical ones.