The Psychology of Batting

What isn’t Sport Psychology?

-         Analyse this!

-         Sitting on a couch talking about your father

-         Away from the pitch

Who Uses Sport Psychology?

-         Professional sportsmen / women – Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Steven Redgrave, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh

-         Professional sports teams / squads – England national squads / teams, Australian National Teams

-         Any team wishing to improve performance

What is Sport Psychology?

Developing your mental skills so that you can make the most of your technical and tactical ability.

		Tactical ability
Potential		Technical ability		Mental skills		Performance
		Physical ability

Concentration

Focus on what is relevant – i.e. the ball. How do we do this? – look at seam position, triggers, “zooming in box”

“All great players have concentration. And imagination”

Eric Cantona

Motivation

The drive to achieve something: we must know what we want to achieve and how we are going to achieve it.

“I’ve always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying: I never felt that I didn’t have a chance”

Arnold Palmer

Coping with Pressure / Nerves

Pressure and nerves make us do strange things = physically and mentally. This is natural – we can’t avoid it, but we must cope with it. The ability to cope and maintain technique and mental strength under pressure is what separates good players from excellent players. How often do you practice under pressure? What is your strategy when you are playing under pressure – do you change the way you think? The situation often makes us think differently, when what we really should do is keep doing the same things.

Confidence

Confidence underlies performance – without belief we won’t achieve.

“If I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t have achieved it”

Colin Montgomerie (after winning the European PGA title 6 times in a row)

“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them”

Michael Jordan

“its lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself”

Muhammed Ali

How do we improve confidence?

Imagery, though diaries, videos, pre match preparation

“My thoughts before a big race are usually pretty simple. I tell myself “ Get out of the blocks, run your race, stay relaxed. If you run your race, you’ll win…. Channel your energy. Focus”

Carl Lewis

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