Mental vs. Physical Play: Both Matter

Posted in: Team Results

Monday, January 21, 2013

Mental vs. Physical Play: Both Matter

Everybody knows to be a good baseball player you need to have the physical skills and attributes. However, a lot of folks don’t realize a strong mental side is as important … if not more important. To be a complete player, you can’t have one without the other. For example, say I’m a great hitter. So I have the physical part down. But, what if I lose focus sometimes during at-bats? What if I don’t have a strong hitting work ethic off the field to improve my skills? Because of these things, I’m not maximizing my potential and won’t improve from my current point.

The mental side will end your career, if you allow it. Some sports players with solid mental sides are Tim Tebow, Ray Lewis, and Ray Rice from football. Baseball players include retired players like Roger Clemens, David Eckstein, and Cal Ripken Jr. and current players like Derek Jeter, Dustin Pedroia, Roy Holladay and Cliff Lee. These guys are great players at their respective sports. But without a strong mental side, they wouldn’t be who they are. At Dig In Baseball, we stress the mental approach as much as the physical and we try as much as possible to incorporate it into all we do in player development. On days where physically you can’t compete, the mental portion allows you to trudge on. If you show me a player who doesn’t use his mental side correctly, I’ll show you a player who isn’t maximizing potential, has a questionable work ethic and won’t be playing much longer. Mental and physical development are both huge in your growth as a player. To get everything out of the game, you want to work on both as much as you can. Top players are strong in both areas. Don’t you want to be the best?

When did your mental abilities pull you through at a time when your physical attributes let you down? What player do you emulate who has a strong mental approach to the game? Why? ~ By Coach Steve Ballance. Coach Balance has placed 14 players with professional ball clubs. Contact him at sballance@diginbaseball.com.