Pilates For Baseball

There are many components that contribute to an effective tennis-training programme but whilst most people will readily mention strength, endurance, flexibility, speed etc one of the most important yet understated components is variety.

Your body is fantastically adaptive in as much as if you repeat the same thing over and over you will adapt and it will become the norm (an important factor in learning), however if you perform the same workout routine (no matter how good it is) it will eventually prove counter productive as all initial gains you make plateau and there will be no overload and any gains will be reversed.

Think of it another way, if you play your favourite song over and over again for too long it will eventually lose its early appeal.

This is where using other sports and methods of training (or cross-training as it is known), is important.

For the pro players that I work with, participating in other sports keeps them physically and mentally fresh (they obviously play so much tennis) whilst still promoting a training stimulus.

For my junior players (minis included) as well as my recreational adults (some very serious and not too recreational by the way), it is a way of training many of the fitness components critical for tennis away from the tennis environment whilst still retaining a competitive games – based edge. This is especially true of the “mini” juniors for whom early “specialisation” in a single sport has been shown to be counterproductive.

Here are some ideas to either spice up or enhance a program you are currently doing, or to get you started on a new one.

1. Participate in sports such as basketball, soccer, baseball or volleyball.

All these sports have the stop-start repeated sprint tempo that tennis requires with soccer providing a multidirectional agility-training stimulus that is vital for effective court coverage. Although basketball and volleyball include many directional changes as well, they have a large leg power component to them through the repeated jumping that takes place.

Baseball has many useful tennis related aspects to it such as pitching and getting the ball from base to base (which are throwing actions like the tennis serve) and sliding to make base can be very useful when you come to play on clay where sliding is a vital component for success.

2. Use outdoor activities.

Cardio training can be achieved by running, hiking (also good for leg strength), skating (balance and agility), skipping (co-ordination), cycling and swimming, to mention just a few. If you are in a park you could use equipment such as benches, balance beams, monkey bars, rope climbs etc. to do body weight driven exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, balancing, step-ups, squat jumps, tricep dips, calf raises, etc.

As always start slowly and at your own pace and progress slowly increasing the length and/or intensity as you improve.

So, with a little thought and creativity you can combine all the fitness components necessary for improving tennis performance into workouts that take place away from your normal tennis environment, thereby allowing you to be physically and sometimes more importantly mentally fresh every time you step back on the court to play a match or have a lesson.

Who knows you may even find yourself having fun whist getting fitter and improving your tennis!

Before starting any exercise program, always be sure to first consult your physician.

What does it take to have “the perfect game?” Every athlete of any sport knows what those three words mean, and they may spend their entire career trying to have that one flawless performance. Many young athletes have trouble with consistency in sports performances, and have no clue why. They may come into the season in great shape, possessing the well-refined skills that there sport requires, having a solid game plan intact, having eaten well and getting antiquate sleep all week, but still having inconsistency during competition. What is the missing ingredient? The answer lies within the skull. Sports psychology is one of the most overlooked and underrated aspects of sports performances. Many psychological factors, such as memory, focus, arousal level, anxiety and stress can drastically effect a sports performance.

Attention in Sport

According to William James, attention is “the taking possession by mind in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneous possible objects or trains of thought.” (Huang & Lynch, 1992)

Memory can be held in one of three basic systems. The sensory regular system holds large amounts of information for a short period of time. Long-term memory holds smaller amounts of information for a long period of time, and the short-term memory system is the crossroad between the two. (Cox, 1998) To put these in perspective, the long-term memory would hold a skill, such as dribbling a basketball. The short-term memory would hold the scouting report of the opposing team. The sensory regular system would be responsible for in game awareness, such as the tempo of the game and adjusting to opposing player’s strengths.

Athletes must respond in some way to their environmental situation. The larger the amount of information being conveyed makes a situation more difficult to respond to. However, through careful analysis, the difficulty of a situation can be reduced. (Cox, 1998) For example, lets compare two baseball players with equal talent. Player A has done his homework on his upcoming opponent. He knows that the pitcher he will be facing is a lefty who loves to throw a fastball that reaches 85 mph. He also throws in a changeup at 70 mph and a splitter that breaks to the left. Player B shows up to the game having no knowledge on his opponent. The amount of information that player A will have to take in while batting is considerably less than player B. Naturally, he will have a higher rate of success, for he has a better idea of what to expect.

Information content can also be reduced with skill level. The more refined an athlete’s skill is in a game situation, the less information he or she must account for. (Cox, 1998)

Anxiety

Anxiety is another contributing factor in a sports performance. There are two basic types of anxiety that apply: somatic and cognitive state anxiety. Somatic anxiety is the physical component of anxiety. It is the butterflies in the stomach feeling before a game. A certain degree of somatic anxiety is perfectly healthy.

Cognitive anxiety on the other hand, can be costly. It is the mental component of anxiety that causes feelings of worry, self-doubt and loss of self-esteem.

Before a sports performance, certain levels of both anxiety types are to be expected, increasing in intensity as the event draws closer. During the performance, intensity should change. Somatic anxiety is best in the middle; levels that are too high or too low can hurt a performance. Cognitive anxiety can prove to be more costly at higher levels.

Arousal

Of course, each athlete perceives anxiety differently. The athlete must work to find his or her own optimal level of arousal. (Cox, 1994)

Arousal refers to the degree of activation of the organs and mechanisms that are under control of the body’s autonomic nervous system. More specifically, the sympathetic nervous system is primarily responsible for the changes in bodily functions associated with arousal. This system is activated by stimuli from the environment that are perceived as threatening.

Arousal level has a direct effect on attentional narrowing. Increased arousal has a narrowing effect on attention. Sports that require a broad focus must have lower levels of arousal. Oppositely, decreased arousal has a broadening effect on attention; therefore sports that require a narrow focus must have higher levels of arousal.

Finding the right level of focus depends on the sport being played or action being carried out. (Cox, 1998) If one has too low an arousal level, the may be easily distracted by things that do not apply to the game. If arousal level is too high, the athlete may be too focused on one aspect of the game, and will forget other important aspects. For example, a golfer may worry too much about hitting the ball hard that he forgets his mechanics, and hooks the ball far to the left.

Selective attention is another important characteristic of a successful athlete. Having the ability to weed out unnecessary information and focus on tasks in demand is a skill that can be learned. It is helpful to understand this concept with the focus chart. Imagine two perpendicular lines. At the ends of the vertical line lies external focus and internal focus. At the ends of the horizontal line lies broad focus and narrow focus. (Hatfield, 2004) As mentioned before, different sports require different levels of focus, and even within a sport, different positions may require different levels of focus. A quarterback would need to broaden focus in order to scan the field and see all of his receivers. A cornerback (defensive player who’s primary responsibility is to cover receivers) would have a narrow focus. A quarterback with too narrow a focus may throw a ball without seeing the defender in position to intercept the pass. A corner with too broad a focus would be susceptible to loosing sight of his man, and give up a big play. Finding the right balance of broad/narrow and internal/external focus for a particular assignment in a sport is key to success.

After suffering a setback during a game, it is important for the athlete to keep from loosing focus. Refocusing after a miscue, bad call, or any distraction can be the difference between a good player and a champion. First, one must displace the negative thoughts with positive ones. Second, they should center attention internally, and make minor adjustments in arousal level. Then, one must shift focus externally on the task at hand. At this point, the athlete has hopefully forgotten the distraction and is ready to execute. (Loehr, 1994)

Mental toughness is a term thrown around expendably by youth coaches and PE teachers. The fact is that acquiring the components of mental toughness is necessary to become a great athlete. Toughness can be understood by four categories. First, an athlete must be emotionally flexible. He/she must have the ability to roll with the unexpected emotional turns in a sporting event. The athlete must be emotionally responsive, being able to keep game awareness under pressure. The athlete must be emotionally strong, having the ability to exert and resist great force and keep striving for victory under pressure. Lastly, the athlete must be emotionally resilient, by bouncing back quickly from mistakes. These abilities can be learned. The best way to improve as an athlete is to recognize weaknesses, and practice correcting them. (Loehr, 1994)

The balance of stress and recovery are another component that affects an athlete. In our terms, stress is anything that takes energy, and recovery is anything that restores energy. There are three types: physical, mental and emotional. Stress can be from running, jumping and moving (physical), focusing, problem solving and thinking (mental) or anger, fear, depression and frustration (emotional). Recovery can be eating, drinking and sleeping (mental), decreasing focus and increasing fantasy and creativity (mental), or relief, positive feelings, fun and self-esteem (emotional). All three types of stress are interconnected. Excess in one area can affect all three. (Hatfield, 2004) This is why a balance is needed between stress and recovery. An athlete must push him/herself in order to grow in all three areas, but must also allow time for adequate recovery.

Reaching the Zone

Reaching the zone, which is also referred to as “flow,” is the most rewarding feeling for an athlete. There are several defining characteristics. First, it requires the ability to perform all necessary skills for a specific sport simultaneously. Second, there must be a merging of action and awareness. Third, goals must be clearly defined, which basically means knowing the sport and the game plan. Next, the athlete must receive clear feedback from coaches and teammates. Then, there must be a sense of control without trying. There will be a loss of self-awareness, as well as a loss of time awareness. The end result is referred to as an autotelic experience, a self-contained activity done simply because the activity itself is the reward. (Cox.1998)

It is in the zone that optimal levels of performance can be experienced. If an athlete can attain and maintain this state, the perfect game may be in his/her hands.

My Personal Journey

For me, the mental aspect of sports has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride. Naturally being a highly competitive individual, I learned early on that I was destined to be a jock. In my younger years, my extreme competitiveness and aggressiveness was a double-edged sword. I often fouled out of basketball games, and even got into a few scuffles during soccer games. My temper would rage when the ball was not bouncing my way.

Eventually I learned to curve my temper, and I found a sport that fit my personality, football. At first I was unaware of the psychological aspects of the sports. During games, it all seemed the same to me. The only thing I knew is that I would do anything to win. It was the mental preparation aspect that always troubled me. After a few seasons, I decided that I needed to obtain a certain mental state before the game to optimize my performance. Right before we hit the field, I would think about all of the things that angered me, and would work myself up to a state of rage. Sometimes this strategy would benefit (when it did, it was short lasting), and other times I would play out of control.

It wasn’t until my senior year of football that I really began to focus on mental strategies. Before each game, I needed to reach the most gratifying mental state: the zone. My body would feel loose and powerful. I would react without thinking about moving. I would have an intense focus on the task at hand. Lastly, my emotions would be under control, but ready to explode at any minute, in other words, a controlled rage.

Through trial and error, I found that there were a few things that I could do to reach the zone. The morning of the game, I would be sure to wake up with a little bit of anger. Throughout the day I would carry an edgy demeanor. I would avoid having conversations with people, and would stay relatively low key. As the game approached, I would gradually focus my thoughts. I would visualize myself doing my assignments. When we hit the locker room, I would find a quiet corner and listen to music. During warm-ups my focus would shift to my body. I ensured that every joint and muscle was as prepared as possible for the battle ahead. During the game, my mind would naturally focus solely on the game. I noticed that my pre-game anxiousness would usually subside after the opening kickoff. I would keep myself focused mainly on my assignment, but was always conscious of the game time, down and distance, and what the opposing team was doing. I can vividly remember many altercations I had with teammates and opposing players, but I would could completely lose consciousness of external events.

Looking back, I cannot remember ever hearing the crowd, the band or the announcer. During the game I was usually very critical of my performance. I would usually talk to myself, referring to myself in third person. If I did something good, I would yell out “ that a baby, that’s the way you play.” I would also yell at myself if I made a mistake. A few times I got into trouble with referees for yelling out profanities. I would also yell at myself if I felt lax, or if I felt I was losing focus. After big games, I could remember being emotionally drained. A few times I could not even put together sentences because of the amount of physical and emotional stress I had endured. Looking back, I now realize that most of the emotional stress was self-inflicted.

After researching this topic, I have come to realize that I had many weaknesses in my psychological approach to sports. My main struggle had to do with dealing with failure. I had always considered myself a mentally tough athlete, but according to the definition, I am not completely resilient. I was never good at forgetting a mistake. Instead, I would become angry, and my arousal level would become so high that I would sometimes focus on causing physical harm to my opponent, and lose sight of my assignment. Fortunately this strategy worked a few times, for I would become more physically imposing than usual, but other times it got me into trouble.

I also wish I had understood the concept of arousal level. I always thought that the more fired up I was, that the better I would perform. Looking back, I can recall a few instances in which my intense focus led to disaster. In a game against our cross-town rivals, I became extremely aroused after having made a big hit. The next play I was so focused on stopping another run play, that I forgot about the receiver I was covering, and he caught a ball over my head for a first down. If I had broadened my focus, it would have been an easy stop. Overall, I can relate my experience fairly closely to the material I have researched. I had never thought about game mentality in terms of something that could be studied. However, reading through the concepts was an enlightening experience; many of my theories had been confirmed, and the reason for many of my struggles became clear.

The contents of this essay described several aspects of sports psychology. Topics included memory as it relates to athletic performance, anxiety types and intensity of anxiety, arousal levels and focus, the benefit of selective attention, refocusing, defining mental toughness, balancing stress and recovery, defining components of “the zone,” and lastly my personal experience with the mental aspects of sports. Like any other scientific field, sports psychology is ever changing. What may hold true today is susceptible to revision at any time. What is without question, however, is the impact that mental state and emotion can have on an athlete’s performance.

Works Cited

Cox, R.J. (1998). Sport Psychology, Concepts and Applications. St. Louis: McGraw Hill Hatfield, F.C. (2004). Fitness, the Complete Guide. Carpenteria, CA: Txul-157-866 Frederick C. Hatfield

Huang, C. & Lynch J. (1992). Thinking Body, Dancing Mind. Bantam Books: New York

Loehr, J.E. (1994). The New Toughness Training for Sports. Dutton Books: New York

Team apparel is what gives the team an identity and a personality, adding the final touch making them ready for the match. The team apparel should be of a bright color and each of the jerseys, caps and other accessories must have the names and numbers of all the players. This is what helps the audience identify them from up on the stands. Also, after a while if a player has been performing amazingly well, his number becomes very popular and fans start looking to buy a jersey or T shirt with the number on it. Children especially love to wear T shirts and jackets with their favorite star players name or number. This gives them a newfound confidence and draws respect from their friends. Each and every team in the various sports played across the world has a unique color code, pattern and style that they follow.

Sometimes it is specified by the governing board, while other times, they simply follow a tradition. The number 23 in football world is identified with David Beckham of England who is very popular for his performance on the field and for his good looks. This can be seen in the movie that was released where a young girl aspired to become like him. Such is the impact of sports memorabilia and the apparel worn by the players. There are various company that offer to make the team apparels based on the specification given by the team’s manager or head. Football, basketball, baseball,hockey,volleyball are all sports that have uniforms and the players wear same color style outfits. In fact every team has a cheer leading squad who are also fitted with their own specially made team apparels. There are some other events which involve individual participation, but they might be representing a country, in which case the clothes they wear will be uniform for all from that country, this can be seen in athletics or gymnastics.

For volleyball, the players are required to wear a collared T shirt and a pair of shorts, and similarly every sport has its own set of rules of how the uniform should be. Based on this, the companies will manufacture the team jerseys and T shirts. Depending on the requirement of the game, and rules applied the team apparel should be made. For example, in a Wimbledon tournament, players are instructed to wear only white colored outfits, and so based on their needs, team apparels, are created. It is therefore essential to adhere to the rules of the game, the necessity and style that would best suit the sport. They outfits must be neat, smart looking, comfortable and not very fancy. If all these criteria are worked on, then the players will be able to focus on the game instead of on what they are wearing. In most sports, players will have two kinds of team apparels, one that they were during the match and other type worn for practice sessions and during warm ups.

The game is the real genius, and grapplers and combat athletes are the talent who execute the game.

Do you agree with this?

A game is a complex combination of techniques, defense moves, pace, structure, and scoring mechanisms. All games have a winner and a loser. What gets a large section of society interested in a particular game in the first place is quite an enigma. All of the many factors about the game-the competitiveness, the speed, the aggression, and the skill required–capture the imagination of people and bring them out in droves to watch a match.

Why some players take to grappling and combat athletics while others play baseball or basketball is a mystery. It’s a question of opportunity, childhood exposure to the game, mindset to handle the rigors of a particular game, interest in the game process, physical fitness to play the game, and so on

However, the main thing an athlete must keep in mind is that the genius lies in the fine art of the sport perfected over thousands of years, played by thousands of players before you, and yet to be played by thousands after you. You are merely the talent that takes the game forward and brings entertainments to thousands of people. It is the power of the game, its nuances and techniques, and the sheer enjoyment of the mechanics of the game that is the real crowd puller. If you are a “star,” then it means that you are the person with the ability to execute the game the way it is meant to be played, but the game itself will always be “King.”

The mindset of a sportsperson in addition to all the mental preparation has to be humble enough to acknowledge the greatness of the sport. You playa big role, but that’s only if you take the time to understand the game thoroughly. When fans cheer you, they are definitely saluting you for a game well played. But remember, they are there because they love the game. If the game did not appeal to them, they would not be there.

Required Mindset

“Attitude-Ego” Syndrome

This problem can be best explained with the storyline in the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire.

Jerry Maguire was a big hit and everybody remembers the famous catch phrase in the movie -”show me the money.” This movie made a subtle statement on the psyche of sports professional.

Let’s take a look.

Tom Cruise played Jerry Maguire, a slick and successful sports agent who finds himself out of a job after writing an idealistic “mission statement” on caring for clients (sports professionals). Jerry Maguire manages to retain one client Rod Tidwell, played by Cuba Gooding Jr. The Rod Tidwell character is a football player with a chip on his shoulder who hassles Jerry to “show me the money.” He wants an attractive contract and believes that his image is strong enough for him to endorse big brand names. Rod Tidwell behaves in a brash manner and does not play well enough for Jerry to swing big deals for him. Tidwell is the best wide receiver in the NFL, but because of his big ego and attitude problem, no mega-buck contract or big-time endorsements come his way. Jerry has the task of making him a star, despite his behavior.

After a particularly poor performance, Jerry gives Tidwell a “dressing down” on his poor attitude that is jeopardizing his game. Rod Tidwell ultimately goes through a transformation and polishes up his performance. He also becomes a team player and raises the morale of the entire team. And with good performance, he also gets to sign a lucrative deal-one he was initially after when he asked Jerry to “show me the money.”

What do we learn from this story? The sport that you choose to play has to receive its due in terms of commitment to preparation and performance. There are no short cuts. To play the game well you have to have the right attitude in addition to all the practice you undergo. To be noticed and singled out, your dedication to the game has to be evident. When you recognize that the “pure science” of the game is the real hero, you will set aside your ego and instead play for the sheer love of your sport.

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