Inside Pitch: Softball Great Jessie Warren Discusses Pressure… Her 5 Tips on How to Handle It

Extra Inning Softball correspondent Jessica Warren was a college All-American at Florida State and, in 2018, the third baseman helped the Seminoles win the NCAA D1 National Championship.

After college, Jessi has been a professional player with the USSSA Pride and competed in Athletes Unlimited also.

Click HERE to read about Jessie’s thoughts about the Noles magical run five years ago…

In today’s “Inside Pitch,” she discusses something that every athlete will face: pressure and high-pressure situations.

Jessie shares five ways she’s found effective handle to handle pressure while competing and performing.

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As an athlete growing up, I had to figure out how to handle pressure quite quickly if I’m being quite honest.

If you’re an athlete, you know you need to develop skills and the ability to perform while there is pressure present, even in situations you’d never think you would never need to perform in or stay calm in. Having a championship mindset, or being a champion, requires you to make good decisions and to be able to think clearly while performing tasks while under pressure.

There are two types of athletes who reveal themselves while under pressure

1. those that allow the pressure to control them
2. those that thrive in those situations

Those that allow the pressure to control them sometimes experience so much pressure, they just feel they have to be successful in that moment, or they will have consequences. Like it’s a do or die situation.

Those types of moments can take a toll on athletes and create negative emotions and thoughts, and negatively impact that player’s performance. These feelings can make you lose count of your breath, make you panic and fail at things we have practiced and done 1,000 times in our careers.

Here are my five tips to better handle pressure while competing and performing:

1. Breathe

Breathing is the best way to calm your central nervous system. When your heart is beating fast, the best way to bring down a heart rate is breathing. We are at our most relaxed state of mind at the end of our exhale.

JUST KEEP BREATHING!

2. Remember: you’re going to have more opportunities

This isn’t the last opportunity you’re going to be presented, nor is it going to be the last pressurized situation you’re going to be in, so if you do fail, have a SO WHAT, mentality.

So what? You just did what you did… learn from it, move forward, and try your best again your next opportunity.

3. Process > Outcome

When we as athletes become outcome oriented, we often overthink, over-try, and fail.

Maintaining your focus on the process and falling back on your training, trusting that you’re prepared for the moment you’re in and that you’re doing the best you can. Staying focused is what you need to do to allow you to perform at your best.

4. Embrace the Moment

Learn to see these pressure situations as opportunities that’s going to challenge you to help you grow and rise to the occasion. When you’re in these high pressure situations, do they threaten you or do you see a challenge you’re ready to face? Something to look forward to and embrace or something you don’t want thrown your way that you absolutely dread?

This isn’t a do or die situation and viewing them as that is a cause for anxiety which drains your energy and blocks your ability to perform at your best. You are much more likely to be successful in these situations If you view them as something that is going to help you grow and something that is going to challenge you as an individual.

Fill your cup with these moments and embrace the emotions that come with them!

Check out this ESPN SportsCenter interview with Jessie after she helped her Seminoles win the 2018 WCWS:

5. Control what you can control

A lot of the time as athletes we often put pressure on ourselves by focusing on things we can’t control. This tends to cause performance anxiety and increase the pressure that we are feeling in the moment.

Things we can control during pressure situations are our effort, our attitude, our breath, our energy, our thoughts, what we see, our self-talk, our process and our game plan we set forth before game time started. There are so many things in our game that we can’t control, and focusing our time and energy on those things is just going to cause unnecessary pressure and energy exerted into things that will eventually effect our game.

Stay focused, mindful and control the things you’re able to control and watch how simple minded things become and how easily you’re able to handle pressured situations.

At the end of the day, we are playing a game that’s eventually going to end. Don’t find your identity in a game to the point of it becoming who you are, because at the end of the day you are so much more than a game, you just have to take the time and effort to figure out those things and the things you enjoy outside of this sport you love.

Send any thoughts, questions or story ideas you’d be interested in Jessi writing about to: info@extrainningsoftball.com