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Extra Inning Softball has partnered with former DI softball coach Julie Jones (Akron, Cleveland State) and current Mental Performance and Mindset Coach to help give athletes, coaches and others in the softball world the “Mental Edge.”
Julie spent 26 years leading Division I softball programs with her mission being simple: to build smarter students, stronger athletes and better people.
Today, she also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Ursuline College teaching well-being and performance, mindset training, athletic coaching and career development courses in both the undergraduate and graduate studies programs.
Continuing her work of helping student-athletes reach their goals on and off the field, Julie regularly sends Mindset Made Simple Tips to players and coaches across the country as well as posting them on her site, SSB Performance.
Today’s “Mindset Made Simple” details when it’s best to take a momentary break in the action, to stop, regather, focus and pause.
Sometimes, it’s best to push ahead and go full speed in attacking the situation but sometimes it may be best to gather one’s thoughts in a moment of stress… to “pray” instead of “panic!
Keep reading below for more (or watch her cover it in the video version on YouTube!):
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Although the snow falling outside my window says otherwise, we are in the heart of college softball season and if you aren’t watching any of the great ESPN coverage, you are missing out!
It is a GREAT game for TV, and it is ripe with examples of controlling controllables, pre-performance routines and so many other mental tools…and sometimes lack thereof!
I got a chance to watch a few innings of the Notre Dame/Clemson game on Saturday, April 16. It was a great game and tied 1 – 1 in the 4th. After a double and a hit by pitch, Clemson had two on and a 3-2 count.
Notre Dame’s pitcher, Shannon Becker, who had just hit a batter had lost control of the at bat, running the count full. Even though a hitter statistically has a little more than 2 of 10 chance of getting a hit in this count, pitchers feel immense pressure not to make a mistake here (and are probably thinking about what not to do instead of what TO DO)! Hitters are swinging at anything close and too close means a run!
What happened next made me stop and rewind to watch again!
The pitcher STOPPED!
She turned her back to the plate. She systematically bent down. She picked up a handful of dirt. She stood up. She threw the dirt back to the ground. She raised her chin and took a deep breath! She paused. And when she was ready, she went back to work!
It didn’t matter if the pitch was ready to be signaled in. It didn’t matter if the batter was standing in the box ready to go.
She TOOK SOME TIME to gather, refocus and PAUSE!
The result? She threw a great pitch. Inning over! No runs, one hit, two left on. The score remained 1 – 1!
You’re thinking, I see athletes do this all the time! Me, too!
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Nothing is guaranteed, but I am certain that this intentional “time-out” on the mound changed her focus and allowed her to set her emotion aside and strategically think about what to do next (and I am not referring to thinking about mechanics or what she wanted to avoid…I mean thinking about what she wanted to do).
But more often than not, you and I both see athletes, our colleagues or anyone, for that matter…press on and try to work themselves out of the pressured situation by sheer might or digging in deeper.
I ask players if they have a “reset” or a “refocus” routine and many say they do. Because I admittedly wonder if they use them, I then ask a few more questions!
What do you do? What are you saying to yourself during that routine? Do you use it in practice? Have you ever seen yourself do it?
I have videos of many of the athletes with whom I work. I also have written notes, either their notes or my notes, that say what they do. I then watch the video and see something different than what is in our notes…I usually see no routine at all! And even if I see the physical routine, I can see that the mental moves are not fostering a “reset” but that inner voice is still causing chatter that keeps our mind distracted, even when our body is picking up dirt, throwing it down, etc.
In other words, we can do things to “reset” and still be thinking about things that impede our performance!
As I was driving to church on Sunday, I heard something that rings true in our lives and our performance. So often when pressure mounts, the pastor said, we choose to panic instead of choosing to pray.
Think about your demeanor in both instances. What do you feel like in panic mode? What do you feel like in prayer mode?
Notre Dame’s pitcher CHOSE to “pray”…or pause instead of panic!
Think about your experience. How often would a timely pause (or prayer) have kept you from digging yourself deeper into a hole?
The key is that we need a system to do this. We aren’t just going to say… “oh…I should take a pause” in the middle of any type of fight.
As I watch my teams and others work, no matter what the sport or the stakes, I see athletes rush through or move on so quickly that they miss an all-important opportunity to regroup.
I realize that some situations call for reactions… “This is no time to start thinking!” Amy Kyler, head coach at Cleveland State and my former player and assistant yelled out to the mound years ago!
But sometimes, we need to RESET OUR THINKING…or our EMOTIONS.
I finally learned at some point in my career that when I went crazy about a call or a play, I missed the next one…at least! If this was happening to me, an adult with a fully mature brain (don’t go there 😊), how long does it take our athletes to rebound? One play, two plays, to games?
As Viktor Frankl so eloquently states in Man’s Search for Meaning, “between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
Whether we decide to pause or pray, deciding what we will do when the pressure mounts is critical. Also important is becoming aware of what gets us off our game. Is it a missed goal, a turnover, a walk, a swing and miss?
It then turns into an equation. When _______ , I __________. But it MUST BE PRACTICED!
We use a physical motion, a deep breath when looking at a predetermined spot around us, a reset word or phrase and a final thought, image or feeling that helps us remain present and makes primes our mind for success.
It can be as simple as a deep breath, looking up, tightening our fists and releasing them on an exhale. Or doing what Dr. Pat Hill says I did every time I walked into our office in grad school…deep breath, exhale…and a verbal “ok!”.
What we choose as we PAUSE is not as important as where we are during our PAUSE. A pause with a full mind is not a pause at all. A pause with an intentional mind is the key!
How do you PAUSE? Then think about how those you lead pause…or could benefit from it. It won’t work every time, but it will put you a much better position to compete at your best – which is critical for success!
Manage moments and have a great week!
Julie
To learn more from Julie check out her social media sites below; to contact her personally, she can be reached via email at: juliej@ssbperformance.com
SSB Performance:
Website: www.ssbperformance.com
Facebook: /ssbperformance
Twitter: @SSBMindset
Instagram: /ssbperformance