Your Inner Assistant Coaches

I talk a lot about the "Inner Game" and the "Outer Game" of
baseball.

Amongst other things, the Outer Game has assistant coaches,
namely a pitching coach and a hitting coach. These coaches
have some power, but not control like the head coach or
manager.

If the pitching coach says to the manager, "We should take
Jones out," Jones doesn't come out right away. The manager
takes that information and decides for himself whether
Jones stays or showers.

Same with the hitting coach. He can make suggestions about
player moves, but the skipper makes the final call.

Lame is the manager who lets his assistants make the
important decisions.

The Inner Game has assistant coaches too. One is called
Feelings and one is called Thoughts.

Your "inner pitching coach," Feelings, may give you
information such as doubt, fear, or angst.

Your "inner hitting coach," Thoughts, may give you
information such as "You suck, You can't succeed at this
level, You can't hit, You can't pitch," etc.

But you don't have to buy it.

You are the skipper in your own Inner Game.

You can't always control what information your assistants
give you. But you have control what you do with the
information your assistant coaches (Feelings and Thoughts)
give you.

Most players let theses assistant coaches run the show.

They play according to what their Thoughts and Feelings
tell them.

This is what I call being a Victim.

The true player acknowledges the information his Thoughts
and Feelings are giving him, but he remains in control.

This is easier said then done.

Guess what I'm going to say is vital to being a powerful
Inner Game manager? What do you need to do to be able to be
Master and Commander of your inner ship?

Conditioning. Practice. Training. However you want to say
it.

You take control when you earn it. When you put yourself in
control.

The first thing you need is the awareness that your
thoughts and feelings make a huge difference on how you
play. And that you are not your thoughts and you are not
your feelings.

There is a "skipper" inside who can make choices
independent of your thoughts and feelings.

(Ever feel like hitting someone but didn't do it?)

You've got that awareness to some degree now reading this.

It's another thing to have the skill to over-ride your
Thoughts and Feelings and focus and trust yourself in spite
of feeling bad.

The tools you, your son, or your players need to be a great
manager for their Inner Game is available fr-ee in my
Confidence Conditioning for Baseball program -- when you
join the Baseball Confidence Gym for just one month.

You make the call.

www.BaseballConfidence.com/Join.html

Tom
Dr. Tom Hanson

p.s. This month's Gym CD is getting a lot of positive
feedback. Members are getting more clarity on how to set
and achieve goals.
www.BaseballConfidence.com/Join.html