Mental mistakes

[Sonny]

It was a proud moment when my son made his middle school baseball team. He is 12 and has been playing baseball since he was 5. Like many of the other kids in our area, he has even spent the past few seasons playing travel baseball. He loves baseball and gives a great effort.

That being said, I need some suggestions as to how to help him eliminate some mental mistakes that he seems to continue making. Initially, my concern was that he wouldn't do well swinging a -3 bat (our middle schools require that they do), or that his fielding would be too inconsistent to get a starting spot. Neither of those have turned out to be an issue, in fact, he has done very well with both and earned a starting spot on the team. I attribute this to the many hours of practice and dedication that he has devoted himself to. The surprise has been base running mental errors. It has been shocking to see him make some of the mistakes that he has been making...especially since he has been taught thousands of times not to run into a tag. While his on base percentage is over .500 after 6 games, he has eliminated himself from the base three times. In our last game, he was the tying run on second with one out in the top of the sixth, and instead of holding on a sharp come backer to the pitcher, he broke for third and was retired easily. Though he was only the second out of the inning, we lost 4-3.

I guess I'm just seeking some advice as to how to approach this with him. It seems as though he should know this, but when the pressure is on, he is very suspect. I spoke to the coach and he said that he likes his aggressiveness, but these are issues that he needs to work on....I agree. Any suggestions that any of you have would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully, I'm not the only one who has experienced this. Thankfully, my son is a gamer, and he always keeps his chin up and says that he will do better next time. I'm sure that attitude will serve him well in life!

Thanks in advance.

[TG Coach]

It's not always what a player has shown in the past. The level of pressure goes up a notch at each level he rises. He may not be completely dealing with it yet. You might find The Mental Game of Baseball by HA Dorfman interesting reading. He's consulted with many pro and Team USA teams. Don't have your son read it. It will bore him. Teach him what you learn.

[Jake Patterson]

The surprise has been base running mental errors. It has been shocking to see him make some of the mistakes that he has been making...especially since he has been taught thousands of times not to run into a tag.

Going to the big field can be very disorientating to LL's move up. Like anything else base running is a skill that is aquired through good learning. I finish each practice with base running skills. Our base running sessions include:

1. Proper leads at every base.
2. Outright steals
3. Hit and Run
4. Delayed steals
5. Rundowns
6. Etc

We do most of the above off the pitcher's move home after the runners get a signal from the third base coach. This teaches timing. We use three situations off the pitcher:

• Move home
• Move to the bag
• Step off the rubber

In addition to the above we get the sliding pad out and teach different types of different slides and how to avoid tags going back to the bag. We time our runners (Usually first to second - 60 yard dash doesn't mean much to a 13/14 Y/O). The above only takes a few minutes if done properly and eliminates much of what you speak of above.

Hope this helps.
Jake

[Lady_Knights]

The Aggressive baserunning that he use to get away with in the lower levels just won't cut it as he gets older. I'm sure he knows how to run the bases, but he has to adapt to the level of play, and it sounds like he is still trying to figure it out. Don't put a choker on him yet, because it is hard to teach baserunners to be aggressive. He'll get it figured out and know his limitations, but until then it may add a few gray hairs to you and the coach.

[Ursa Major]

In our last game, he was the tying run on second with one out in the top of the sixth, and instead of holding on a sharp come backer to the pitcher, he broke for third and was retired easily. Though he was only the second out of the inning, we lost 4-3.

That's not the dumbest play in the book or most harmful. It's hard from that "head on" position to instantly read how far that ball is going to go or if it will get past the pitcher and dribble to the second baseman. It's certainly better than breaking to third basewith a ground ball to the left side.

Oh, and where was the third base coach in all this? He's got a side view and maybe could've stopped him. And before the play, he should have reminded him -- "hold on anything to the left side or to the pitcher!"

I say "not the most harmful" because of the cost/benefit analysis. If he stays put, it's the easiest out in the game to throw to first, and he's standing on second base with two outs. It still requires an outfield hit to score him.

By running, he gets an opportunity to surprise the pitcher and maybe get a wild throw and scores, with the batter taking second base. At worst, what will happen is what did happen -- there's a runner on first base and two outs. Okay, you traded 90 feet for a chance at a big inning, but lost the gamble.

It's sort of like the giggle I get at a MLB game when there're runners at second and third and one out and the "contact play" is on. The hitter hits a routine grounder and the runner at third breaks for home and is nailed at the plate. People groan, "Why did he go?" But, since the batter would have been thrown out anyway, it's not so dumb a risk to send the runner; again, the worst outcome is that you have runners on first and third rather than second and third.

I too think that one of the culprits is the greater distances and skill levels he's not facing. That kind of move would have been heralded as 'brilliant' on a small (60-foot base paths) field; now it seems suicidal. Give him time and don't fret too much. And hope that the coaches work on these plays over and over in practice.

[Sonny]

Thanks for all of the great insight. You've given me some information that I haven't considered, and it is much appreciated.

Ursa, when looking at it from the point of view that you present, I can understand the coach's perspective of "liking his aggressiveness". Unfortunately, there has been an instance this year when he has broke to third on a grounder to the short stop...right in front of him. I think it was just his natural instinct to break from his secondary lead with the crack of the bat. He realized he was in no man's land, but he did continue hard to the bag. I suppose I'll just continue to remind him in a positive way, and hope that he makes the adjustments.

Thanks again!
Sonny