How The Yips Show Up In Big Games

Baseball YIPS

Why Do The Yips Happen in Games?

During the first game of the College World series game LSU pitcher, Jared Poche, had the yips. Two wild throws to first base seemed to set Poche off and it all went downhill from there, even his teammates started acting worse.

“It was a total collapse on a big stage,” LSU head coach Paul Mainieri said.

Poche admits that his over control and his one bad pitch led to more bad pitches which made things nearly impossible for him to finish strong.

POCHE: “I was throwing each side of the plate — fastball, curve-ball through the first time through the order,” Poche said. “I was definitely in command of my pitches and one thing led to another and I kind of lost command.”

Many are calling it the yips and attributing it to too much pressure for the first big game and that he couldn’t handle the pressure of pitching perfectly.

Related Article: Why Do The Yips Only Come in Games?

The yips can come and go and once you start to over control your throws it seems as if the rest of the throws are in a downward spiral.

As the yips are becoming more well-known, many coaches are realizing that it is mental and not technical as they once thought. The must approach the throwing problems differently and not just change the throwing action.

“I’ve been in this game a long time, seen it happen to a lot of great players,” Mainieri said. “It’s more psychological than anything else.”

TCU, the team they were playing against even made comments about Poche’s throws to first.

“We never lob throw,” said TCU’s starting pitcher Preston Morrison,“Even when you have time, either run it over, nice underhand flip or get your feet underneath you and make a strong 80-percent throw. It could happen to anybody, with the lob throw. In that situation I just think you’ve got to throw it regular.”

Many ball players are embarrassed when this happens to them and yipping a throw during the first big game was heart-wrenching for the team. Poche said he knew he did a bad job and didn’t know what came over him. What you don’t know what caused a dramatic throwing change, you have to look at the mental game as the culprit.

However, coaches go to what they know to cure the yips. They focus on the mechanics and what’s changing in the throwing action. But the real issue if a change in the player’s mental state.

The final score of the game was 10-3 resulting in a loss for LSU.

The coach is hopeful that Poche will overcome the yips and be able to start as a pitcher in the next games.


Overcome Throwing Yips: How to Break The Yips Cycle

Do you (or a ball player) suffer from:

  • Inability to throw or pitch freely (despite the fact that you can in practice)?
  • Anxiety, tension and over control of their action?
  • Performance anxiety about what others will think?
  • Super low confidence with the yips-infected mechanics?
  • Feeling like an alien has taken over your body and you have no control?

If you can throw well when alone, but can’t take it to games, this is a mental game issue and not a physical challenge!

The Yips Cycle is a vicious cycle that causes ball players to stay trapped in over thinking and over control…

Learn to throw or pitch freely again with my proven audio and workbook program:

Breaking The Yips Cycle: Mental Strategies to Improve Confidence & Throw Freely Again

Breaking The Yips Cycle” is a complete brain dump of the TOP Eight mental training sessions I do with my personal coaching students to help them overcome the yips and play with freedom again.

The Audio and Workbook Program Includes:

  • Two CDs (CD purchase only). 120 minutes of mental training sessions to help you gain greater freedom, focus on the right performance cues, and simplify your prepitch routines.
  • MP3 Audio (Digital Download). 120 minutes of mental training sessions you can download to your computer right away while you wait for the CDs and workbook to arrive. (MP3 Audio value = $149).
  • An 8-Session Breaking The Yips Cycle Workbook to guide you through my mental game sessions and to overcome the throwing yips (Workbook value: $149.00).
  • Bonus Session: Practice drills to free up your throwing to help you improve consistency and stop focusing on mechanics when you play.

Learn more about Breaking The Yips Cycle…


Download Our FREE Baseball Throwing Yips Reportyips-cover-web2

Do you throw accurately in practice, but lose control in games?

Learn how to over come the throwing yips!

Download our FREE Throwing Yips Report and learn how to break the yips cycle and throw freely and confidently again!

8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle

What are ball players and coaches saying?

“I want to thank you for your attention with my son Keith, Jr. You helped him to focus his attention on the sequential steps necessary to make the most of his at-bats. Keith went on to have one of his best baseball seasons ever. He led his team in batting average, stolen bases, RBI, and runs scored. He ended the summer with serious interest from several Division I colleges and eventually signed a letter of intent to play for Pennsylvania State University. He received a partial baseball scholarship and is now on the roster. Thanks again for your help.”
~Keith M. Donnell Sr.


Beat The Throwing Yips With Expert Mental Game Coaching!

Master mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn can help you overcome your mental game issues with personal coaching.

You can work with Dr. Patrick Cohn himself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone. Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!

What are our mental coaching students saying?

“After completing ‘The Confident Athlete’ series, I noticed a dramatic improvement in my level of play or should I say consistency. I play NCAA Division I baseball for Lamar University, and even my coaches have noticed a change in the way that I approach the game – my attitude and confidence at the plate. It has also helped me reach a new level of focus. I am able to get into that zone where I am able to narrow my focus on to the task. Thank you for helping in my continuing goal to mental toughness.”
~Tylor Prudhomm

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