How Saltalamacchia Overcame The Yips
Playing catch is an activity that most people have engaged in at some point in their lives. Throwing a ball back and forth in the backyard is not a difficult task for most.
Why is that some of the most talented ball players, Major Leagues, have difficulty tossing a ball 60.5 feet from home plate back to the pitcher’s mound?
The Yips are the culprit… a mental hiccup that causes players to double clutch, tense up, and overthink basic throws. The hardest part of the yips is admitting the role the mind plays in the yips.
Baseball players readily accept the benefits of rehabbing physical injuries, improving their power by taking extra batting practice or taking extra fielding practice to improve their defense…
But the mental aspects of the game are often viewed as weakness by many players. The reality is that the elite players in Major League Baseball are elite because they have a strong mental game.
Top baseball players know a strong mental game can separate them from the “average” players.
The most effective way to overcome the yips is to strengthen your mental game… That is how catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia overcame his yip problem and improved his game.
Saltalamacchia has enjoyed a nine-year Major League career despite the 5.6 years is the average career length of a MLB player.
Saltalamacchia almost suffered an early exit to his career when he suffered a case of the yips. Saltalamacchia had difficulty with the simplest of tasks… throwing the ball back to the pitcher.
Saltalamacchia’s yips problem started with a shoulder injury but he believes he has overcome his mental block.
SALTALAMACCHIA: “It was a health issue that kind of grew mental, obviously, but I worked on it. I’ve got stuff I go through, but as far as I’m concerned it’s a dead issue… It’s one of those things that through my career I’m going to have to deal with, but I don’t see it being a problem. I don’t think about it.”
Saltalamacchia acknowledged that it was difficult asking for help but eventually elicited the help of a performance coach to strengthen his mental game.
SALTALAMACCHIA: “When I was first coming up, just being young, your ego plays into it. You don’t want anyone to know you’re getting help. But you’re getting help in the training room, why not get help for other issues?”
Overcoming the yips has allowed Saltalamacchia to free up his focus and pay attention to his job as a catcher.
SALTALAMACCHIA: “My job is the pitchers, to go out there and help them get through their game. When I get to the plate, do my job in whatever way the situation calls for.”
Try this important tip to help work through the yips:
Don’t deny the problem, work through the problem.
Seeking the help of a mental game coach is no different than working with a hitting coach to improve your swing, a nutritionist to help with your diet or a strength coach to increase flexibility or power.
Your mental game makes a significant contribution to your throwing freedom and accuracy. The goal of mental coaching for the yips is to free up your throw to regain confidence and accuracy.
Related Baseball Articles:
Get Expert Mental Game Coaching for Yips!
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!