Why Do The Yips Only Come in Games?

Baseball YIPS

Can You Throw Freely in Games?

One big sign you have the throwing yips is when you can throw freely in practice or BP and lose control of your throwing action in games.

So you can practice your throwing in warm up or the bullpen easily with full control, but why does your throwing control change when your get on the mound in a game situation?

You obviously change your approach when you are on the mound in a game.

But why would that cause you to have the yips in a game situation?

Most players feel more pressure to perform in a game situation. Most of this pressure comes in the form of worry, worrying about what coach and teammates think or worry about letting down a parent with a poor outing.

The pressure baseball pitchers feel often often goes undetected from their conscious mind. They don’t know what prevents them from pitching freely.

Related Article: Do You Have The Throwing Yips?

In the vast number of throwing yips cases in baseball, the fear and pressure comes from social approval or not wanting to feel embarrassed. Or wanting to look like the star of the game.

Both of these are the same issue just two different spectrum: One player badly wants to perform well and they other fears messing up and what others will think.

This is the reason the throwing yips shows up in games only–for the most part. Some players start to tighten up in their warm up or when throwing BP. The pressure to succeed and everything that comes with that pressure leads to phenomenon of over control.

I call this the yips cycle.

When you fear the outcome, you try hard to have a good performance. When you try hard to perform well, you try to be more perfect, which leads to over control of your throwing action. This over control eventually leads you to feel like you are out of control on the mound because you can’t hit your spots.

In order to take your practice game to the mound, you have to uncover the real issues that cause you to tighten up and over control your action.

Working one-on-one with a trained mental coach with experience with the throwing yips can help you uncover the underlying issues, as you will not find a specific physical technique to solve this problem.


Overcome Throwing Yips: How to Break The Yips Cycle

Do you (or a ball player) suffer from:

  • Performance anxiety about what others will think?
  • Super low confidence with the yips-infected mechanics?
  • Inability to throw or pitch freely (despite the fact that you can in practice)?
  • Anxiety, tension and over control of their action?
  • 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 Report!yips-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 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?

“Yes! Awesome tips and they worked great. I was having a tough time mentally with putts inside of 4 feet for self imposed fear of missing them. After doing all of your drills I found myself just looking at the hole on the shorts putts similar to a free throw. Seems to be working. Thank you so much!”
~Shawn Barr

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