Do You Over Think Your Throw? What most players don't realize is that trying harder to make a good throw or pitch is actually binding them up... Trying harder often makes ball players think more about how to make a good throw or have good mechanics when throwing or pitching. But if you are focusing on your mechanics, your mind is stuck in a practice mindset, not a game-time mindset. A … [Read more...]
Do You Have Throwing or Pitching Problems?
How Can You Overcome Throwing Problems? If you miss routine throws or make wild pitches during games, you'll should read article closely... I outline my philosophy about the throwing yips below. I call it the yips cycle. To overcome throwing problems, you have to attack the yips cycle at every step. You may recall my version of the yips cycle--see image below... The Yips Cycle You … [Read more...]
When The Yips Interfere With Pitching
How to Overcome The Throwing Yips Routines make playing baseball much easier. Imagine if you had to think about how to hold a ball... Or your stance in the batter’s box... Or the act of throwing a ball... If you had to think of every detail of every act throughout a baseball game, you would become mentally overloaded and exhausted. That is why routines and habits are so important. Motor … [Read more...]
One Player Who Beat the Throwing Yips
Mental Strategies to Cure The Yips How do you go from dominant pitcher to a pitcher who has the yips and is anxious about pitching? This is the real life story of Lacey Waldrop, pitcher for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fast-Pitch women’s softball league. As a junior at Florida State University, Waldrop had one of the best statistical seasons in program history. Waldrop posted a … [Read more...]
How Throwing Errors Can Turn Into The Yips
Don't Over Blow Throwing Errors Has one mistake in a game led to another, then another...? After an error, do you fear making another one on the next play? Then you tighten up and over control your throw? This can be the start of a phenomena called the “yips.” Or what I call the yips cycle. The yips, for many players, seem to pop up out of nowhere, with no rhyme nor reason... You … [Read more...]
Ankiel And The Throwing Yips
Overcoming the Throwing Yips in Baseball What do you do when one errant throw leads to another… then another… then another? More importantly, what do you think about when you make a string of throwing errors? Most likely, it gets in your head and you start thinking about what might happen on your next throw or you try to talk yourself through the mechanics of the throw. This overthinking … [Read more...]
How Perceived Pressure Contributes to the Yips
Does Wilmer Flores Have The Yips? Baseball players sense great pressure when battling a bout of the yips. The throwing yips don’t just affect one player (you) but often can change the outcome of a game for an entire team. With the weight of the team on your shoulders, there is even more pressure on you to make the perfect throw because you believe that one errant throw can be the … [Read more...]
Throwing Yips Put Bard’s Career On Hold
Overcoming Fear From The Yips The throwing yips is no doubt the biggest fear of any baseball players and the most frustrating experience for players who can’t seem to break free of the yips. The yips doesn’t just affect your throws, it messes with your head. Many questions circulate in your mind when you have a case of the yips: “What has happened to me?” “What is wrong with me?” … [Read more...]