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.
Related Article: How The Yips Have Affected MLB Careers
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.
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 Report
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?
“Patrick–something seems really weird here. You are giving out so much good material to help with the yips, and I feel like I am stealing from you! I really like your style! You don’t see that very often–ever as a mater of fact! You are an amazing guy!”
~O’Jay Omlid
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?
“Dr. Cohn I’ve been tearing it up lately! Every single thing you taught me works perfectly in every situation I’ve been in. In the playoffs I’m 5-7 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs. I feel great at the plate and focusing is a breeze now. I just wanted to thank you for everything and keep you posted with how everything was going.”
~Jalen Phillips, High School Baseball Player
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