Confidence and Mental Toughness: The Two Mindset Separators

When you look at ballplayers who have found success at the major Division 1 or professional level, the ultimate separator isn’t just their physical talent. Everyone at that level possesses bat speed and throwing velocity. The real division happens completely within their mindset.

Unshakeable confidence

First, we are for building deep, unshakeable confidence. Outsiders often mistake this trait for arrogance or cockiness, but elite players simply have true belief in their ability. Baseball is a game of failure. A confident player isn’t rattled by an error or a bad at-bat because he cannot even envision himself being unsuccessful next time.

This type of confidence cannot be manufactured by a paid coach telling a kid how great he is just to keep cashing a parent’s check. It only comes from the solid foundation of years of hard work — thousands of swings, bullpen sessions, and ground balls repeated successfully in the dark. If a player is constantly looking for external reassurance asking “how did my swing look?”, his confidence is built on sand and will vanish the moment he hits a slump.

Mental toughness

Second, we are for developing mental toughness. This means forcing yourself to take the uncomfortable route when making your daily decisions. It is a parent holding a child accountable to finish his homework or get a workout in instead of sitting in front of a video game.

We refuse to let our athletes look for the easy way out or assume the grass is greener elsewhere. When kids from quick-fix programs enter college, they experience a complete culture shock because college coaches demand excellence and hold them accountable. The players without an inward foundation immediately go into their shell and quit. Surround your son with the right people who will push his limits and hold him accountable, and you will build a great player and a better man.

Character is what college coaches actually buy when two kids throw the same. The work that builds the belief is still the 20 minutes.