How Would You Define Mental Toughness?

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Browns Fan/Sammy

Are you old school or what? The current mental toughness literature recommends a more sensitive approach, more positive reinforcement especially using more effort based reinforcement....so she hung a drop in practice, big deal; What did she do right? The difference between a good result and a poor result is less than a heart beat. The difference between an all out effort and a half... effort will make all difference, come game time. She needs to build up a store house of positive effort, each piece laid in like a brick wall; in order to provide her a firm foundation to perform a peak power and then she will risk it all. She can not build the foundation if every stone is torn out before she can set it.

Drop the marine drill instructor type berating instruction and give her some space and help her learn to coach herself. You can not be in her head when she goes to the plate or throws that pitch or fields that ball. She will have to hear her own voice. Her mental toughness will come from listening to her own internal voice. She needs to be her own best coach.

The kids that had this type of 'tough' parent generally do okay at the younger age groups but do not progress very far in the upper age groups and into college. In fact the majority will move on to a different game, one that daddy couldn't do the drills or coach from the stands.

Old school yes and won't deny it. But let me tell you this, do we have more problems today in society now or back then? What about bullying. Here's a fact and 2 stories. Both of my dd's are not picked on in school. BOTH were bullied at one point. This is what I tell them, for the first 2 times go to the school as required and let me know. If they do not listen, tell the bully that was last strike. If they do it a fourth time, I have allowed both of my dd's to strike back and both have. My oldest got a detention and I jumped all over the school. She served her detention, but was no longer picked on. My younger one the teacher looked away and that boy no longer picks on her.

So, if you build up a girl as you say, and one game she struggles? How does that feel good mentality works. Now they have doubts about their ability. When my younger DD faced GCH at TCS, she gave them 4 runs in the 1st couple innings. But get this, she pitched well enough to give us the lead after settling down and pitched 5 innings before running out of gas. Now, do you honestly think I'm too hard now?

The fact of the matter is this, KNOW YOUR KID! My oldest can take some Marine mentality but no way can handle what I do to my youngest. So I know where to draw the line. But face it, if a girl wants to shoot for the stars, they must face failure and they must learn how to deal with failure. They cannot have sugar-coating parents saying everything will be all right every single time.

 

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Old school yes and won't deny it. But let me tell you this, do we have more problems today in society now or back then? What about bullying. Here's a fact and 2 stories. Both of my dd's are not picked on in school. BOTH were bullied at one point. This is what I tell them, for the first 2 times go to the school as required and let me know. If they do not listen, tell the bully that was last strike. If they do it a fourth time, I have allowed both of my dd's to strike back and both have. My oldest got a detention and I jumped all over the school. She served her detention, but was no longer picked on. My younger one the teacher looked away and that boy no longer picks on her.

So, if you build up a girl as you say, and one game she struggles? How does that feel good mentality works. Now they have doubts about their ability. When my younger DD faced GCH at TCS, she gave them 4 runs in the 1st couple innings. But get this, she pitched well enough to give us the lead after settling down and pitched 5 innings before running out of gas. Now, do you honestly think I'm too hard now?

The fact of the matter is this, KNOW YOUR KID! My oldest can take some Marine mentality but no way can handle what I do to my youngest. So I know where to draw the line. But face it, if a girl wants to shoot for the stars, they must face failure and they must learn how to deal with failure. They cannot have sugar-coating parents saying everything will be all right every single time.

C'mon, J***, I've seen you practice with T*** and you are a real pussycat! Those daughters of yours are lucky to have a dad like you. :cap: There's no doubt that you are firm and straightforward, but you are very positive, too. You and I agree on the most important fact of knowing your daughters and what they can handle. But with pitchers, you know they hear almost nothing but corrections from a very young age, so they should have a thick skin. How else could they learn such a CRAZY motion?

 

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C'mon, J***, I've seen you practice with T*** and you are a real pussycat! Those daughters of yours are lucky to have a dad like you. :cap: There's no doubt that you are firm and straightforward, but you are very positive, too.

SSHHHHH! I'm the bad guy remember. ;& But thank you for the complement. But you know, I wouldn't trade what I have with those girls for the world.

 

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SSHHHHH! I'm the bad guy remember. ;& But thank you for the complement. But you know, I wouldn't trade what I have with those girls for the world.

Any girl that can put up with me as a hitting instructor.......... yours is one tough kid

 

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While it does depend on the child as well as their age, I know my DD always hated it when she or her teammates were told they were doing a good job when they weren't. Coaches do need to get upset sometimes (while of course maintaining control) to let a team/player know that they are not performing to their capabilities, particularly with regards to mental mistakes. And players need to shake off the last bad pitch, the last bad swing or the last error if they're going to succeed at a high level in this game.