Mental Toughness

Question
I am not sure if this is an appropriate question for you or if  should have asked someone else.  I play fastpitch softball and I am a pitcher and outfielder.  Recently my coach told me that I need to have 'mental toughness.'  I don't really understand what that means.  Also how do I achieve mental toughness.  Please help if you can, thanks.

Answer
Hello Reba,

You can ask me anything you'd like, I just may not be able to answer everything.  What I imagine your coach is referring to is being able to shake of adversity.  I tell my girls the best thing you can have as a ball player is a short memory.  What I mean by this is anytime you make a mistake, you can't spend time dwelling on it.  If you get upset and keep running over in your head what you did wrong, the very next time the ball is hit to you, you will not be ready and will be second guessing yourself.  There is a reason errors and strike outs are part of the game.  Everyone has them.  The good players don't spend too much time beating themselves up about it, they simply vow to do it right the next time and continue on.

Your Coach may also be referring to being ready on each pitch.  The worse thing in the world is a ball hit to a player and she doesn't know where the play is.  You have to run over in your head what your responsibility is on every play.  What are you going to do on a fly ball, ground ball, where your play is, and your back up responsibility.  By finding this site, and asking these questions, I'm confident that you are made up of what it takes to be mentally tough.  Good luck in your career!

Coach Mike