Discipline Yourself, And Others Won’t Need To

D is for Dedication, Discipline... and Delicious.

(photo: Hub)

[This post is part of the Mental ABC's Of Pitching series. Check out the rest here.]

When you approach becoming a better pitcher or ball player from only one angle you won’t get far. It is important to learn what it take to succeed, then do it.

We’ve gone through the first few letters of the ABC’s to the mental aspects of pitching, and a few of you don’t “get it.” Which is fine; however, it is important to understand that to continue to develop as a pitcher or player, you need to start working on your mental game as much as you do on your physical game. With that we come to two of the most important words we’ll have on this list:

• Dedication. Throughout your life you will hear “Bad habits are hard to break.” The important thing to know is that good habits are just as hard to break as bad ones. Dedication is developing an attitude that establishes an appreciation for whatever it takes to become more effective on and off the field. That means doing what it take in practice, in your eating habits, in school and in mental conditioning. Dedication is about appreciating the process of honing yourself to be better. Boys in short we play like we practice and prepare yourself before every pitch no matter what position you play or bat in.

• Discipline. Mental discipline is the umbrella that covers just about everything concerning your “mental game.” Courage on the field takes discipline; concentration takes discipline; preparation, positive self-couching, constituency, not breaking good habits, and so much more take discipline. Discipline requires constituency in preparation, systematic thought, controlled focus and behavior.

Ultimately, what I want you to get from all of this is that working on the mental aspects of your game and just as, if not more, important than working on the physical aspects. Be determined to hold yourself accountable on a daily basis for improvement of these mental skills. Remember you can make the most spectacular catch you have ever made and not throw the ball to the correct person on the field and lose your desired result.  Prepare before the play happens!