How To Get Your Mind Ready For Softball Season

By Breanna Bryant
on December 14, 2022

Softball season is just around the corner, and all around the country, athletes are preparing for the 2023 campaign that is quickly approaching.

With the holidays also quickly approaching, below are some tips to start getting your mind ready for what's to come on the field in the spring.

And whether you are a high school, college or professional softball player, these tips are applicable for hitting the ground running this softball season and beyond.

Practice Positive Affirmations

Softball is a very mental game, especially at the higher levels, so you need to train your brain as much as you train your body. Your mind is a very powerful tool, and by telling yourself positive things and hyping yourself up, you can become your own biggest fan and keep the negative self-talk away. Tell yourself things like, “I will get a hit,” “I am a good hitter” and “I will get this out” in order to speak positive things into existence. You can’t always rely on others to tell you these things, so you need to do it for yourself.

Don’t Dwell On Mistakes

Mistakes are going to happen, no matter what level of softball you are currently at. And the sport is already hard enough without you making things even harder on yourself by focusing on the mistakes you've made on the field. Whether it was an error or a strikeout that you endured, there is always the next play or the next at-bat when you can turn things around and experience success.

Accept That It Is A Game Of Failure

Softball is a game of failure, and you are pretty much guaranteed to fail more than you will succeed, especially offensively. What separates the good and great players, however, is how they deal with failure. There is a positive to focus on in every situation, and always something to be learned. Sometimes hitters will get unlucky and hit a perfect line drive, but it goes right to someone on defense and is caught. That, and plenty of other unlucky moments, are just a part of the game. The sooner you accept that, the better.

Don’t Make Any Moment Too Big

The game hasn’t changed from when you first started playing to this moment in time. The people who play the game just get bigger, stronger and faster, but it is the same game you have always loved. Learn to play as loose as possible, and be in the moment as much as you can, no matter how big the situation may be.