#269: Manic Energy Reduces Ability to Perform.

How calming of the mind leads to outstanding performance.

Welcome to edition #269 of The Physical Movement. As we transition to the Effortless Hitting newsletter, you will notice a slant to a baseball/softball hitting focus. This week’s edition is an example of how we will look at hitting with a lens that can also apply to execution of other skills.

Here is what I mean, enjoy:

Early in the major league baseball season, I caught up with San Diego Padres game on TV.  They had a young man playing center field named Jackson Merrill. I remember wondering if this 21 year-old would stick with the club and perform well. Many in this situation do not.

Fast forward a few months to 120 game mark, Merrill is hitting a very strong .294 over 402 at bats.

In his last 10 games,  he has performed as follows as his team rattled off 9 wins in that time.

• vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: 9th inning game-tying home run (HR).

• vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: 9th inning game-tying HR and game winning 10th inning sacrifice fly.

• vs. Miami Marlins: 9th inning game-tying HR.

• vs. Miami: 8th inning game-tying HR.

WOW!

He is a 21 year- old first year player in Major League Baseball, who has now tied the most amount of games he has ever played in a professional season at 114, yet showing no signs of fatigue, in fact, seems to be getting stronger.

When you look at this kind of performance, it is easy to dismiss this to talent and skill. While he is a highly skilled player, there is much more than goes on to this kind of performance than just physical skill.

There is a mental game at play with this young man that no one is talking about.

No one performs at the highest level in very important games without an ability to calm the mind and stay focused on the keys to success.  This is especially relevant in baseball, where manic energy can be a detriment to performance. 

We get reminders of this when we watch the Olympics. Diving, gymnastics, archery, synchronized swimming are all examples of sports that require a very high level of technical expertise and focus.  Even weightlifting. While the effort is almost superhuman, one technical miss and the lift will not be successful.

There are so many examples that we can learn from athletes performing at the highest level.

With this being the case, why do parents and youth coaches continually insist on high energy approaches to skill execution?

Coach Doug McKeen’s work has revealed that the top hitters in baseball swing at a 5-6 effort level on a scale of 1-10. 10 being highest effort possible. Further, they practice their swings at a 1-2 effort level.

With this in mind,  it is contradictory to encourage baseball athletes to approach hitting with a high or manic energy approach.

“You got to want it more” is often heard around the youth baseball diamond. While that may help in some sports and skills, in hitting it is actually counterproductive.

Why?  Because of the requirements of the skill. Moving ball + moving bat. In addition, there is an overwhelming focus by all on results.

As anyone who has played can testify to, the harder you try to hit, the harder it gets.

Let’s break it down:

1. When the brain gets the body into a state of high energy, body parts tend to tighten up.

In baseball/softball, hands grip the bat with more pressure. That alone changes the swing path through the ball. One of the telltale signs of a high strung, over energized hitter is how tight their hands are.

Drills to keep hands loose through the swing become critical for success.

2. When we watch the best hitters in baseball, do we notice anything about their demeanor?  What would a heart rate monitor tell us?

The reality is the best hitters approach the plate with a heart rate similar to their resting rate.

While hockey, basketball, soccer and football athletes may have heart rates at 70-80% of max at times of extreme effort, successful hitters strive for the opposite. A resting heart rate is approximately 30% of maximum.

That does not mean racing down the line or around the bases does not jack up the heart rate. For hitting, calm and lower heart rate is better.

In basketball, coaches will often run players for a few minutes to get heart rate up, then ask them to perform free throws. The free throw requires focus and calm mind. practicing when things are calm, including heart rate has much less carry over to a situation with the game on the line. Every sport has these examples.

3. Focusing on results increases tension in the body and increases heart rate.

Baseball is one of those sports where fairness does not always play. Meaning, a hitter can hit the ball on the sweet spot of the bat and the ball fly right into a fielders  glove for an out. Focusing on things we can’t control makes the skill harder. When the task is perceived as very hard, anxiousness rises as does heart rate. Focusing on what can be controlled as opposed to results is critical in calming the body and mind.

The Effortless Hitting Newsletter will launch shortly (stay tuned here for details) with specific tips to assist with the side of hitting that is rarely focused on: the mental side. The silver lining is that this approach can be taken with just about any situation, from sports skills to work and academic performance.

In the meantime, we can all benefit from being reminded that performance in comes from an ability to work with a calm mind. The incredible recent performance of Jackson Merrill is a reminder that top performing athletes have mastered this side of performance. You won’t read about that in the media however. The mental side is not a glamorous component of performance. The smooth, effortless swing is.

Manic energy in youth sport is too prevalent. A little dose of calm is welcome. Like any skill it requires practice.

More to follow.