15 Critical Questions on The Mental Game of Baseball

Ken Ravizza recently sat down for an in-depth interview on the mental game with the inventor of the Core Velocity Belt, Lantz Wheeler…

In this 22-minute interview, they discuss the following:

0:45 – What does the mental game mean to you?
2:00 – 3 tips for a player at any level to be better at the mental game
3:08 – What separates the good from the great from a mental game perspective?
3:45 – How important is being able to accept criticism or failure?
6:07 – If you were a coach in today’s game (HS or College), what would you stress in the mental game if you had 10 minutes?
7:10 – How important is breathing; what does focusing on the breath do?
9:20 – How often should you practice breathing?
10:25 – How do you deal with a coach who is not supportive of the mental game?
12:00 – How important is keeping a journal?
13:10 – How important is confidence?
14:50 – Take the World Series for example… Are the players who are performing well better at handling pressure or are the struggling players just caving to pressure?
16:00 – How important is the pre-pitch routine?
18:03 – How important is body language?
19:10 – How important is knowing your players in terms of how to coach the mental game?
20:00 – What is the one thing you would tell a coach that is the most important thing to stress in terms of the mental game?