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8MentalStrategiestoBreakTheYipsCycle

IntroducNon

Thethrowing"yips"areoneofbaseball’sleastunderstood

challengesforplayers.Theyips—missingeasythrowsyouonce

couldmakewithyoureyes’closed—drivegoodbaseballplayersto

giveupthegame.Baseballisnotenjoyablewhenyouhavetheyips

—it’sfrustra:ngandembarrassing.Whenyoulabelyourselfas

havingtheyips,youthinkyouhaveanincurabledisease.

Whyaretheyipssodifficulttoovercomeforbaseballplayers?Intheirpursuittofinda

solu:on,playersgetworsebecauseofoverthinkingandoveranalyzing.Whenyouhavethe

yips,yourconfidencesuffersbecausemakingpoorthrowspreventsyoufromplayingwellin

games.Thenthefearofmissingarou:nethrowmakesmaIersworse.


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P E R F O R M A N C E

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Playerswhosufferfromthefearofmissingasimplethrowdreadthrowingduringimportant

plays.Themoretheytrytomakeagoodthrow,theworseitgets,un:ltheylosefullcontrol.

Thisleadsplayerstobelievetheyhaveanafflic:onordiseasethattheymustlearntoplay

with.Whenbaseballplayersbelievetheyhavetheyips,it'sextremelyhardtogrowtheir

confidenceandtrustintheirskills.

Thebaseballyipscanbeginwithapoorou:ngandinsomecases

missingrou:nethrowsandeasypitches.Playersthenprogressto

thefearofmakingmorebadthrows,whichintensifiesthefearof

theyips.Mostplayersfeellikeit'saphysicalcondi:on;theybelieve

thatitcanbecorrectedwithasimplechangeintechniqueor

rou:ne.

ButI'mheretotellyoutheyipsstartwithfaultythinkingandnotafaultytechniqueorthe

wrongthrowingmo:on.Fear,anxiety,andover-controlaretheculpritsthatkeepyoustuck

inaviciouscycleoffearfulthrowing!


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Intenseanxietyorfeardoesnotallowyoutomoveyourarmfreely.Whenyoucan’tthrow

freely,yourarmmovement,:ming,andreleaseareoutofsync.Youmightevenfreezeup

andcan’tini:atethewindup.Anothercommontypeoftheyipsoccurswhenyoutenseup

andcontrolthereleaseofthethrow.

WhatAreTheYips?Thethrowingyipsareanothervarietyofthe“yips.”Ihaveworked

withmanyplayerswhohadproblemswiththegolfyips,service

yips,andthethrowingyips.Thethrowingyips,although

uncommoninbaseball,aresuperhardtoshakebecauseyoustay

stuckforlongperiodof:meinthe“yipscycle.”

Whenyouhavethethrowingyips,yousimplycan’treleasetheballfreelyorsendittoyour

targeteasily.Mostballplayerswiththepitchingorthrowingyipslosecontroloftheir

accuracyandcan’thitatargetwithconsistency.Someplayersmightpauseorfreezeduring

thethrowingmo:on.Otherscanstartthewindupandthenjerktheirarmforward.The

throwingyipscanaffectpitchers,catchers,andinfieldersalike.


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AccordingtotheMayoClinic,theyreportthathavingtheyipsisbothpsychologicaland

neurological.Intheiropinion,performanceanxietyabouttheoutcomeleadstomuscle

spasms,whichcausesathletestofeeloutofcontrol.Theyalsoreportthatathleteswiththe

yipshaveaneurologicalproblemcalled“focaldystonia.”Iagreethattheyipsarehighly

relatedtoperformanceanxiety.I’mnotsureIagreewiththeconclusionthattheyipsare

causedbyaneurologicalproblem.

InmyopinionaFerworkingwithseveralathleteswiththeyips,the

mainproblemisperformanceanxietyandfearoffailure.Ball

playerswhohaveabadou:ngusuallystarttolookforsolu:onsand

:nkerwiththeirmechanics,whichmakesmaIersworse.Inmany

cases,theybegintoworryabouttheoutcomeandhowothersview

theproblem.

Inonecaseofthethrowingyips,Iworkedwithahighschoolcatcherthatcouldnotthrow

theballbacktothepitcherconsistentlywithaccuracy.Youknowthatthrowingtheballback

tothepitcherbetweenpitchesdoesnotimpacttheoutcomeofthegame.Hewouldstand

upandthrowtheballbacktothepitcher,butcouldnothitthetarget,oFenthrowinga


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blooper.What’sinteres:ngisthathecouldthrowwelltosecondbasewithliIletono

problemwhenitcountedduringagame!Isthisaphysicalproblemwithhismechanics?Or

isthisamentalgameproblem?Theyipsaremental.

Thethrowingyipscanaffectotherpartsofyourmentalgamesuchas

confidence,focus,trustinyourskills,andtheabilitytofocusonthe

process.Themostdifficultpartabouttheyipsisthatitturnsintoa

nega:vecycleformostplayers.Thismeanstheyipsperpetuates

itselfandkeepsplayersstuck.Icallthisnega:vecycle:“TheYips

Cycle.”


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S P O R T S

Iftheyipsaremental,what’sthesolu>on?First,youhavetosimplifyyour

throwingmo>onagain,notmakeitmorecomplexorperfect.Second,youhave

togainbackthefreedomofthethrow—justlikeyouareplayingcatchasakid.

Third,asyougainconfidence,yourfreedomandyouraccuracybegintoreturn.




WhatistheYipsCycle?Theyipscyclestartswithaseriesofeventsthatkeepsyoustuckinanever-endingcycleof

poorthrowingbecausetheyipsneverallowsyoutoregainconfidenceandtrustinyour

throw.

PhasesoftheYIPSCYCLE:

• PASTYIPSORMISSINGTHROWS-->

• FEAROFMAKINGMOREBADTHROWS-->

• TRYTOAVOIDEMBARRASSMENT-->

• OVER-CONTROLYOURACTION-->

• YIPORLACKOFFREEDOM-->

• I’VEFAILED/SCREWEDUPAGAIN-->

• IFEELEMBARRASSEDORFRUSTRATED-->

• OTHERSSEEMEMESSUP-->

• IMUSTBEAFAILURE-->

• ATTEMPTTOFIXMOTION-->

• STARTCYCLEAGAIN-->


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S P O R T S




Theyipsactuallycanbeginwithapoorou:ngoracouplebadthrowsinagameandin

somecases,botchingrou:nethrowsorpitches.Theyipscanalsobeginwhenyoumakea

lotofchangestoyourtechnique,suchaswhenanewpitchingcoachchangesyourmo:on.

Thiscausesyoutooverthinkyourmechanicsandnottrustthethrow.Poorresultsoryips

fromthepasthauntyoubecauseyouthinktheyipswillcomeagain.Fearofembarrassment

frommissingrou:nethrowsbringsontensionandanxiety,whichleadstooverthinkingand

overcontrolofyourthrowingac:on.

Next,theoverthinkingandovercontrolmakesyouyipagain

becauseof“paralysisbyoveranalysis”andinforma:on

overload.Overthinkingandovercontrolisattheheartofthe

yipscyclebecauseitkeepsyoustuckinarmypitching:leF-right-

leF-right.Youmightfeelembarrassedorfrustratedwithmissing

throws.You’vefailedatasimpletaskthatusedtocomeeasily.

Youassumeothersthinkyouaremessinguporfailingandthisis

uncomfortableandnothealthyforyourconfidenceandself-

esteem.Theyipscycleisinfullbloom.


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Theyipsmightfeellikeaphysicalproblemtoyou,buttheyipsstartinthemind.Ifyoucan

throwaccuratelyandfreelyinprac:cesitua:onsanditonlyhappenswhenyoustarta

gameorthrowrightbeforeagame,that’sagoodsignthatit’snotphysicalandit’smental.

Flinching,freezing,ormanipula:ngyourreleasearesymptomsofbiggerissues:fearof

failureandperformanceanxiety.

First,HowDoYouKnowYouHavetheYips?Allbaseballplayersmakeabadthrowortwointheircareer,right?Sohowdoyouknowyou

havethefull-blownyipsandarenotjustinamini-slump?Themostapparentsign:You

throwwellinprac>ceorthebullpen,butfeeltense,flinch,ormanipulateyourarmac>on

whenyouplayinabaseballgamethatcounts.Anothersignisthatitlastslongerthanone


Youhavetounderstandthatchangingyourgrip,stance,or

mechanicsareonlytemporaryBand-Aidstoamentalgameissue.

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game—itcon:nuesforseveralou:ngsandyourperformanceisinconsistentinthese

games.Othersignsinclude:

• Youdreadhavingtomakeacertainthrow,suchasashortthrow.

• Youmakearou:neplayandthrowtheballintothedirt.

• Youdreadhavingtothrowtosecondbaseforfearofgivingupabase.

• Yourushyourthrowbecauseyoucan’tstandtheanxietyofitall.

• Youovercontrolorflinchduringtherelease.

• Youfearthatyouwillembarrassyourselfformakinganerroronaneasythrow.

• Youthinkothersjudgewhenyoumissarou:nethrowduringagame.

• Youcan’tstopthinkingaboutpastthrowingerrors.

HowdoyouovercometheYipsCycle?Overthelast25years,I'veworkedwithmanyathleteswhohadthe

yipsandIhavebeenabletohelpthemovercometheyips.However,

youwon’tfindanyquicktrickstobeattheyips.AndIdon’thaveany

magicdusttosprinkleonyourarm!


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Overcomingtheyipstakes:meandpa:ence.Playerswiththeyipsdon’tseekhelpfor

monthsoryears,astheyoFendon’tknowtheyhaveaproblem.Thiscanmake

improvementmoredifficult.However,youcanimproveandbreakfreeoftheyipscycle.

Here’sagoodstart…Istronglysuggestyouavoidgoingtoeverycoachor

pitchinginstructoryoucanfindinyourarea.WhatcanmakemaIers

worseiswhenbaseballplayersapplyaphysicalsolu:ontoamental

gamechallenge.Ifyou’vechangedyourcoach,workedonstance,

modifiedyourthrowingmechanics,ormadeotherchanges,thiscan

exacerbatetheprobleminmanycases.MentaltrainingoFenisthelast

resortaFeryouhaveexhaustedotherop:ons.YouMUSTsimplifyyour

throwing,notmakeitmorecomplex!Themoreyouthinkabouthowto

throw,theworseitcanget.Sostartbygoingbacktowhatworkedforyouinthepastand

s:ckwithonemethod,onesimplemethod.

8MentalStrategiestoBeattheYipsTobreaktheyipscycleyouhavetoaddressseveralrelatedareasofyourmentalgame.The

biggerobjec:veistogainbackyouraccuracyandfreedom,butit’snotalwaysthatsimple


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withplayerswhohavetheyips.Let’sstartwithmakingyouawareofwhatmentalstrategies

willhelpyoubreaktheyipscycle.

1. Managingyour(andothers’)expectaNonsaboutyourperformance.

Theexpecta:onsyoufeelfromotherstoperformwell,

suchasthecoach,teammates,andparentsispartofthe

pressureyoufeel.Whenyoufocusonmee:ngothers’

expecta:ons,youworrytoomuchaboutresultsand

outcomes.Whenyoudothis,youfocustoomuchonNOT

makingbadthrowsandoFentrytoohardtomeetthese

expecta:ons.

2. Learningtofocusontheprocessinsteadofoutcomes.

Whenyoufocustoomuchonoutcomesduringagame,suchasmakingabadthrowand

givingupagame-winningrun,youbecomefearfulofthe“aFermath”ofyourerror.Alot

offearisembeddedinwhatothersmightthinkofyouifyoumakeanerrorfromabad

throw.Andmanyplayersdon’twanttobethescapegoatthatcoststheteamawin.


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3. LearntothrowintuiNvelyandfreelyagain.

Howdidyouthrowabaseballwhenyouwereakid?Youlookedat

thetargetandletitgo.Iassumeit’snotthateasyforyoutoday.The

ul:mategoalistogetbacktothrowinglikeakidagain,butyouhave

tounderstandthatfearinterfereswithyourtrust.Throwingfreely

meanstrus:ngyourmechanicsandwhatyouhavedoneinprac:ce.

Andonebadthrowdoesnotmeanthegameisadisasteroryouwill

con:nuetomakebadthrows.

4. Regainingconfidencesothatyoucanmakeagoodthroworpitch.

Regainingyourconfidenceiskeytothrowingfreelyandaccuratelyagain.Confidenceis

whenyoubelieveyoucanhitthetargetandknowingyouhavetheskillstomakeagood

throworpitch--andbeingabletotrustallyourpitchesinagame.Butconfidencewill

onlyreturnwhenyoulearntotrustyourthrowing.Theprocesstoimproveyour

confidencegoeslikethis:overcomethefear,freeupyourthrowtoimproveaccuracy,

andgaingreaterconfidenceinyourthrowingaccuracyandspeed.


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5. Playingbaseballfortherightreasons.

Manyballplayersallowthefearoffailuretodrivetheirmo:va:onforbaseball.These

playerswanttobegood,buttheyalsowantotherstothinktheyaregood.Abigsource

offearoffailurecomesfromworryingaboutwhatothersthink,suchaswhenyoufeel

embarrassedformissingarou:nethrowtofirstbase.

6. Overcomingfearofembarrassmentaboutpoorresults.

Geungpasttheneedofsocialapprovalandworryingabouthow

othersmightjudgeyouisoFentheunderlyingcausesoffearof

failure.Youhavetopinpointwhat’ssofrustra:ngorupseung

aboutmakingabadthrow—andhowothersmightviewthis.Thus,

tothroworpitchfreelyyouhavetoletgooftheneedtoimpress

othersornotdisappoin:ngothers.

7. Learningtohaveself-respectratherthanhaveotherrespect.

Thisstrategyhelpsyouplaybaseballfortherightreasonsandistheendpointfor5and

6above.Whenyouworrytoomuchaboutwhatothersthinkofyourgame,youlookfor

otherrespect—orwan:ngotherstoapproveofyou.Instead,youwanttohave“self-


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respect”forwhoyouareasaperson.Self-

respectdealsmorewiththepersoninsteadof

theskillsyouhaveasaballplayer.Self-

confidenceisaboutthebeliefinyourskills.Self-

respectisabouthowyoufeelaboutyourselfasa

person.

8. SimplifyingyourpitchingorthrowingrouNne.

Whenyouaretrappedintheyipscycle,youmakethrowingorpitchingmore

complicatedbecauseyouarealwayssearchingforfixesandhowtoworkyourselfoutof

thethrowingblues.Inreality,youwanttosimplifyyourapproachtopitchingand

throwingbyfocusingmoreonthetargetandtrus:ngyourmechanics.However,thisis

hardtodowhenyouareinastateofovercontrol.Youmindwantstocontrolyour

throw,butthebodyalreadyknowshowtothrow.Youinterferewithawell-learnedskill

whenyouaIempttocontrolyourac:on.


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SummaryTheweirdpartabouttheyipsistheharderyoutrytomakechangesandthinkabouthowto

makeanaccuratethrow,themoreyourcontroldeclines.Overcomingtheyipstakes:me

andpa:ence.However,youcanimproveandbreakfreeoftheyipscycle.Theyipscycle

keepsplayersstuckinacycleofpoorthrowing.Whenyouhavetheyips,it’shardtoregain

confidenceandtrustinyourthrow.

Tobreakfreeoftheyipscycle,youmustsimplifyyourthrowing,not

makeitmorecomplex!Themoreyouthinkabouthowtothrow,the

worseitcanget.Sostartbygoingbacktowhatworkedforyouinthe

pastands:ckwithonemethod,onesimplemethod.Youalsohaveto

uncovertherealfearandanxietyaboutmissingthrowsthatkeepyou

stuck.Inmanycases,thefearisaboutnega:vesocialevalua:onfrom

others,suchaswhatcoaches,teammates,andparentsthink,keepsyourstuckintheyips

cycle.


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MentalGameCoachingforBaseballYipsIfyoucanthrowfreelyandconfidentlyinprac:ce,buthavetroublethrowingaccuratelyin

gamesorthebullpen,youcanbenefitfrommentalcoachingwithDr.Cohn.Mastermental

gamecoachDr.PatrickCohncanhelpyouuncoverthefearsandmentalblocksthatkeep

youfromperforminguptoyourpoten:al.You’lllearnprovenmentalstrategiesDr.Cohn

usestohelpbaseballandsoFballplayersovercomethethrowingyipsandlearnhowto

throwfreelyagain.ContactDr.Cohntodayformoreinforma:ononmentalcoachingfor

baseball.

ContactDr.PatrickCohnBeatBaseballYipsbyPeakPerformanceSports,LLC7380SandLakeRd.PMB5012Orlando,Florida32819407-909-1700|888-742-7225www.peaksports.com|Email:mentalcoach@peaksports.comwww.baseball-yips.com-BeatBaseballYipsWebsite


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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr ... · 8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: 8 Mental Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle IntroducNon