MEDIA / STEVE HENSON : Baseball Books Make Pitch for Mental Game

Some coaches and athletes play by the book and some don’t. Depends on the book, most likely.

Three recently published offerings address the mental game. All are aimed primarily at baseball coaches and players but contain significant cross-over appeal to other sports.

The authors agree on one point: Plenty is written about coaching strategy, about playing technique and fundamentals. Little is available regarding the proper mental approach.

For the college, high school and youth coach or player reflecting on a season just ended and planning for the promise of next year, these books can fill that void.

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“HEADS-UP BASEBALL”

By Ken Ravizza and Tom Hanson

Until this season, wearing the title of sports psychology consultant to the Angels would not be a great endorsement. But add the powerhouse Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State baseball teams, several Olympic teams and a long list of individual and college athletes, and it’s clear that Ravizza’s influence and reputation are spreading.

“We probably wouldn’t have been at the College World Series in ‘93--much less finished third--without daily use of these ideas,” said Dave Snow, the Long Beach State coach. “All my players and staff will own this book.”

“Heads-Up Baseball” serves chiefly as a road map, navigating a ballplayer through the thicket of distractions and small failures that are inherent in the game. Rather than bromides and pep talks, Ravizza offers practical guidelines a player can utilize to think his way through difficult situations.

Make an error? Wipe it away by employing a physical action such as taking off your hat or glove. While the hat is off, it’s OK to be angry, but as soon as the hat or glove is back on, the error is forgotten and it’s time to re-focus.

Losing composure? Look at the place in the ballpark you chose before the game as your focal point, be it the flagpole or a billboard on the outfield fence. It reminds you of the work you’ve put in, that you are ready to perform and that you must play the game one pitch at a time.

Ravizza, a Cal State Fullerton professor who has been a consultant to the Angels for 10 years, and Hanson, a Ph.D. and baseball coach at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., effectively use imagery to illustrate their concepts.

“Picture firemen using a hose. Water is effective on fire, but forcefully pumping water only helps if the firemen have control of the hose and can focus the spray on the fire. If they lose control of the hose, the pressure from the water makes the hose writhe wildly like a crazed snake and no homes will be saved.

“It’s the same with your natural ability and the skills you develop in practice. They’re of no use unless you control yourself and focus your mental ‘spray’ where it needs to be.”

Once Ravizza has explained his methods, “Heads-Up Baseball” becomes something of a workbook with questions at the end of each chapter and periodic boxes that summarize material. This book is best read with a pencil in hand.

Most of all, it invites ballplayers to think about their game unapologetically.

Writes Ravizza: “The best players spend a lot of time thinking about playing well. They play great largely because they think about playing great. Choose to think about playing well.”

To order “Heads-Up Baseball”: Send $17.95 plus $1.25 tax to Kinesis: “Heads-Up Baseball,” P.O. Box 7000-717, Redondo Beach 90277.

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“POSITIVE COACHING”

By Jim Thompson

Thompson, a teacher through and through, knows the power of a good anecdote. His book is littered with sharp, telling tales that illustrate his ideas on building character, remaining relentlessly positive and making the most of mistakes.

As director of the public management program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Thompson knows corporate management. As a longtime youth baseball and basketball coach who launched a revolutionary co-ed league called Cupertino Hoops, he knows kids. The links he identifies between the two worlds make for fascinating reading.

“Most coaches and business managers make positive and negative comments at about a 50-50 ratio,” Thompson said Wednesday. “Research shows that people need about four positives for every negative to perform well. Athletes and workers are similar in that they hear the criticisms more clearly and take them to heart more readily.”

Thompson identifies “teachable moments,” when players are most open to learning, and encourages coaches to engage their players in decision-making rather than constantly dictating to them.

Practical advice is offered for making practice time productive, coaching during games and handling parents. Thompson even devotes a section to the postseason party.

A lengthy chapter describes the subtleties of coaching various kinds of players, such as The Superstar, The Sibling in the Shadow, The Scapegoat, The Hard-to-Like Kid, and Your Child, the Coach’s Kid.

Another chapter addresses the elements of a positive youth league, what to avoid and how to keep the focus on the players’ best interests.

Thompson, who gives frequent seminars on both business management and youth coaching, is the girls’ basketball coach at Fremont High in Sunnyvale, Calif. Assuming he practices what he writes, his players are fortunate indeed.

To order “Positive Coaching,” send $19.95 plus $3.00 handling and $1.65 tax to Warde Publishers, Inc., 3000 Alpine Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028.

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“GETTING FOCUSED, STAYING FOCUSED”

By Alan J. Jaeger

Jaeger wrote his book while developing ideas for the Woodland Hills-based Jaeger Sports Academy, which offers baseball players mental training using a Far Eastern approach. An impressive lineup of Valley professional players swear by Jaeger, a 29-year-old with an upbeat demeanor.

Zen sayings are sprinkled throughout the book’s 109 pages, and a player must read with an open mind to appreciate the message. Although Jaeger writes “it is not my intention to glorify the East or belittle the West,” he often comes perilously close.

Jaeger’s central theme is that most players overanalyze their performance, “sabotaging their instincts.” Athletes perform best in an absence of thought, he says, allowing their natural instincts to take over.

How, then, to unclutter the mind? Deep breathing for starters, yoga and meditation. Make the mind a blank slate, then gradually fill in positive images. Visualizing success leads to the real thing.

A pair of tools enable players to visualize effectively, Jaeger writes. One is “lanes,” specific paths the ball is taking from the time it leaves your hand or bat. The other is “narrowing the focus,” mentally blackening in distractions so all that remains is the stark image of a white baseball.

A reader wanting to explore Jaeger’s concepts further can give him a ring or sign up for his academy.

To order “Getting Focused, Staying Focused,” send $14.95 plus $2.00 handling to The Jaeger Baseball Academy, 4869 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Suite 5, Woodland Hills 91364.