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The Cause and Solution for Overcoming Mental Blocks In Sports

By Mental Toughness Trainer, 12/11/18, 12:00PM PST

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The simple answer to this question is you reduce stress, which in sports generally means reduce pressure.

Many athletes in certain sports such as gymnastics, competitive cheer, trampolining, baseball, pole vaulting and golf are extremely vulnerable to mental blocks that keep them from performing like they do in practice or the past.

First of all, what is a mental block in sports?

It’s where athletes physically cannot perform a movement or motion that they have demonstrated talent and ability for in the past.

For example, I’ve seen a number of baseball players come to me for a mental block known as “The throwing yips.” This is where a catcher, for instance, cannot throw the ball back to the pitcher consistently.

Literally, the catcher’s arm tenses or freezes up and the ball goes in the dirt or over the head of the pitcher, even when there is no competition going on.