"Relax, take it easy..." Styx, Angry Young Man
So now that we know at least one of the things that we need to bottle in order to maximize our performance--relaxation, for any first time visitors out there—it’s time to take a look a how to go about bottling it, or making it available for our immediate use. Recently we discussed the subtle influence that tension has over our game, the necessity of staying relaxed under game conditions; now we’ll go over some proven techniques to help you relax both in and out of the world of softball. We’ll also suggest ways to find that optimum level of arousal for peak performance.
But first, let’s try an experiment. Take out a rubber band. Play with it, give it a few pulls and stretches, roll it around your fingers, and get a feel for it’s properties—stay with me a moment, please. Now loop it around you thumb and index finger like you’re going to shoot it at someone, only don’t put any tension this "gun" of yours. (Trust me, this is not as dangerous as it sounds.) Now, with your fingers the exact diameter of the unstretched rubber band turn your hand over and watch the rubber band fall to the floor. Next, put a little tension in the band, then drop your thumb, and let it fly. Finally, stretch the rubber band beyond its capacity and see what happens.
Now think in terms of softball—or any sport for that matter—and think in terms of your muscles. As you can see, a limp, flaccid muscle has no dynamic potential at all. Likewise, a muscle that’s too tight is seriously compromised by its own tension. Try flexing the muscles in your forearm, for example, and throwing a punch; now relaxing those same muscles and doing it again. Which punch has more juice on it? The trick then is to find that optimum level of tension that will produce optimum results, to tune your system—mind, body, and spirit—as you would tune a guitar to produce the sweetest music possible. Bear in mind, however, that too little tension is seldom a problem in sport.
So let’s shift gears: Imagine that it’s the bottom of the seventh and you’re down by two. There’s two on, two out, and you have one homer left. The girl behind you in the order is injured, and due to bad coaching, bad planning, or bad whatever, there’s no one to hit for her should you draw the walk. She isn’t going to come through for the team this time, so you’ve got to do it. It’s also the "if" game of the biggest tournament of your life. The butterflies begin to dance in your belly and you notice a slight shortness in your breath. You want to be here, but at the same time you’d rather be anywhere else on the field, only because you haven’t hit as well this weekend as you’d like. You’re still a gamer, but not quite now. You step to the plate with all the wrong thoughts in mind. Ultimately you’re doomed. Sorry.
As we’ve seen, tension like this can be devastating to your game, but it does not have to happen. Even these unexpected panic attacks—and yes, we all have them—can be controlled with a little bit of discipline, and a little bit of practice. There are a number of effective techniques that we can employ that will go a long way toward solving this particular problem. But again, it is important to remember that nervous tension is normal. Moreover, as our rubber band clearly demonstrates, this tension is both healthy and desirable. That realization in and of itself should be a big boost to your confidence. You’re not a coward because your hands sweat and your stomach churns right at crunch time. This is in fact part of the psycho-physiological "fight or flight" mechanism that we’ve all inherited from our ancestors. But what to do when these symptoms get out of hand?
First, slow yourself down. The immediate tendency in a fight or flight situation is to hurry up and get it over with. That is the flight side of the equation, but what we’re interested in is fight. Take a few slow, deep breaths from your diaphragm, and feel the oxygen-enriched blood flowing through your system, washing the unwanted tension away.
Next, begin to move slowly and easily, as if you were totally relaxed. Tense muscles tend to move in a herky-jerky fashion. Deliberately force yourself to move in a more casual, relaxed manner. A few light stretches, slowly executed, concentrating on your larger muscle groups, might be helpful. A clear, focused mind will follow from a calm body. (The reverse is also true, which is another angle you might want to work with.) Assuming you’re on deck, swing your bat at about quarter speed. Again, the idea is to slow down. One or two full practice swings are okay, but we want our bodies thinking, "easy does it."
Notice at this point that our concentration is somewhere other than on the situation at hand. The number of possible scenarios that you will encounter in softball is small and manageable enough that how to deal with them should have become second nature a long time ago. A quick glance will tell you if you need the long ball, or the back door shot to the opposite field, or the whistling scud up the middle. Since the amount of time the mind is capable of focusing is limited to mere seconds, too much attention to the task at hand will rob you of this ability when you need it most.
Also, by diverting your attention elsewhere, you are in essence making effective use of the flight mode, and forcing yourself to work with, rather than against, the forces of nature. Effective use of the flight response will give you all the fight you need.
Along these lines, many ballplayers find it helpful to fine tune their focus on some nearby object as they are settling into the batter’s box. A blade of grass, a candy wrapper, the bill of your cap. Find a "trigger" that you can associate with the relaxation response every time up. Make it a ritual. Teach yourself to "let go" whenever you tap the bat on the plate. Squeeze your hands tightly on the bat, then feel them totally relax. Ray DeMarini says that relaxed hands will increase your bat speed five to ten miles an hour. By incorporating this technique into your pre-at-bat ritual you’ll get the additional benefit of a clear mind as well. And that is the ultimate goal: a quiet mind and a calm body that’s ready to perform as it’s been trained.
Remember, finally, to be consistent. However you prepare yourself to hit, whatever ritual you adopt, get in the habit of doing it every time up. This will help keep you in your comfort zone, in a safe, familiar environment, where you’ll find minimal distraction...and maximum performance!