What Champions Say, See and Do?
- Julie Jones
- Jul 7
- 4 min read
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This past week, our 13–14u baseball team capped off the season with a championship win. It was a blast! The boys played hard, showed grit and earned it.
But even with the success, the game gave us a front-row seat to a powerful mental lesson and a reminder that what we say to ourselves and what we focus on matter more than we often realize.
At one point in the game, I was talking with one of our guys as we “timed up” the opposing pitcher between innings. He was 2nd in the order in this inning…and all he could talk about was the other team’s pitcher.
“His ball has crazy movement” and other stuff about HIS approach.
In the 10 seconds I had before the inning started, I gave him my best “If we’re focused on what he’s doing, we aren’t focused on what we are doing” talk. Unfortunately, all that focusing on what he was doing and what we couldn’t do against him talked us right out of our at-bat.
This was a stark contrast from what happened as we started the game as the lower seed…against a team that had not lost since we beat them on May 10! Before we stepped in the box for the first at-bat of the game, I asked our first four hitters a simple question: “Where do you see yourself hitting the ball?”
And a crazy thing happened! Two walked. Two hit it exactly where they said they would.
That’s not magic. It’s mindset. When the 4th batter got to third…he quickly exclaimed with a solid
fist bump, “I hit it exactly where I said I would!”
Now, let’s not pretend this happens every time. But, the first story happens more often than not…because WHATE WE FOCUS ON GROWS!
I’m sure you’ve heard Tony Robins say “Where focus goes, energy flows.” And the research backs it up.
When athletes focus on what they WANT to do (instead of what they’re trying to avoid), their performance improves. This is called a positive attentional focus, and it works because it primes both the mind and body for coordinated, intentional action.
We often discuss this in our Tips. Talking about what you want is one of the keys to peak performance!!
In contrast, when we focus on what could go wrong, or what someone else is doing better, we’re setting the GPS for exactly that.
It’s like saying, “Don’t throw it in the dirt!” and then… boom. The pitch bounces.
Dr. Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis and his team found that task-relevant self-talk (i.e., talking about what you want to do in the moment) improves performance. Their meta-analysis of over 30 studies showed that self-talk directly enhances both technical and physical performance.
This makes total sense…but we are so wired to talk about what we don’t want that we do it ALL THE TIME! Think about how many times you say “don’t (fill in the blank)”.
Here is the difference - “Don’t swing at junk.” → Focused on avoiding. OR “I’m looking for a fastball up.” → Focused on executing.
The first is fear-driven. The second is purpose-driven.
We can think of our self-talk as our INNER PLAY CALLER! Maybe that will help change our approach!
When our boys said, “I’m going to drive this ball to right-center,” their brain and body had a clear directive. They weren’t just hoping—they were programming their swing with intention.
If we want to focus better and perform with more confidence, here are a few simple tools backed by research.
No matter what we do or where we are, we can use PERFORMANCE CUE STATEMENTS! These short, clear, action-based phrases TALK ABOUT WHAT WE WANT!
Instead of “Don’t strike out,” say: “Stay back.” “Drive it gap-to-gap.” “See it, hit it.” SIMPLE. SHORT. ACTION BASED!
It doesn’t stop at talking about what we want. We can also SEE WHAT WE WANT!
Before we start something…like an at-bat, we can SAY where we want it to go AND SEE IT! It’s the simple tool of SAY IT, SEE IT, DO IT!
We know, thanks to copious research, that this primes the motor system and narrows attentional focus. This combo boosts confidence and performance more than visualization or self-talk alone.
And finally, we can read the scout…then MAKE OUR PLAN! It’s time to focus on our game, not theirs.
I once heard Oprah talk about focusing on the competition. She said, “When you run a race, you hurt your ability to compete when you turn your head to look at the competition chasing you, you lose a step physically and psychologically.”
This approach seemed to work for her. Maybe we should try it, too! Focus on our game, not their game. Talk about your plan. Your zone. Your swing.
Every second spent watching the other guy’s stuff is a second not spent owning yours.
We can’t control every pitch, every call or our opponent. But we can control what we say to ourselves, where we put our attention and how we prepare for what’s next.
What we say drives what we believe. What we believe shapes what we do. What we do becomes who we are.
So this week, let’s ask ourselves: “What do you want to do here?”
Say it, see it, and go with it! And when we talk ourselves into a great at-bat, don’t be surprised.
That’s how champions use mental performance tools to be their best!
Manage the moments!
Julie
P.S. Let’s work together! Shoot me an email or text – juliej@ssbperformance.com or 234-206-0946 We can build a program that fits your team!
Julie Jones
Mental Performance Coach
SSB Performance
juliej@ssbperformance.com • 234-206-0946
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