The Baseball Observer - May/ June 2016
36
Basically, the MAC approach for baseball players involves the individual player learning to use three steps, before, during, and after a game:
• M - Mind in the moment--- keeping the mind calm and on the task at hand
(e.g., next pitch), recognizing when it drifts out of the moment, and gently
bringing it back to the present.
• A - Accept the experience --- not letting what is happening in the moment
be a distractor, especially when things are not going the way that was
expected, but rather accept what is there and then get back into the
moment; not engaging in self-judgment.
• C - Commit to the task at hand --- take a narrow external focus and follow
through with the task at hand whether that task is before during, or after
the game.
If anyone wants to learn more--- in detail--- about breathing, meditation, and the MAC approach in ways that cannot be provided in this article, they can consider the more detailed material about these areas in my book, The Complete Mental Game of Baseball: Taking Charge of the Process, On and Off the Field.
A BASEBALL PLAYER’S FOCUS CHECKLIST
The following checklist can be of use to baseball players who are committed to learning how to focus and who want to become consistent in this mental domain--- before, during, and following games.
If so, the baseball player is advised to periodically review the following items of this checklist to determine how they are doing with regard to their focus.
Bio Sketch --- Charles A. Maher, PsyD, CC-AASP is Sport and Performance Psychologist and Director of Personal and Organizational Performance for the Cleveland Indians. He has been with the Indians for 20 years and he has been involved in sport and performance psychology for 30 years. He also has served as a sport psychologist during this time for a range of professional teams, beyond the Indians, including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Browns, Chicago White Sox, New York Jets, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, and San Antonio Spurs as well as with tennis players, boxers, and other elite athletes. He is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Rutgers University where he serves as a consultant to the Department of Sports Medicine as well as to the Rutgers football and men’s and women’s basketball teams. He is a licensed psychologist and has authored many books and journal articles. His most recent baseball book is The Complete Mental Game: Taking Charge of the Process, On and Off the Field. He has had numerous professional experiences in helping to clarify substantial
throwing problems and resolving these problems with baseball players and other athletes and furthermore, he also has worked over the years with government agencies and private corporations, worldwide. He also has been a high school baseball coach, a high school and college basketball coach, as well as a special education teacher and special services director in public schools.