The Baseball Observer - Mental Skills Issue
Relevant Context
The task of providing worthwhile support services to the professional and collegiate baseball player--- mentally, and emotionally-- is a complex one. To be effective with this task, a range of individuals have to be involved in the process, in a coordinated way. These individuals span many professional boundaries and disciplinary bases, including psychology, athletic training, strength and conditioning, academic counseling, and sports medicine.
Thus, when attention is centered of the mental side of the game of baseball, the goal of enhancing and coordinating the mental and emotional development of players clearly involves a range of professionals: sport psychologists, mental skills coaches, and counselors, among others.
Within the context of professional and collegiate baseball, a framework for coordination of mental skills, life skills, and and mental health services may be useful to baseball coaches and athletic administrators.
The purpose of this article is to describe a systems framework for considering how mental skills, life skills, and mental health services can be organized, coordinated, and delivered in professional and collegiate baseball, in a way that is likely to have value for players, coaches, and the overall sports organization.
It is important to note here, however, that the systems framework that is presented below is not intended to be a specific operational program for sports organizations, nor does it constitute a set of prescriptive guidelines.
Rather, the systems framework is presented as a frame in which key leaders of each professional or collegiate sports organization can consider how to design and deliver programs and services relative to the mental and emotional development of their players.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the systems framework to be described has been used in an effective and efficient way by the Cleveland Indians Baseball Organization, over the course of many years.
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