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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
8MentalStrategiestoBreakTheYipsCycle
IntroducNon
Thethrowing"yips"areoneofbaseball’sleastunderstood
challengesforplayers.Theyips—missingeasythrowsyouonce
couldmakewithyoureyes’closed—drivegoodbaseballplayersto
giveupthegame.Baseballisnotenjoyablewhenyouhavetheyips
—it’sfrustra:ngandembarrassing.Whenyoulabelyourselfas
havingtheyips,youthinkyouhaveanincurabledisease.
Whyaretheyipssodifficulttoovercomeforbaseballplayers?Intheirpursuittofinda
solu:on,playersgetworsebecauseofoverthinkingandoveranalyzing.Whenyouhavethe
yips,yourconfidencesuffersbecausemakingpoorthrowspreventsyoufromplayingwellin
games.Thenthefearofmissingarou:nethrowmakesmaIersworse.
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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
Playerswhosufferfromthefearofmissingasimplethrowdreadthrowingduringimportant
plays.Themoretheytrytomakeagoodthrow,theworseitgets,un:ltheylosefullcontrol.
Thisleadsplayerstobelievetheyhaveanafflic:onordiseasethattheymustlearntoplay
with.Whenbaseballplayersbelievetheyhavetheyips,it'sextremelyhardtogrowtheir
confidenceandtrustintheirskills.
Thebaseballyipscanbeginwithapoorou:ngandinsomecases
missingrou:nethrowsandeasypitches.Playersthenprogressto
thefearofmakingmorebadthrows,whichintensifiesthefearof
theyips.Mostplayersfeellikeit'saphysicalcondi:on;theybelieve
thatitcanbecorrectedwithasimplechangeintechniqueor
rou:ne.
ButI'mheretotellyoutheyipsstartwithfaultythinkingandnotafaultytechniqueorthe
wrongthrowingmo:on.Fear,anxiety,andover-controlaretheculpritsthatkeepyoustuck
inaviciouscycleoffearfulthrowing!
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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
Intenseanxietyorfeardoesnotallowyoutomoveyourarmfreely.Whenyoucan’tthrow
freely,yourarmmovement,:ming,andreleaseareoutofsync.Youmightevenfreezeup
andcan’tini:atethewindup.Anothercommontypeoftheyipsoccurswhenyoutenseup
andcontrolthereleaseofthethrow.
WhatAreTheYips?Thethrowingyipsareanothervarietyofthe“yips.”Ihaveworked
withmanyplayerswhohadproblemswiththegolfyips,service
yips,andthethrowingyips.Thethrowingyips,although
uncommoninbaseball,aresuperhardtoshakebecauseyoustay
stuckforlongperiodof:meinthe“yipscycle.”
Whenyouhavethethrowingyips,yousimplycan’treleasetheballfreelyorsendittoyour
targeteasily.Mostballplayerswiththepitchingorthrowingyipslosecontroloftheir
accuracyandcan’thitatargetwithconsistency.Someplayersmightpauseorfreezeduring
thethrowingmo:on.Otherscanstartthewindupandthenjerktheirarmforward.The
throwingyipscanaffectpitchers,catchers,andinfieldersalike.
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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
AccordingtotheMayoClinic,theyreportthathavingtheyipsisbothpsychologicaland
neurological.Intheiropinion,performanceanxietyabouttheoutcomeleadstomuscle
spasms,whichcausesathletestofeeloutofcontrol.Theyalsoreportthatathleteswiththe
yipshaveaneurologicalproblemcalled“focaldystonia.”Iagreethattheyipsarehighly
relatedtoperformanceanxiety.I’mnotsureIagreewiththeconclusionthattheyipsare
causedbyaneurologicalproblem.
InmyopinionaFerworkingwithseveralathleteswiththeyips,the
mainproblemisperformanceanxietyandfearoffailure.Ball
playerswhohaveabadou:ngusuallystarttolookforsolu:onsand
:nkerwiththeirmechanics,whichmakesmaIersworse.Inmany
cases,theybegintoworryabouttheoutcomeandhowothersview
theproblem.
Inonecaseofthethrowingyips,Iworkedwithahighschoolcatcherthatcouldnotthrow
theballbacktothepitcherconsistentlywithaccuracy.Youknowthatthrowingtheballback
tothepitcherbetweenpitchesdoesnotimpacttheoutcomeofthegame.Hewouldstand
upandthrowtheballbacktothepitcher,butcouldnothitthetarget,oFenthrowinga
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blooper.What’sinteres:ngisthathecouldthrowwelltosecondbasewithliIletono
problemwhenitcountedduringagame!Isthisaphysicalproblemwithhismechanics?Or
isthisamentalgameproblem?Theyipsaremental.
Thethrowingyipscanaffectotherpartsofyourmentalgamesuchas
confidence,focus,trustinyourskills,andtheabilitytofocusonthe
process.Themostdifficultpartabouttheyipsisthatitturnsintoa
nega:vecycleformostplayers.Thismeanstheyipsperpetuates
itselfandkeepsplayersstuck.Icallthisnega:vecycle:“TheYips
Cycle.”
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Iftheyipsaremental,what’sthesolu>on?First,youhavetosimplifyyour
throwingmo>onagain,notmakeitmorecomplexorperfect.Second,youhave
togainbackthefreedomofthethrow—justlikeyouareplayingcatchasakid.
Third,asyougainconfidence,yourfreedomandyouraccuracybegintoreturn.
8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
WhatistheYipsCycle?Theyipscyclestartswithaseriesofeventsthatkeepsyoustuckinanever-endingcycleof
poorthrowingbecausetheyipsneverallowsyoutoregainconfidenceandtrustinyour
throw.
PhasesoftheYIPSCYCLE:
• PASTYIPSORMISSINGTHROWS-->
• FEAROFMAKINGMOREBADTHROWS-->
• TRYTOAVOIDEMBARRASSMENT-->
• OVER-CONTROLYOURACTION-->
• YIPORLACKOFFREEDOM-->
• I’VEFAILED/SCREWEDUPAGAIN-->
• IFEELEMBARRASSEDORFRUSTRATED-->
• OTHERSSEEMEMESSUP-->
• IMUSTBEAFAILURE-->
• ATTEMPTTOFIXMOTION-->
• STARTCYCLEAGAIN-->
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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
Theyipsactuallycanbeginwithapoorou:ngoracouplebadthrowsinagameandin
somecases,botchingrou:nethrowsorpitches.Theyipscanalsobeginwhenyoumakea
lotofchangestoyourtechnique,suchaswhenanewpitchingcoachchangesyourmo:on.
Thiscausesyoutooverthinkyourmechanicsandnottrustthethrow.Poorresultsoryips
fromthepasthauntyoubecauseyouthinktheyipswillcomeagain.Fearofembarrassment
frommissingrou:nethrowsbringsontensionandanxiety,whichleadstooverthinkingand
overcontrolofyourthrowingac:on.
Next,theoverthinkingandovercontrolmakesyouyipagain
becauseof“paralysisbyoveranalysis”andinforma:on
overload.Overthinkingandovercontrolisattheheartofthe
yipscyclebecauseitkeepsyoustuckinarmypitching:leF-right-
leF-right.Youmightfeelembarrassedorfrustratedwithmissing
throws.You’vefailedatasimpletaskthatusedtocomeeasily.
Youassumeothersthinkyouaremessinguporfailingandthisis
uncomfortableandnothealthyforyourconfidenceandself-
esteem.Theyipscycleisinfullbloom.
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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
Theyipsmightfeellikeaphysicalproblemtoyou,buttheyipsstartinthemind.Ifyoucan
throwaccuratelyandfreelyinprac:cesitua:onsanditonlyhappenswhenyoustarta
gameorthrowrightbeforeagame,that’sagoodsignthatit’snotphysicalandit’smental.
Flinching,freezing,ormanipula:ngyourreleasearesymptomsofbiggerissues:fearof
failureandperformanceanxiety.
First,HowDoYouKnowYouHavetheYips?Allbaseballplayersmakeabadthrowortwointheircareer,right?Sohowdoyouknowyou
havethefull-blownyipsandarenotjustinamini-slump?Themostapparentsign:You
throwwellinprac>ceorthebullpen,butfeeltense,flinch,ormanipulateyourarmac>on
whenyouplayinabaseballgamethatcounts.Anothersignisthatitlastslongerthanone
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Youhavetounderstandthatchangingyourgrip,stance,or
mechanicsareonlytemporaryBand-Aidstoamentalgameissue.
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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
game—itcon:nuesforseveralou:ngsandyourperformanceisinconsistentinthese
games.Othersignsinclude:
• Youdreadhavingtomakeacertainthrow,suchasashortthrow.
• Youmakearou:neplayandthrowtheballintothedirt.
• Youdreadhavingtothrowtosecondbaseforfearofgivingupabase.
• Yourushyourthrowbecauseyoucan’tstandtheanxietyofitall.
• Youovercontrolorflinchduringtherelease.
• Youfearthatyouwillembarrassyourselfformakinganerroronaneasythrow.
• Youthinkothersjudgewhenyoumissarou:nethrowduringagame.
• Youcan’tstopthinkingaboutpastthrowingerrors.
HowdoyouovercometheYipsCycle?Overthelast25years,I'veworkedwithmanyathleteswhohadthe
yipsandIhavebeenabletohelpthemovercometheyips.However,
youwon’tfindanyquicktrickstobeattheyips.AndIdon’thaveany
magicdusttosprinkleonyourarm!
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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
Overcomingtheyipstakes:meandpa:ence.Playerswiththeyipsdon’tseekhelpfor
monthsoryears,astheyoFendon’tknowtheyhaveaproblem.Thiscanmake
improvementmoredifficult.However,youcanimproveandbreakfreeoftheyipscycle.
Here’sagoodstart…Istronglysuggestyouavoidgoingtoeverycoachor
pitchinginstructoryoucanfindinyourarea.WhatcanmakemaIers
worseiswhenbaseballplayersapplyaphysicalsolu:ontoamental
gamechallenge.Ifyou’vechangedyourcoach,workedonstance,
modifiedyourthrowingmechanics,ormadeotherchanges,thiscan
exacerbatetheprobleminmanycases.MentaltrainingoFenisthelast
resortaFeryouhaveexhaustedotherop:ons.YouMUSTsimplifyyour
throwing,notmakeitmorecomplex!Themoreyouthinkabouthowto
throw,theworseitcanget.Sostartbygoingbacktowhatworkedforyouinthepastand
s:ckwithonemethod,onesimplemethod.
8MentalStrategiestoBeattheYipsTobreaktheyipscycleyouhavetoaddressseveralrelatedareasofyourmentalgame.The
biggerobjec:veistogainbackyouraccuracyandfreedom,butit’snotalwaysthatsimple
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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
withplayerswhohavetheyips.Let’sstartwithmakingyouawareofwhatmentalstrategies
willhelpyoubreaktheyipscycle.
1. Managingyour(andothers’)expectaNonsaboutyourperformance.
Theexpecta:onsyoufeelfromotherstoperformwell,
suchasthecoach,teammates,andparentsispartofthe
pressureyoufeel.Whenyoufocusonmee:ngothers’
expecta:ons,youworrytoomuchaboutresultsand
outcomes.Whenyoudothis,youfocustoomuchonNOT
makingbadthrowsandoFentrytoohardtomeetthese
expecta:ons.
2. Learningtofocusontheprocessinsteadofoutcomes.
Whenyoufocustoomuchonoutcomesduringagame,suchasmakingabadthrowand
givingupagame-winningrun,youbecomefearfulofthe“aFermath”ofyourerror.Alot
offearisembeddedinwhatothersmightthinkofyouifyoumakeanerrorfromabad
throw.Andmanyplayersdon’twanttobethescapegoatthatcoststheteamawin.
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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
3. LearntothrowintuiNvelyandfreelyagain.
Howdidyouthrowabaseballwhenyouwereakid?Youlookedat
thetargetandletitgo.Iassumeit’snotthateasyforyoutoday.The
ul:mategoalistogetbacktothrowinglikeakidagain,butyouhave
tounderstandthatfearinterfereswithyourtrust.Throwingfreely
meanstrus:ngyourmechanicsandwhatyouhavedoneinprac:ce.
Andonebadthrowdoesnotmeanthegameisadisasteroryouwill
con:nuetomakebadthrows.
4. Regainingconfidencesothatyoucanmakeagoodthroworpitch.
Regainingyourconfidenceiskeytothrowingfreelyandaccuratelyagain.Confidenceis
whenyoubelieveyoucanhitthetargetandknowingyouhavetheskillstomakeagood
throworpitch--andbeingabletotrustallyourpitchesinagame.Butconfidencewill
onlyreturnwhenyoulearntotrustyourthrowing.Theprocesstoimproveyour
confidencegoeslikethis:overcomethefear,freeupyourthrowtoimproveaccuracy,
andgaingreaterconfidenceinyourthrowingaccuracyandspeed.
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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
5. Playingbaseballfortherightreasons.
Manyballplayersallowthefearoffailuretodrivetheirmo:va:onforbaseball.These
playerswanttobegood,buttheyalsowantotherstothinktheyaregood.Abigsource
offearoffailurecomesfromworryingaboutwhatothersthink,suchaswhenyoufeel
embarrassedformissingarou:nethrowtofirstbase.
6. Overcomingfearofembarrassmentaboutpoorresults.
Geungpasttheneedofsocialapprovalandworryingabouthow
othersmightjudgeyouisoFentheunderlyingcausesoffearof
failure.Youhavetopinpointwhat’ssofrustra:ngorupseung
aboutmakingabadthrow—andhowothersmightviewthis.Thus,
tothroworpitchfreelyyouhavetoletgooftheneedtoimpress
othersornotdisappoin:ngothers.
7. Learningtohaveself-respectratherthanhaveotherrespect.
Thisstrategyhelpsyouplaybaseballfortherightreasonsandistheendpointfor5and
6above.Whenyouworrytoomuchaboutwhatothersthinkofyourgame,youlookfor
otherrespect—orwan:ngotherstoapproveofyou.Instead,youwanttohave“self-
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respect”forwhoyouareasaperson.Self-
respectdealsmorewiththepersoninsteadof
theskillsyouhaveasaballplayer.Self-
confidenceisaboutthebeliefinyourskills.Self-
respectisabouthowyoufeelaboutyourselfasa
person.
8. SimplifyingyourpitchingorthrowingrouNne.
Whenyouaretrappedintheyipscycle,youmakethrowingorpitchingmore
complicatedbecauseyouarealwayssearchingforfixesandhowtoworkyourselfoutof
thethrowingblues.Inreality,youwanttosimplifyyourapproachtopitchingand
throwingbyfocusingmoreonthetargetandtrus:ngyourmechanics.However,thisis
hardtodowhenyouareinastateofovercontrol.Youmindwantstocontrolyour
throw,butthebodyalreadyknowshowtothrow.Youinterferewithawell-learnedskill
whenyouaIempttocontrolyourac:on.
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8 Mental Game Strategies to Break The Yips Cycle :: Dr. Patrick Cohn :: www.baseball-yips.com
SummaryTheweirdpartabouttheyipsistheharderyoutrytomakechangesandthinkabouthowto
makeanaccuratethrow,themoreyourcontroldeclines.Overcomingtheyipstakes:me
andpa:ence.However,youcanimproveandbreakfreeoftheyipscycle.Theyipscycle
keepsplayersstuckinacycleofpoorthrowing.Whenyouhavetheyips,it’shardtoregain
confidenceandtrustinyourthrow.
Tobreakfreeoftheyipscycle,youmustsimplifyyourthrowing,not
makeitmorecomplex!Themoreyouthinkabouthowtothrow,the
worseitcanget.Sostartbygoingbacktowhatworkedforyouinthe
pastands:ckwithonemethod,onesimplemethod.Youalsohaveto
uncovertherealfearandanxietyaboutmissingthrowsthatkeepyou
stuck.Inmanycases,thefearisaboutnega:vesocialevalua:onfrom
others,suchaswhatcoaches,teammates,andparentsthink,keepsyourstuckintheyips
cycle.
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MentalGameCoachingforBaseballYipsIfyoucanthrowfreelyandconfidentlyinprac:ce,buthavetroublethrowingaccuratelyin
gamesorthebullpen,youcanbenefitfrommentalcoachingwithDr.Cohn.Mastermental
gamecoachDr.PatrickCohncanhelpyouuncoverthefearsandmentalblocksthatkeep
youfromperforminguptoyourpoten:al.You’lllearnprovenmentalstrategiesDr.Cohn
usestohelpbaseballandsoFballplayersovercomethethrowingyipsandlearnhowto
throwfreelyagain.ContactDr.Cohntodayformoreinforma:ononmentalcoachingfor
baseball.
ContactDr.PatrickCohnBeatBaseballYipsbyPeakPerformanceSports,LLC7380SandLakeRd.PMB5012Orlando,Florida32819407-909-1700|888-742-7225www.peaksports.com|Email:mentalcoach@peaksports.comwww.baseball-yips.com-BeatBaseballYipsWebsite
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