I heard an interview with Andy McKay who is the Director of Player Development for the Seattle Mariners Baseball Team over the weekend. It was very insightful for me as a coach as he talked about how they work with the baseball players to have success on the field. Most people think about the coaches that are there during the game with the players, but there are a lot of other coaches helping to support the players in the background. Some of the other types of coaches focus on strengths, conditioning and mental skills. The coaches are there to help them not only improve their physical skills, but also their mental skills.
What was really interesting to me is how they work with the players on their mental skills to ensure that they are focused and ready for the long season of 162 games. Here are some of the takeaways that I had from the information that he shared:
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How many mental skills coaches are there?
- The Seattle Mariners have 3-4 coaches working with the players.
- 25 out of 30 Professional Baseball teams are using mental skills coaches as well
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What are some of the challenges of being a mental skills coach?
- They want the mental skills coaching process to be normalized and be viewed just like physical skills coaching
- They wear uniforms to blend in just like any other coach
- Previous generations were not as open to working on mental skills, but that has changed with more recent generations
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What is the coaching process like?
- They coach them one on one or in groups
- Helping the players focus on the right things
- All of the players in the league and on their team are the best, so the players need to find ways to separate themselves from other players by focusing on the thing that is happening at that moment.
- Example coaching scenario: When a player steps up to the plate to hit, he should focus on what pitch he wants, where he wants to hit, etc.
- Focus on only the next 15 seconds and what you want to happen
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What are some of the challenges that the players have?
- The grind of playing 162 games wears on them mentally more than physically
- They play many of those games on back to back days
- The players will play when they are doing well, but they also have to play when they are struggling
- Helping them see that the game they are playing is a game of confidence
- It is also a game of luck where you can do everything right, but you have little control on the outcome of the game
Although baseball players, business leaders, teachers and entrepreneurs are working in different settings, they all have similar challenges. Struggling with a lack of confidence, being focused, feeling like they are not good enough or an imposter are all examples of issues that can impact people no matter what type of role they have. This is where coaches come in to help people move forward from where they are to go where they want to be. Hearing this interview just reinforced for me that everybody can use a coach to help them achieve success!
Are you struggling with any of the challenges discussed in the blog? The power of a mastermind is there to help you move forward with the help and support of a group. Would you like to hear more about the Powerful Leadership Mastermind group that is just getting started? We have a few spots left for the group which meets every other week on Tuesday mornings.
The group is led by me and my partner (and cousin) Kim who are both ICF Certified Coaches. We are offering an introductory rate to join and we are looking for people who are motivated to make a change in their personal or professional lives. If you would like to learn more about it and join the group you can click on this link: Powerful Leadership Mastermind or reach out to me.