July 20, 2021
REDLEG STATE OF MIND #4–21
Monthly newsletter of the Cincinnati Reds Mental Skills Program. What we’re pondering and promoting to optimize your mental performance.
Theme: This month we want to highlight current events in baseball, focusing on the MLB Draft and MLB All-Star Game.
1. What we’re listening to: Draft details. We are listening to you. We enjoy hearing what it is that you are experiencing as you become a professional baseball player and how you go about starting a new chapter in your professional life. We are listening to how our scouting department and how Red’s staff describe what they have learned about new players joining our organization. Interesting thing is, mental make-up is one of the most important factors in determining player personnel decisions. Listen to Brad Meador, our Director of Scouting, describe how make-up impacted the Red’s selection of Jay Allen as the 30th overall pick.
2. What we’re watching: Euro Cup 2020 and the MLB All-Star Game.
Euro Cup 2020. Across all the clubhouses in the Reds organization, we see soccer on the big screens. We dig the idea of diversity, not just between the individuals that represent the Reds but diversity in our lives. It doesn’t have to be baseball 24/7. In fact, we enjoy observing competitors and the art of competing no matter the sport medium.
MLB All-Star Game. We are thrilled to see two starters for the National League representing the Cincinnati Reds, Nick Castellanos and Jesse Winker. We get to see first-hand how much effort, preparation, and commitment it takes to be the best player at your position for half a season. For mental skills coaches, we are watching how the best players approach their performances. Are their behaviors consistent? What do they say out loud to themselves or others? What is their body language expressing or communicating? You never know what you can learn from any athlete, especially when surrounded by All-Stars.
3. What we’re reading: The genius of athletes: What world-class competitors know that can change your life by Noel Brick, PhD & Scott Douglas. Interestingly, this book was requested from the Reds’ rehabilitation staff of physical therapists. This is important to highlight for a few reasons: (1) Big shout out to the rehab staff as they not only have research, best practices, and continuing education to keep up with within their own scientific field, but they are branching out into the psychological aspects of optimal performance as well for their own professional development. (2) This shows that mental skill building is applicable in many different environments and is important to pursue in these different environments. We are looking forward to reading how these authors explore how competing at the highest levels is an art and science that can be trained.
4. Quote of the week: ”My one goal this year was to come in and be consistent and that is really consistent in my mind… When I am going well I tend to have a really good routine going… It’s just staying consistent up top.” -Jesse Winker, 2021 MLB All-Star
5. Quiz of the week: Where and when was the first MLB All-Star Game played?
- Polo Grounds, New York, NY, 1942
- Comiskey Park, Chicago, IL, 1933
- Crosley Field, Cincinnati, OH, 1953
- None of the above
#Trainyourbrain and #Upyourgame
-Tyler and Andy
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