Do you get frustrated when you just cant throw a strike or you just cant make contact?  Does you confidence rise and fall with every hitter you face or every blooper you crush?  Try the drill below and take control of your time on the field and make it look like you know what your doing.

Pitchers

Give yourself 3 chances to throw 1 good pitch (start with all fastballs). After you throw pitch 1, decide if you like it or don’t like it. Same with pitches 2 and 3. Once you’ve thrown all three pitches decide which one you liked the best. On pitch number 4 you’re going to try and repeat everything about the pitch you liked. This drill will get pitchers to visualize the pitch prior to executing it. It also helps the pitcher to forget about the “bad” pitches he threw in the sequence because he is so focused on finding a good pitch to repeat. Work in sets of 4 and work through all of your pitches. I know, I know,  your curious about what to do if you don’t like any of the pitches in the first 3. Well, its buckle down time. 3 balls 0 strikes, you need to get ‘er done. After that pitch, restart a new sequence and for goodness sake, throw a strike.

If your the type of pitcher that easily gets rattled with bad pitches, you have been doing this drill in the opposite way without even knowing. You have been focusing on your worst pitch, which makes your mind and body want to repeat it. Try this drill and get your mind focused on DO-ing rather than NOT doing.

Hitters

You can do a similar drill using 3 swings off the tee or soft toss. Find which swing you liked the best and repeat it on swing number 4. It will have the same affect on your confidence when you start to become consistent.

Major league pitchers and hitters are so good because they are playing the game ahead of real-time.  Each player is visualizing prior to the play and simply trying to execute what they have done thousands of times before.