The Softball Shift

Mental Sweet Spot•www.mentalsweetspot.com

Welcome to **The Softball Shift: Coaching Softball from the Inside Out**—the go-to podcast for softball coaches dedicated to enhancing their team's mental game and fostering a winning team culture. Hosted by seasoned coaches Mel Rushing and Alicia Smith, who bring over 30 years of combined experience in sport psychology, leadership, and performance coaching, this podcast offers actionable strategies to develop mentally tough athletes and cohesive teams. Each episode dives into topics such as mental training techniques, building resilience, effective communication, and leadership development, providing you with the tools to elevate your coaching game and lead your team to success. Whether you're a seasoned coach or just starting out, **The Softball Shift** is the leader's guide for coaching the mental game of softball.

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Episodes

When Your Team Loses Focus [MHS]

More practice days gave us more time to teach the mental game in practice, so we had plenty of time to tackle the topic of being in Control. In the episode, we discuss: Focusing on fundamentals and adding pressure What each player needs when they lose focus Going through the focus funnel before each pitch Focusing […] The post How to deal with distractions | Week 8 [MHS] appeared first on Mental Sweet Spot ....

Jul 22, 2018•18 min•Ep. 9

How To Stay On A Winning Streak [MHS]

This week was a busy one for Mattawan Softball, which was a great test for our primary focus with this business: how to implement the mental game when your time is limited. In the episode, we discuss: Teaching the players how to control the controllables Using time off strategically Celebrating wins and growth Not making excuses but acknowledging the facts of the situation Implementing the mental game when you only have one day of practice for the whole week(!)...

Jul 09, 2018•23 min•Ep. 8

Taking Your Team to the Next Level [MHS]

There are going to be times when you ask, is this mental stuff even working? The answer is yes! But there are some days when frustration mounts because it’s taking longer than you’d like and you start to second-guess it. That’s what happened this week and we discuss: The Snowball Effect- when one bad play turns into a bad game Taking a different approach when the same thing keeps happening (great game 1, terrible game 2) What happens when motivational speeches aren't quite enough and you have to...

Jul 09, 2018•25 min•Ep. 7

How to Give Better Feedback [MHS]

This week didn’t go so great for the team, so Alicia shares how she helped the team work through it and move forward. We discuss: Adapting to weather and distractions How negative self-talk hurts their confidence Encouraging the players to give each other feedback Giving positive and productive feedback despite setbacks Building relationships Managing expectations

Jul 02, 2018•29 min•Ep. 6

How to Build Mental Toughness [MHS]

In this episode, we show you how we discovered the team’s and individual players’ best mental strengths (the 7Cs) while also building their weaker Cs. We discuss: Staying accountable to your commitment and teammates. Their first “real” games and how things went. Setting expectations in a way that ensures your players hear the message beyond your disappointed tone

Jul 02, 2018•29 min•Ep. 5

Get Your Girls to Focus on the Process [MHS]

You've likely already taught your girls why they need to focus on the process, but what about the how? Just like telling a girl to keep her head down when fielding a ground ball doesn't always seem to help in the moment... We have to give our players the skills they need in order to accomplish a task. In this case, we talk about how to focus on the process by setting long-term goals and breaking them down into a daily focus. We discuss: The importance of focusing on the process. Setting long and...

Jun 25, 2018•17 min•Ep. 4

Team Building Through Building Trust [MHS2]

If you fail to build trust in your team, you are setting yourself up for more failure. When times get tough, each player has to trust that their teammates and coaches have their back. But just saying "We have to have each other's backs," isn't enough. You build that trust in your team by fostering open, honest communication and developing empathy for one another. That way, when someone disagrees with the way someone else is doing things, that conversation will go a lot more smoothly. We discuss:...

Jun 25, 2018•31 min•Ep. 3

Building A Drama-Free Culture [MHS]

Building culture is arguably a coach's #1 most important job. But it's just now getting the attention it deserves! We've been working on culture-building in an intentional way for a while now, and the results have been phenomenal! Our teams are closer, there's less drama, and everyone is united for the same goal. The secret sauce though, is in getting everyone's input. Because culture starts with buy-in. And what better way to get buy-in than the use their own language? In this episode, we give ...

Jun 18, 2018•34 min•Ep. 2

Setting the Standard for the Season [MHS]

This episode is the first in a series following Alicia's team for an entire season while working on the 7Cs! We'll introduce what we'll be doing with the team and discuss : The core standards of the Mattawan program & Alicia's expectations Using the Athlete Types assessment to get to know each other better. Exploring why they play - both individually and as a team Setting daily process goals and working it into the practice plan...

Jun 18, 2018•18 min•Ep. 1

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