Fear and Arrogance
May 4, 2011 by Coach McCreary
Filed under Mental Side
“You gotta play this game with fear and arrogance.”
 |
| Nuke LaLoosh prior to leaviong for “the show.” |
Fear. Ever see the popular t-shirts that say “No Fear!” on the front? I’m not a fan of them because, in life and in baseball, every person needs a healthy dose of fear in their mind. Fear can be a very positive thing if handled correctly. In baseball, fear keeps us focused. Fear keeps us looking for ways to get better. Fear doesn’t allow us to play down to a lower skilled opponent. Fear causes us to “bring it” every pitch, inning, game, and season. Fear makes us aware of those who want to take our position and motivates us to not let that happen. Fear is what brings out the best in us in pressure situations. On the other hand, too much fear can destroy all of the things mentioned above. Too much fear keeps us standing still. It prevents us from unlocking our potential as players. It gets us looking over our shoulder instead of what’s in front of us. Sports psychology is not meant to show athletes how to get rid of fear. It shows players how to manage it correctly and use it to the player’s advantage.
Arrogance. Like fear, arrogance is easily seen and largely misunderstood. Arrogance is another word that is mostly defined in the negative. Ask virtually anyone and they will say they don’t like arrogant people. But arrogance is very beneficial as well in the proper amount. Arrogance is what causes a line-up to jump all over the league’s best pitcher. It causes a closer to enter a game in a jam and blow away the opposing hitters. It gets an average or below average player to consistently overachieve. It turns a player with very good skills into a superstar. It’s the quiet confidence of Cliff Lee in this post HERE. Also like fear, though, arrogance has another side of the coin. Too much arrogance gets a player to think his ability alone will carry him forever. Too much convinces a player that previous success will last forever without the need for constant adjustments. It makes a player think that lesser opponents will just lay down in awe and just roll over without a fight. It makes them uncoachable. It makes players talk a good game and seek to look good but rarely back it up with performance. When things go wrong, too much arrogance gets players to point to everyone but themselves for the blame.
Leave a Reply