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MCCU Batters
EVERYTHING should be geared towards performing your absolute best in the present moment. (MOP - Moment of Performance)
Nothing else matters!
If you mess this delivery up , then all the future deliveries of this innings won't exist because you'll be back in the pavilion!
However the ability to be your absolute best in the present moment is the culmination of various steps. These can be divided into two categories. (1) Technical Skills and (2) Flow Skills.
The technical skills are obviously everything that you practice with Rick, gym sessions, nutrition etc. so you are strong and are unconsciously competent at every type of shot.
The flow skills are what I teach and the following is to set the scene and put it all into context.
FLOW STEPS - PART 1
The Big Picture. It is essential to have clear goals. This means...
- Create a fabulously, amazing set of goals for a) your season/each match as team, as a batting group and as an individual.
Check out this article on goal setting here
Visualisation. The mind does not recognise the difference between what is real and what is vividly imagined. There have been countless research studies conducted which prove that those who spend time visualising the successful outcome of an event are significantly more likely to achieve success in real life than those who don't.
Jack Nicklaus, probably the greatest golfer of all time, is famous for saying that he never played a golf shot without visualising it first.
Check out this article on visualisation here
FLOW STEPS - PART 2
The present moment is all that exists!
Life is just a collection of present moments!
Flow can only be found in the present moment and nowhere else, which means in batting terms, it can only be found in this delivery. NOT the previous delivery which just missed the outside edge of your bat and, NOT when you've just started your innings and getting ahead of yourself by thinking about the brilliant flashing cover drive for four that takes you to your century!
Many people fail to achieve their potential because they spend too much time thinking about the past or the future. The past can be the immediate past ie. the previous delivery, or the past of several weeks/months/years. Similarly the future can be the next few minutes or days/weeks/months/years ahead.
If you learn how to perform to your potential in the present moment and then repeat it in the next present moment and the moment after that, you will give yourself the best possible opportunity to achieve your goals!
So as batters, we are learning how to be completely focused on the present delivery and to be in a state of consciousness which supports us in performing to our potential. Many good batters get good starts to innings and then fail to capitalise by a lapse in concentration. Great batters don't. Many good batters get impatient, great batters don't. Many good batters go after the wrong ball, great batters don't.
The state of consciousness which best supports us in achieving our potential is known as the FLOW STATE.
There are several reasons why Flow is key to successful batting. One of the primary reasons is that our normal conscious state is unable to react quickly enough to the ball after it has been released from the bowler's hand. Therefore we have to rely on unconscious responses, which is actually a good thing because this is where our 'superhuman' abilities are to be found. Studies have shown that the unconscious mind is about one million times more powerful than the conscious mind. (Norrtranders 1998)
How do we best stay fully present in the present moment?
Research has found that the conscious mind is very much process driven; it's a serial processor. This means it likes to have a clear set of steps to follow. And if we learn to follow a set of steps religiously every single time, it allows the mind to relax because it knows that after A comes B and then C etc. When we don't have a clear set of steps, the mind has to waste time and energy analysing alternatives. And as batters we don't have any time to waste when we have to react to the ball in a fraction of a second!
The process I teach to help you stay in the moment and be process driven is called TELL.
TELL stands for Think, Execute and Learn & Let go
Think
This is the 'pre-delivery' step. This is when you are using your logical analytical mind to get ready to receive the delivery. It'll include various things from field setting, adjusting your padding/helmet, your stance, your grip, thoughts on the bowler etc. It is also beneficial to do a brief visualisation of you hitting a sweetly timed shot... seeing the ball early, moving your feet into position and feeling/hearing the ball connecting with the middle of the bat!
The Think step will then end, maybe it's when the bowler starts their run up?
We need to acknowledge the end of the Think step in some way because we need a transition from the Think step to the Execution step. The best way to facilitate this transition is by taking two or three deep breaths and performing a small physical action. It will be something unique to you and is something that your unconscious mind will come to recognise as the trigger to the Execution step.
This trigger tells your unconscious mind that it needs to get all it's resources lined up because a ball is going to be heading it's way! (In the full flow programme, we spend a lot of time on this section and use the FocusBand to give us feedback that we are effectively accessing the gateway to flow state.)
Execution
This is you playing the shot. Your head is clear from conscious interference and your unconscious mind selects the most appropriate action.
Learn & Let Go
The shot has happened and we need to complete the process by learning any lesson from the experience and then letting go. It's really important that we are able to fully accept what has happened. It is what it is and our response'ability (ability to respond) is to take the learning and move on. Remember there is no such thing as failure, there is only feedback. Successful people in whatever arena don't dwell on negatives or short comings, they learn and let go! Also acknowledge a good shot... tell yourself, 'well done!' and 'let's do that again!' Imagine you're speaking to another part of you that is in control of your performance!
A great innings is simply the TELL process repeated again and again and again...
Conclusion
(1) Get the big picture stuff clear as a group and as individuals.
(2) Visualise what that all looks like.
(3) Get your TELL routine clear in your mind. Visualise yourself doing it and then practice it in the nets. For every shot!
The TELL Process in context... (see my skilful drawing below!)
A= the whole season,
B= one game (batter opening and batting for 20 overs),
C= 20 overs (batter facing 60 deliveries),
D= one over (batter facing three deliveries),
E= one delivery broken down into the TELL Process.
Nothing else matters!
If you mess this delivery up , then all the future deliveries of this innings won't exist because you'll be back in the pavilion!
However the ability to be your absolute best in the present moment is the culmination of various steps. These can be divided into two categories. (1) Technical Skills and (2) Flow Skills.
The technical skills are obviously everything that you practice with Rick, gym sessions, nutrition etc. so you are strong and are unconsciously competent at every type of shot.
The flow skills are what I teach and the following is to set the scene and put it all into context.
FLOW STEPS - PART 1
The Big Picture. It is essential to have clear goals. This means...
- Create a fabulously, amazing set of goals for a) your season/each match as team, as a batting group and as an individual.
Check out this article on goal setting here
Visualisation. The mind does not recognise the difference between what is real and what is vividly imagined. There have been countless research studies conducted which prove that those who spend time visualising the successful outcome of an event are significantly more likely to achieve success in real life than those who don't.
Jack Nicklaus, probably the greatest golfer of all time, is famous for saying that he never played a golf shot without visualising it first.
Check out this article on visualisation here
FLOW STEPS - PART 2
The present moment is all that exists!
Life is just a collection of present moments!
Flow can only be found in the present moment and nowhere else, which means in batting terms, it can only be found in this delivery. NOT the previous delivery which just missed the outside edge of your bat and, NOT when you've just started your innings and getting ahead of yourself by thinking about the brilliant flashing cover drive for four that takes you to your century!
Many people fail to achieve their potential because they spend too much time thinking about the past or the future. The past can be the immediate past ie. the previous delivery, or the past of several weeks/months/years. Similarly the future can be the next few minutes or days/weeks/months/years ahead.
If you learn how to perform to your potential in the present moment and then repeat it in the next present moment and the moment after that, you will give yourself the best possible opportunity to achieve your goals!
So as batters, we are learning how to be completely focused on the present delivery and to be in a state of consciousness which supports us in performing to our potential. Many good batters get good starts to innings and then fail to capitalise by a lapse in concentration. Great batters don't. Many good batters get impatient, great batters don't. Many good batters go after the wrong ball, great batters don't.
The state of consciousness which best supports us in achieving our potential is known as the FLOW STATE.
There are several reasons why Flow is key to successful batting. One of the primary reasons is that our normal conscious state is unable to react quickly enough to the ball after it has been released from the bowler's hand. Therefore we have to rely on unconscious responses, which is actually a good thing because this is where our 'superhuman' abilities are to be found. Studies have shown that the unconscious mind is about one million times more powerful than the conscious mind. (Norrtranders 1998)
How do we best stay fully present in the present moment?
Research has found that the conscious mind is very much process driven; it's a serial processor. This means it likes to have a clear set of steps to follow. And if we learn to follow a set of steps religiously every single time, it allows the mind to relax because it knows that after A comes B and then C etc. When we don't have a clear set of steps, the mind has to waste time and energy analysing alternatives. And as batters we don't have any time to waste when we have to react to the ball in a fraction of a second!
The process I teach to help you stay in the moment and be process driven is called TELL.
TELL stands for Think, Execute and Learn & Let go
Think
This is the 'pre-delivery' step. This is when you are using your logical analytical mind to get ready to receive the delivery. It'll include various things from field setting, adjusting your padding/helmet, your stance, your grip, thoughts on the bowler etc. It is also beneficial to do a brief visualisation of you hitting a sweetly timed shot... seeing the ball early, moving your feet into position and feeling/hearing the ball connecting with the middle of the bat!
The Think step will then end, maybe it's when the bowler starts their run up?
We need to acknowledge the end of the Think step in some way because we need a transition from the Think step to the Execution step. The best way to facilitate this transition is by taking two or three deep breaths and performing a small physical action. It will be something unique to you and is something that your unconscious mind will come to recognise as the trigger to the Execution step.
This trigger tells your unconscious mind that it needs to get all it's resources lined up because a ball is going to be heading it's way! (In the full flow programme, we spend a lot of time on this section and use the FocusBand to give us feedback that we are effectively accessing the gateway to flow state.)
Execution
This is you playing the shot. Your head is clear from conscious interference and your unconscious mind selects the most appropriate action.
Learn & Let Go
The shot has happened and we need to complete the process by learning any lesson from the experience and then letting go. It's really important that we are able to fully accept what has happened. It is what it is and our response'ability (ability to respond) is to take the learning and move on. Remember there is no such thing as failure, there is only feedback. Successful people in whatever arena don't dwell on negatives or short comings, they learn and let go! Also acknowledge a good shot... tell yourself, 'well done!' and 'let's do that again!' Imagine you're speaking to another part of you that is in control of your performance!
A great innings is simply the TELL process repeated again and again and again...
Conclusion
(1) Get the big picture stuff clear as a group and as individuals.
(2) Visualise what that all looks like.
(3) Get your TELL routine clear in your mind. Visualise yourself doing it and then practice it in the nets. For every shot!
The TELL Process in context... (see my skilful drawing below!)
A= the whole season,
B= one game (batter opening and batting for 20 overs),
C= 20 overs (batter facing 60 deliveries),
D= one over (batter facing three deliveries),
E= one delivery broken down into the TELL Process.
Any questions, please contact me on nick.lees@flowppa.com or message me on 07411 944284
Once you are happy with your TELL process, we'll go onto the specifics of how to access the Flow state!