The Basic Performance Modes - The Game Mode
- Peter McGahey & Peter Pierro
- May 21, 2022
- 2 min read
You have to trust what you have learned in your practice session and then do it.
The key word, of course, is trust - no second guessing. You have debated between hitting a 7 iron and an 8 iron to the green and you just selected the 8-iron. The 7-iron has just disappeared from your conscious mind - you’re entire focus is on hitting that 8 iron as well as you can and you then must rely on your “automatic” skills. Sam Snead was once asked what he thought about as he was addressing the ball and he said, “If I thought about anything, I would probably miss the darn ball.” Rich (name changed to protect my friendship), a former member of my golf foursome, used to go through a whole list of swing checks every time he hit a ball. By the time he actually swung, he had talked himself out of making a good swing. We finally got him to check just one or two things and his natural swing took over and enabled him to hit better shots. As a result, he lowered his handicap quite a bit and we moved along a lot faster.
Let’s get back to Coach Eager and the suicide squeeze:
Situation – Doing it Correctly:
After the last game, and the not-so-good experience with the suicide squeeze, Coach Eager thought about adding it to his team’s storehouse of tactics and doing it correctly this time. His kids already have had practice experiences with bunting so all Coach has to do is to add some new skills and some understanding of how it fits into the game, how it is executed, and what things must be done with the suicide squeeze that were not included in bunting for a hit. That will be used only when the kids are ready to do it. Then practice, practice, practice, until it becomes “automatic.”
When you have learned a new skill in the Practice Mode, you must trust yourself and use it without fear in the Game Mode.
You will use both a reinforcement model and an awareness model so that your players will learn their skills until they become “automatic” - without “thinking. You will find the reinforcement and awareness models in our book
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