Q: Is there a set of guidelines or a checklist that you can give to players that will guide them through an accurate self-evaluation process?
A: Here is a framework--- a set of guidelines--- which can be used to assist a player in conducting an accurate self-evaluation of their game performance.
I. Following the game, wait for a few hours or for the next day to engage in the
self-evaluation process, alone, before any meeting with the coach or others.
II. Review your game performance inning by inning, using video and other
information which you have at your disposal.
III. Take a piece of paper and list the things that you believed that did well during
the game—mentally as well as in terms of baseball skills. This may be things like
the quality of your at bats, your fielding, the use of your pitches, your focus and
composure, or other relevant things, depending on your role and position on the
team.
IV. Based on the things which you listed and which you believed that you did well,
challenge yourself on the reasons why you were able to do these things well.
V. Now, list the things that you did not do well as you would have expected during
the game mentally and in terms of baseball skills. (see the types of examples in III)
VI. Here too, challenge yourself about the reasons that may have been responsible for
not doing these things well for this game.
VII. Pinpoint what you have learned about yourself as a baseball player from this game
and how you can use what you have learned to make yourself a better player.
VIII. Schedule a time when you can meet with your coach to review and discuss your
self-evaluation and to get the feedback of the coach on your performance.
Q: When should a player start performing or consider self-evaluation (any particular age or level of play)?
A: The process of engaging in accurate self-evaluation of performance, as we have been discussing it in this question and answer interview, can be initiated at levels of play beginning at around middle school age and then become more refined at higher levels of competitive play. However, no matter at what level of competitive play the process is used, the following conditions should exist: (a) the player is motivated to improve their development and performance; (b) the player has been instructed in a framework for accurate self-evaluation such as the one that I have described in response to the question previous; and (c) the player’s coach is in accord with this kind of process and is supportive of the player.
Bio Sketch --- Charles A. Maher, PsyD, CC-AASP is Sport and Performance Psychologist and Director of Personal and Organizational Performance for the Cleveland Indians. He has been with the Indians for 20 years and he has been involved in sport and performance psychology for 30 years. He also has served as a sport psychologist during this time for a range of professional teams, beyond the Indians, including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Browns, Chicago White Sox, New York Jets, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, and San Antonio Spurs as well as with tennis players, boxers, and other elite athletes. He is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Rutgers University where he serves as a consultant to the Department of Sports Medicine as well as to the Rutgers football and men’s and women’s basketball teams. He is a licensed psychologist and has authored many books and journal articles. His most recent baseball book is The Complete Mental Game: Taking Charge of the Process, On and Off the Field. He has had numerous professional experiences in helping to clarify substantial
throwing problems and resolving these problems with baseball players and other athletes and furthermore, he also has worked over the years with government agencies and private corporations, worldwide. He also has been a high school baseball coach, a high school and college basketball coach, as well as a special education teacher and special services director in public schools.
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