Implementing a Breathing Technique to Manage Performance Anxiety in Softball (Report‪)‬

Top high school athletes who are recruited to college teams may have seen little--or even no--failure in their athletic careers to that point. But at the college level, there are aspects that separate the good athlete from the great. The separation can be the difference between winning and losing. For some athletes, the first real failure is faced during the freshman year in college. First-year college softball athletes, for instance, may begin to realize that the game is quicker, the opponents are stronger, and their teammates share skills and strengths similar to their own. Some athletes rise to the challenge, while others become anxious and may fail. It is not uncommon for a coach to witness an athlete succumb to such anxiety. Sometimes, an athlete simply walks to the plate mentally defeated, before a single pitch has been thrown. But coaches strive to prepare all athletes with the skills they need to perform in these situations. So why do some athletes perform well, while others cannot?