Home
By DrTom on Monday, February 28th, 2011 | 27 Comments
“Want to Be the Next Cured?”
I solve the yips problem routinely.
Right now I’m upgrading this site. Please click the link below to start your learning, then come back here and explore.
CLICK BELOW FOR THE…
Dear Dr. Tom Hanson,
I am a senior in high school, and the yips are killing me. I first experienced them at the end of summer baseball last year, and they have carried the entire summer over to the high school season. As the starting catcher for the high school team last year, i am expected to do big things this year. However, I just cant seem to have any confidence throwing the ball back to the pitcher. I just end up moonshotting it there and hoping that nobody says anything.. it is killing me inside. If there is something you can do or say, please help me!
Thank You,
Kyle
Sorry to hear about that, Kyle. I literally get 2 to 5 emails just like yours every day.
I’m on a roll fixing them, though. The last couple of years I’ve done tons of work in this area and have developed some ninja moves that work pretty well.
I’m getting close to creating a new self-study program, but nothing takes the place of 1-1 coaching. Let me know if that’s of interest to you.
I’m starting to have trouble throwing batting practice. It all started 3 years ago when I first had to throw bp to Greg Maddox and he said whatever u do don’t hit me. Since then it’s never been fun again. I’m still can do it and everyone says I do it well but it stress me out every day for 162 games.
Most people have one particular moment, or at least one particular day when it started.
The roots of it are deeper than that, as the predisposition (psychological make-up) to get the yips has to be there.
But then one day, one event, kicks it in and slowly (or quickly) there after the dam breaks down and the yips develop.
Got to clear out that source day, then all the collateral damage it has caused since.
Best is to call me to discuss: 813 968 8863
Hi Dr. Tom, I have had the yips on and off for almost four years through high school. I am currently in my first year in college in Noorth Carolina and I have them again. I dont know how to overcome them. when I first begin to warm up , the ball goes completely off to the right. Eventually it starts to get alittle better but not great. I am a right handed pitcher, and my greatest passion is baseball.I am completely miserable. when I begin to throw , its as if I have already set myself up for failure. Please help!
I hear you, man. It’s really painful and not many people really get what’s going on. Often players feel very alone.
Best is to call me: 813-968-8863.
Hi, Dr. My name is Phil and I’ve been looking at your website. I honestly feel like you are talking to me. I verbally committed to UoP my sophmore year and at the beginning of my senior year, it seemed as if I literally forgot how to throw a baseball. I started the year as the ace of my team’s staff and by my third start, I was no longer a pitcher. The last time I pitched in a game was April 21…(weird how I remember that), but more importantly, I threw 1 2/3 innings with 8 walks 3 hit batters and a whopping 17 wild pitches (a majority of which were not even remotely close to the strike zone). I was dropped from my offer and am now at a junior college trying to figure it out, but as you said, simple words do not help. Baseball simply isn’t fun and every time I step on the mound, or even the foul line to play catch, I find myself praying that the ball will somehow find its target. Now, before I enter the bullpen or step onto the mound, I tell my teammates jokes about how poor my performance is going to be…or was afterwards, so they won’t laugh at me. I miss the days when pitching was fun. If there is anything that can be done to remedy my problem I’ll do it. Please help!
Wow, Phil that’s a rough stretch to go through.
I’m sure I can help you though, do it every day. Call me to discuss 813 968 8863.
Dr. Tom
Hey Dr. I’m in high school and I’m a catcher and until about two weeks ago I cannot make a throw back to the pitcher. My throws down to second are almost always perfect but no matter how much I work on it and how much I’m talked to about it, it can’t be fixed. I need help as soon as possible because I’m trying to play varsity this Spring and this is the worst and most stressful time of my life. I’m embarassing myself every time I go out there. If there’es anything you can do, I would appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Hey David — I hear you. No fun. Best is just to call me to talk it over.
Dr. Tom
813 968 8863
I live in Georgia and play baseball for east cobb. I have been reading your cite and it defines me perfectly. Im a junior in high school and play second base. Starting a few months ago i just started feeling scared to throw the ball to first. On easy ground balls i will field it and make a 30 ft bad throw and it’s humiliating. I want to go to the next level with baseball but that wont happen if i cant make a throw. Please help me.
Chase –
I hear that a couple of times a day — I’m sure I can help you. Best is to call to discuss. 813 968 8863. We’ll get you squared away. Dr. Tom
Dr Hanson
I have an 11 year old boy playing travel ball in the tampa bay area. He currently works with Brian Duboise on hitting and Brian gave me your name. My son Mitchell does well at his lessons with Brian but in games he “cant hit the side of a barn”. This weekend he got so frustrated when he struck out that he threw his bat and got thrown out of the game. My wife and I are so frustrated and dont know what to do, he loves BB…… Is there a number or office location that I can reach out to speak with you? Jim LeRoy. Thanks
Yes, you can just call me at 813-968-8863. It’s less common, but guys can get hitting yips. Normally it’s just a slump and doesn’t have the signature anxiety associated with the yips.
Hi Tom,
It’s been many years. Hope all is well with you.
As a Guest Editor of a Special Issue for Case Studies for The Sport Psychologist, I would like to ask if you would review a manuscript about an intervention for yips that was submitted. Here is the abstract:
Abstract
This study explored whether a meridian-based intervention termed the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) could reduce Type I ‘yips’ symptoms. EFT was applied to a single figure handicap golfer in an attempt to overcome the performance decrements the player had suffered. The participant underwent 4 2 hr sessions of EFT. The EFT involved the stimulation of various acupuncture points on the body. The appropriate acupuncture points were tapped whilst the participant was tuned into the perceived psychological causes (significant life event) associated with his ‘yips’ experience. Dependent variables included: visual inspection, putting success rate and the evaluation of motion analysis data. Improvements in ‘yips’ symptoms occurred across all dependent measures. Social validation data also illustrated that these improvements transferred to the competitive situation on the golf course. It is possible that significant life events may be a causal factor in the ‘yips’ experience and that EFT may be an effective treatment for the ‘yips’ condition.
Let me know if you can, and I’ll send you the manuscript. Thanks,
Burt Giges
I am having a very difficult time with my dart game. i started throwing darts for fun with my friends who were all on leagues. I got very good very fast so I was invited onto a team expected to be dominative. first few weeks were great i was throwing better than i ever have and then Boom!! something happened at the line and now i am a head case. i concentrate so much on my mechanics and what i want to do and need to do rather than just doing it. I can’t take out my 301 games, I’m choking on cricket numbers I know i can hit any day of the week and im dissapointing myself and my team. when I am not competeing and just throwing for fun then I’m back on my “A” game and people question all the time but my only answer is that I am a nut job at the line its like a mind block. this has been going on for about a year now and i have my state tournament coming up in 2 months so i need help fast
Adam:
You ARE a nut job! But no more so than me or anyone else. And you’re right it is a block. An energy block.
I work with it all the time with guys throwing a baseball. Same issue — an block in the energy flow through your body.
“No flow, no throw.”
The Chinese doctors say, “Where there is no flow, there is pain. Where there is flow, there is no pain.”
The answer of course is to remove the block. Contact me directly if you’d like my help.
To: Dr. Tom Hanson
From: Dave Holt
Subject: An Interview, Dr. Hanson
Hi Tom, my name is Dave Holt and I run a youth baseball training and development service in Charleston, SC and website called coachandplaybaseball.com. I came across your site while searching information on baseball playing and coaching, and I was blown away by your knowledge and expertise on the subject especially throwing problems. I think my readers would love to learn more about you; would you be open to an interview with us?
If so, we can send you 5 to 10 questions by email, and you can send them back at your convenience. Your answers can be brief and it shouldn’t take up much of your time. In return for this interview, we’d let you plug your website, baseball services and information, and anything else that might benefit our readers.
Please let me know what you think.
I look forward to working with you and hope you’d like to participate. Thanks for your time and have a great week.
Blessings
Dave Holt
Sure, Dave, would be happy to.
Write me at DrTomHanson at gmail.com or call 813 968 8863.
Tom
Hey doc, i am a sophmore in college and i haven’t researched this problem before until today because i thought i was the only one going through it and was way too embarassed to talk about it with anyone else. The problem started on my elite team before college i made an awful throw home and got ripped out by the coach and it stuck with me the whole season it went away until spring in college it was all i ever thought about and i just cant get rid of it, it forced me to quit and not play anymore i love this game more than anything and i dont want my career to end so soon please help! thank you
Classic stuff. I’m sure I can help you. If you haven’t, fill out the form on the right and we’ll set up a conversation.
Dr. Tom
I am a senior first baseman for my hs team. I dislocated my shoulder 2years ago sliding in to base. It popped back in and kept playing. At one game made a couple bad throws to second base and got pulled and screamed at. After that game went to dr. and PT. Was out for three weeks. Ever since I have struggled with the yips on and off. The season is just starting and I can’t play catch without throwing wild. We are just doing winter workouts, so I have time. I am nervous now every time I throw. How do I kick this. I am going to a small college to play next year.
Max:
You aren’t alone. I’ve spent this whole morning talking with players that sound (or used to sound) just like you. A DI softballer, one of the best recruits in the country, a DI freshman baseaball player who could have gone anywhere he wanted. A small college softball player — in tears b/c she can’t throw (also a Freshman — I’d say over 50% of the more than 60 players I worked with last year were Freshmen).
And a golfer who has yipped for 20 years.
I know that doesn’t help you that much — you’re still alone in your own world. But often players feel better to know they aren’t freaks. (You won’t be joining the circus as a side show.)
I just got off the phone with a first session with a good college player who for the first time in 2 years is excited to go throw. We’ll see how it goes, it isn’t often one session gets the job done, but my goal on the first call is for the person to be excited about getting out there to the field or course.
Call me if you’d like to discuss: 813 – 968-8863
Dr. Tom
I am a sophomore first baseman at a junior college. I have had two labrum surgeries in my past, neither of which were major surgeries, but required plenty of PT and eventually a two year recovery. I am throwing as pain free as I ever have with newly developed mechanics to help my shoulder. When I warm up I struggle with my first few throws. I don’t know where the ball is going. I will airmail one high and to the right and the next one will be in the dirt to the left. Once I have warmed my arm up and gotten loose the throws gradually get more consistent. Also when I practice my throws as a first baseman I make them nearly every time, yet when push comes to shove in a game situation I spike the ball ten feet short into the dirt to second base on a double play. It doesn’t make sense to me. It has been a long, frustrating, and embarrassing road. I’m hoping you can help me get out of my funk before the season gets underway.
Thanks,
Chris
I hear you, Chris. Few things, at least in sportsworld, are more painful than the yips. It spreads to the rest of your life like a cancer.
I’m slammed with players I’m coaching now as everyone tries to get ready for the start of the season. Just call me though to discuss options for how I can help you.
813-968-8863.
Dr. Tom
Freshman catcher at a D-1 school that needs help with recent issues getting the ball back to the pitcher. I had this issue once before when I was about 13. Did fine in high school and now struggling again. Would really like some help before the season actually starts. I was fine during fall ball. Thanks
Left handed pitcher at a D-1 school that needs help with the yips. I am afraid to hit a batter. I can throw perfectly fine to just a catcher but as soon as a batter gets in everything goes crazy. I focus too much on what other people think of my performace and that really gets to me. Please let me know what I can do to fix this.
Thanks,
Ryan