The Yips

[laker]

I've got the yips. It started in HS baseball and I still have it today. I'll be 46 in June. So, I've had it for "a while". Long toss is fine, especially if I put the crow hop in there. But, playing regular distance catch with either my DS or DD is different, especially if there are a lot of people around. One bad throw and I'm in my head, gripping the ball too tight, bouncing them or throwing them 10 feet high. Some days are better than others. I've never mentioned the term around them, and I won't be the first one to add it to their vocabulary. No way.

Laker

 

[laker]

Hello, my name is Laker, and I have The Yips.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I did not find out, if she can throw long distance. I should have. Now, I have to hope that she makes the HS team and we can go from there.

 

[NorthMS]

Like the people before have said, it's completely mental. I went through it for a very short period of time. My coach had me to get the ball back to the P real quick and don't lob it. For me, something about just slinging the ball with all arm knock me out of it.

Hopefully she won't dwell on it and does great at tryouts.

 

[PEPPERS]

I did not find out, if she can throw long distance. I should have. Now, I have to hope that she makes the HS team and we can go from there.

DD can throw a ball from center field fence to third on target time after time, but can get where she can not throw from pitchers mound to the bases at times, usually a correction of mechanics fixes the problem.

 

[Strike2]

Hello, my name is Laker, and I have The Yips.

You're not alone. I developed it in my late 30s, and went from turning double-plays to launching balls into the dugout. It got bad enough that I couldn't play any IF position except for 1B. Throws from the OF were always fine, and one confused friend once asked how I could hit a bucket from 100 feet, but could screw up a 30 foot toss. It persisted when my DD was younger, probably because I was thinking about the release so I wouldn't throw it too hard. Now that she is older, it's largely gone, and thankfully, she's ignorant of the word "yip". I still "warm-up" by throwing some easy pop-fly tosses, and then move back (>60 feet) and throw full speed, and then move in.

 

[Jojo]

Amy have you tried getting her to fire it back like she's throwing to second?
Just get her to think, throw to second! and the pitcher is just the cut-off.
Keeps those fine motor skills in place.

 

[guero_gordo]

All golfers, even sane ones, are prone to the Yips, particularly in the short game. I've read some good stuff by "Dr. Bob" Rotella.
FTR, my golf game never got better. ;-)

He does have a new book, which I have not read, called "The Unstoppable Golfer" that deals with the Yips.

Dr. Bob Rotella: Inside The Golfer's Mind : Golf Digest
Dr. Bob Rotella: My 10 Rules On Mental Fitness : Golf Digest

 

[Jojo]

All golfers, even sane ones, are prone to the Yips, particularly in the short game. I've read some good stuff by "Dr. Bob" Rotella.
FTR, my golf game never got better. ;-)

He does have a new book, which I have not read, called "The Unstoppable Golfer" that deals with the Yips.

Dr. Bob Rotella: Inside The Golfer's Mind : Golf Digest
Dr. Bob Rotella: My 10 Rules On Mental Fitness : Golf Digest

Oh gosh, now I get it!
I cannot play putt-putt! I cannot hit a golf ball a short distance. It takes me 20 putts to get it into one hole, while I'm slamming the ball around the course.

My husband will yell at me, "Just hit it softly", and I'll yell back, "I'M HITTING IT AS SOFT AS I CAN!!!"

I always blamed it on my quick flex muscles.

 

[BobInMadison]

I agree with the people who refuse to use the word "Yips" around their kids. Sometimes that can be self-defeating.

I remember when I was a kid, I sometimes had trouble with my spelling. My mother told me she couldn't spell, so I had gotten it from her. I never did get good at spelling, although I did discover that working at it improved things.

I was very different with my kids. I let them think they were good spellers, as long as they put in the work. DS was even really into spelling bees for a couple of years. And, learning some of the Greek and Latin roots probably helped with the ACT and SAT, which got him a partial academic scholarship.

So, if DD #3 thinks she gets the Yips, that can be very dangerous for her, and could end her pitching career. If she thinks everything will be OK if she just practices her fielding and tosses to first while pitching, then the problem can be solved. As Yogi Berra said, 90% of everything is half mental.