What Mental Skills Training Does for Your Athlete’s Future

Discover what Harvard research on 194 pro baseball players reveals about mental skills training and why it matters for your athlete's development and future.

By Scott K. Wilder · Young Athletes and Parents

GAME READY MINDSET® | GAME READY MINDSET® GRADUATE RESEARCH SERIES | FOR PARENTS

WHAT MENTAL SKILLS TRAINING DOES FOR YOUR ATHLETE’S FUTURE

Harvard Research on 194 Professional Players — What Parents Need to Know

High School and College Baseball

Game Ready Mindset® is a sports mental performance company that provides consulting, coaching and products for high school and college baseball athletes and teams. Our approach combines the mental, physical and emotional sides of performance — built on decades of experience working with elite athletes, teams and some of the world’s largest companies.

RESEARCH SOURCE

Hayes, C. (2019). Mind games: Does using a Mental Skills coach improve the performance of professional baseball players? Master’s thesis, Harvard University Extension School. Harvard Digital Access to Scholarship. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:42006727

Graduate research thesis, Harvard University Extension School. Supervised by Dr. Jonathan Jenkins, Psy.D. and Dr. Dante Spetter, Ph.D. Dataset of 194 current and former professional baseball players across all 30 MLB organizations. Published via Harvard’s DASH repository, 2019. Not a peer-reviewed journal article. Ideas reframed in Game Ready Mindset®’s voice and applied to high school and college baseball.

Every parent invests in their athlete’s physical development — lessons, camps, showcases, equipment. Harvard research now gives us data on what the mental side of that investment produces. The numbers are significant.

THE STUDY AND WHAT IT FOUND

In 2019, researcher Chris Hayes at Harvard University collected the largest dataset ever assembled comparing professional baseball players who worked with a Mental Skills coach to those who did not. 194 current and former professional players across all 30 MLB organizations participated. The players had an average of 13 years of post-career perspective when they responded — meaning their answers reflect honest reflection, not in-the-moment emotion.

194

Professional players studied

2.3 yrs

Longer careers with a Mental Skills coach

1.25

Levels higher reached in professional baseball

13 yrs

Average time retired when surveyed

WHAT THE DATA SAYS ABOUT CAREERS AND OUTCOMES

KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS — HAYES (2019), HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Mental Skills coaching produced 2.3 years of additional career length — statistically significant

Career length in professional baseball is the clearest measure of development success. Two and a half additional years is a substantial and statistically significant finding (p < .001). This result was corrected for selection bias — meaning it was not simply a case of more talented players being more likely to seek coaching.

Mental Skills players reached 1.25 levels higher in professional baseball — statistically significant

The professional baseball ladder runs from Rookie ball through Single-A, Double-A, Triple-A and the Major Leagues. Players who worked with a Mental Skills coach advanced significantly further up that ladder (p < .001). At the Double-A level specifically, 75% of coached players reached the Majors versus 11% of those without coaching.

Mental Skills players were significantly more likely to say they got everything out of their skillset

This is the outcome every parent hopes for their athlete. Not that they made it to the top — but that they fully realized the potential they had. Mental Skills players answered this question significantly more positively (p = .009). Players who retired without mental skills training answered it differently — and carried that answer with them.

Mental Skills players reported their off-field life affected their on-field performance more positively

This finding is meaningful for families. The mental skills that help an athlete manage pressure, reset after mistakes, and maintain consistency on the field are the same skills that help them manage relationships, academics and life off the field. The research found this connection was statistically significant (p = .049).

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR FAMILY

THE REALITY

WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR ATHLETE

You’ve invested in physical development — lessons, camps, showcases, equipment

Physical development is essential and non-negotiable. But the Harvard data shows that at every level of professional baseball — where every player already has elite physical tools — mental skills training was the variable that determined how far players went and how long they played.

Your athlete already believes the mental game matters

The study found that 75% of players who never trained the mental side of their game said in retrospect that it would have helped. Your athlete likely already knows this. The missing piece is not awareness — it is a structured system to train it.

The skills transfer beyond baseball

The Harvard study found that Mental Skills players reported their off-field life positively affected their on-field performance at significantly higher rates. The mental skills trained through Game Ready Mindset — focus, composure, emotional regulation, resilience — are not baseball skills. They are life skills that show up in the sport first.

The window to build these habits is now

Professional players in the Harvard study were an average of 13 years removed from their careers when they responded. Many of them wished they had trained the mental side earlier. Your athlete is not looking back yet. They are in the middle of the window where these habits form.

HOW GAME READY MINDSET WORKS FOR FAMILIES

WHAT IT PROVIDES

HOW IT HELPS YOUR FAMILY

1

Shared language

Game Ready Mindset gives athletes, coaches and parents the same vocabulary — Weather System, ARC Reset, WIN, Energy Check. When a player comes home after a tough game, parents know how to respond with language that supports rather than adds pressure.

2

No extra time required

The system is built into existing practice. No separate sessions, no extra appointments. Mental reps happen inside every physical rep. Your athlete trains both simultaneously.

3

Parent guides

Game Ready Mindset provides dedicated parent resources on how to support an athlete’s mental development without adding pressure — including specific language for before and after games, handling slumps, and managing tryout anxiety.

4

Life skills built first

The research confirms that mental performance skills transfer beyond the sport. Focus, composure, emotional regulation and resilience are trained through baseball and used everywhere else. That is the investment that lasts beyond the playing career.

WHAT 75% OF PLAYERS WISHED THEY’D DONE

75% of professional players who retired without ever training the mental side of their game said looking back that it would have helped their career.

Your athlete can be in the other 25%.

WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS TO DO

Start training the mental game now — not when problems appear, not in a slump, not at a showcase. Now. Before the pressure is highest. That is when the habits form.

Game Ready Mindset trains both sides — every practice, every rep.

Game Ready Mindset™ | Scott K. Wilder | Text/Call: 415-205-6060

Scott@Coachwilder.com | gamereadymindset.co