Is extremely deceptive. You feel it after a perfect swing, you feel it when you’re taking dry cuts.

But its nothing to dwell on. Sometimes a hitter pulls out his front shoulder, gets the barrel on the ball and pulls a homer. It was a bad swing, but it felt great. The next 3 at bats he gets, he takes the same cuts, feels horrible and finds himself a nice golden sombrero (or is that 4 Ks?).

As a player, you have to make the right mechanics your instinct, regardless of feeling in the zone. As a pitcher, you can feel terrible and out of it, but you still pitch better, and sometimes you feel great and allow hits

The Zone as a feeling is like a monster exhale. Your BP lowers, your adrenaline/epinephrine stops. It helps you concentrate as a pitcher or hitter, but it sometimes makes players lackadaisical about their mechanics. As a pitcher or hitter, to get in the zone is easier than it seems. In general, it takes great breathing and a mantra. When you get nervous and you release epinephrine, your breathing changes, and this makes a player uncomfortable and jumpy. taking large, slow, inhales and exhales through the mouth regulates breathing, especially when you hold your breath for a few seconds. As you exhale, think about a mantra that relaxes you, like “make your pitch” or just “relax.” Sometimes hitting yourself in the chest helps.

In order for your feelings to not inhibit your mechanics, step out of the box or off the mound, make yourself loose and think about your swing/delivery step by step. When you go back to the mound, think about nothing but your mantra. If you’re a pitcher, focus your eyes on the glove. If you’re a hitter, the ball.

In the zone everything around you slows down, the ball looks bigger and you pick up the rotation immediately. Your anticipation level is markedly increased and decidedly on the mark. You absolutely put the maximum “stick” on pitches with the barrel of the bat. Your head must be clear of ALL thoughts and your reactions are swift, efficient and correct.

And part of their studies involves “the Zone” (though not specifically related to baseball). They’ve done all sorts of tests with brainwaves, pulse, etc., and I recall from one of their lectures that you actually exhibit markedly different brainwave patterns in The Zone.

this probably goes without saying, but you might want to look into flow states if you haven’t already. lots of empirical research on them.

the distinction between experiential consciousness and meta-awareness is also relevant (i.e., experiencing vs. thinking about what you are experiencing). let me know if you want me to send some papers your way.

but imo you cannot ever get in the zone without practice. a person might have a moment of success, but that matrix-like moment of everything coming into focus, slowing down, becoming easy…to spend time there takes hard work away from the field.

certainly raw ability is not evenly distributed among players or anyone, for that matter. still, we’ve seen plenty of examples of players who took their talent for granted and never were what they might have been. we’ve seen guys who exceeded what everyone thought they could do.

i know one pitcher in the majors right now. he used to eat like crazy, act pretty crazy, out late, having a pint or two with some regularity. a couple of years ago, after a talk with his gm, he decided to take his physical and mental prep more seriously. he lost weight…a good amount. he quit eating out every meal. he slowed his beverage intake. and his game came together…really came together. he learned, worked, studied, practiced. and his zone moments came much more regularly.

To me it all stems from confidence. If you believe, you will achieve. Success breeds confidence and confidence breeds success. When you are having success, you tend to focus on the positives, which leads to more success. When you are experiencing failure, you are more likely to focus on the negtatives, which leads to less success. Some things that can help you get in the zone? Perfect practice. Limit alcohol consumption. Eat right. Get a good nights sleep. If there’s another issue on your mind, deal with it…etc. I know there’s a lot of cliches in there, but they are cliches for a reason:)

Once during basketball practice in high school, even though I was a below average player, I made 22 of 25 three-pointers. No matter where I was standing, how I was being guarded, or if I was even looking at the basket, the ball just fell through the basket. It is the only time I felt like this playing basketball.

Another time playing high school football as a running back, I had 7 carries for over 100 yards and 4 touchdowns. Everyone else on the field seemed to be moving in slow motion.

Finally, as a middle-aged softball player I had 10 hits in a row, all liners right over the pitchers head, which is way above my normal level of performance.

So, I believe in “The Zone” but for a below average athlete, it doesn’t happen much. (I can remember every time I have had the feeling.) I often thought that exceptional talents such as Barry Sanders, Tony Gwynn, and Michael Jordan played in the zone all the time.

… all get “in the zone” from time to time. It is as if you have a direct connection to your audience, whether you can see them or not. You “feel” them and their reactions, and you are able to say (or NOT say), or do (or NOT do) the perfect thing to lead their reactions. I wish I knew how you get there … because, with me, it happens only sporatically.

From my limited experience, being in the zone is something that would be fairly apparent in by your first at-bat of the game. Tracking the pitches comes naturally, and no matter what happens, you are in control of your reactions and your future reactions - this carries over into all preceding at bats for the rest of the game. The game is yours and you are playing it - it does not play you.

I am a writer by trade, but I feel The Zone best when I’m playing Rock Band.

I generally have to pay close attention when playing a challenging song on “expert.” On particularly difficult songs — they’re difficult because of quick notes and non-linear timing changes — I tend to miss a lot of notes once I lose my way.

Occasionally, though, I’ll knock a difficult song out of the park. I’ll get through the entire solo flawlessly. When it’s happening, I don’t notice each note change. My fingers just make the adjustments without me being consciously involved.

I have attempted to reproduce these moments. I have been successful in that I know when I’m in the zone … even before I start playing. I’d describe it as an anxious focus. I am not calm. I feel a surge of energy in my body, but my mind isn’t scrambled. I am hyper sensitive to physical stimuli, but I’m not panicky.

I cannot create that state. I try. Caffeine and a good day at work play a role …

This is all applicable to baseball, of course. The same “fingers make adjustments without me being consciously involved” is the same thing Ryan Howard is experiencing when he goes deep five games in a row.

John,

This is, perhaps, THE perfect example of the problem of arm-chair psychology being conducted by sports media and fans. None of this is rooted in any form of real physchological theory.

Who says the zone is mental? The posters, all well meaning I’m sure, talk about these nonquantifiable feelings or worse, something like confidence. Yet how do we know those “feelings” are a response to something mental? Isn’t it more likely that these feelings are a response to something physcial, an environmental stimulus? Perhaps something in response to muscle memory? The repeition of the same movement over and over, free of minute variations which occur at an unconsious and micro level, might be responsible for the “Zone.” For this feeling of unconscious thought.

But there’s nothing mentally predictive about it. It’s a psychological response to a very real, physical stimulus. The breakdown occurs is when you don’t feel in the zone, and your response is to start changing things up on the mound or in the batters box. Which causes a phycial breakdown. Soon you’re having to reteach your body how to do something, essentially reconditioning muscle memory. When this happens, even on the incredibly small scale of a pro athelete, it takes time for the body to learn these movements to the point where they become unconscious.

I know you mean well by this John, but I suggest you read up on some current cognitive behavioral therapies out there, just as a starting point, so you have a foundation of knoweldge from which to draw.

I was a college and post college Lacrosse goalie, and I was in the zone on a few occasions. The one thing I learned is to just enjoy it and not think. The second I thought “Hey, I’m in the zone” it kicked me out. I’ve always considered it as a bit of detachment from the situation consciously and the intrusion of that conscious thought of recognition of what is happening always ruined it for me.