Count me among the skeptics that there can be radical breakthroughs in sports psychology.
Here's why:
There is a commonly held Facebook belief that humans only use 10 percent of their brains. If a person could employ the other 90 percent, he or she would predict the future, bend spoons with the mind, and so forth.
Everyone I know that holds this mind belief has never really pushed themselves mentally or physically to the edge of their breaking point.
When I was six, I thought I was going to be a rocket scientist. That didn't last long. They wouldn't let me into college prep algebra in high school. When I was 15, I thought I was going to be a boss wrestler. I was disabused of that notion by a regional rival who liked to grind my face into the mat in front of my friends and family. When I was a senior in college, I thought that I was going to ace law school. I got to 1L, worked my very hardest, cracked two molars from grinding my teeth at night, and wound up in the 50th percentile. Exact middle of my class. I didn't get better at wrestling from believing that I was better, I got better from diligently studying judo in the off season and getting an edge over my opponents. I got better at law by years of practice.
It hit me around 2L. I'm not a genius. I'm not especially special. I've given many different things my all, and have discovered the limits of my unlocked potential. There are people out there who are just better than me at many different things. I'm never going to be Usain Bolt. My top speed is 18.5 mph, and it will never be possible for me to hump up to 23 mph. If I worked at it every day, I might hit 20 mph. If I went to a race, I would be there with the really fast people, who exceed 20 mph, and I would appear slow.
Baseball is similar. In baseball, players become used to failure, pain and suffering. Those other guys, they like to drive Mercedes too. You can teach a pitcher a new grip and give him an edge. You can teach a batter superior strike zone control or pitch recognition and give him an edge. You can eat HGH gummy bears and get an edge. But you can't think yourself into Beast Mode. It has to come from inside of you.
Sports psychology has its place, but the delta between a new system of sports psychology and the system that everyone has been using is probably not great. There are things that a person can do to maximize their psychology. My list of ways to maximize output is as follows: 1. Don't drink or do drugs, or do anything that is more fun than your work. 2. Don't fight with your wife. 3. Do something that you know gives you an edge. 4. Find something rewarding about your job. 5. Play some good music while you work. 6. Make a to do list and then cross out things when they are finished.
My two cents.