Tewksbury combats players’ ‘negative self-talk’

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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Boston Red Sox media guide calls him a “sport psychology coach,” but Bob Tewksbury prefers calling himself a sports psychology-mental skills coach.

Never mind his job title, what exactly is he?

“I work on the areas of performance relating to mental skills using relaxation, concentration, visualization and self-talk,” said the former major league All-Star pitcher.

Self-talk?

“It’s about getting guys to listen to that little voice in their heads,” the 46-year-old Tewksbury explained. “Everyone has one. I call it self-talk and it’s a way to get people to listen to that voice.”

It’s only because Tewksbury listened to his own little voice one day five years ago that he has this job.

“When I retired in 1998, I worked as a pitching consultant with Double-A and Triple-A players and I seemed to be working on the more mental aspects of the game,” Tewksbury recalled. “I figured I needed more training so I checked into sports psychology programs.”

The veteran of 13 big league seasons found what he was looking for at Boston University, where he enrolled in a year-long graduate school program and earned a master’s degree in sports psychology and counseling in 2004.

The Red Sox had a sports psychologist of sorts, but it was a part-time job that was eliminated in 2003. They brought it back as a full-time position in 2005 and hired Tewksbury.

“I’ve kind of carved out my own little niche since then,” Tewksbury said. “Right now I’m meeting with everyone during spring training one on one for 10 minutes to let them know I’m available in my little office adjacent to the dining facilities.

“During the season, I’ll follow up with guys, especially if I see they’re in a slump.”

Tewksbury says the roots of most players’ problems are similar.

“Negative self-talk and constantly beating themselves up for that one bad at-bat or one bad pitch, rather than thinking about all the things they did well, or low expectations of not getting a hit every at-bat are common,” he explained. “And most of it’s related to being too tense and trying to do too much.”

Tewksbury attempts to identify the causes of distractions or lack of confidence and then find the best way for players to refocus and block out distractions.

“There’s absolutely a lot of common sense to it, no question. It isn’t rocket science,” Tewksbury admits. “A lot involves action and reaction and a lot of it is pretty basic, but a lot of these guys are young and not as developed, maturity-wise.

“A lot of this is geared more toward the younger guys who haven’t dealt with things than the older, higher-level guys who have been there and done that already.”

Of course, the player has to want help to get it. Tewksbury’s standing as a former big league pitcher helps in that regard as players are more apt to talk to someone who’s been in their cleats.

“I’d say 110 big league wins automatically gives me a connection and creates a bond with the players, which a lot of well-trained psychologists don’t have,” he said.

Tewksbury enters his third season as the Sox shrink, but that doesn’t mean his job is any easier or more defined.

“I keep learning. I learn how much I don’t know,” he said. “I learn more about player personalities and profiles with certain players and what’s the best way to talk to them, but I also learned it all comes down to confidence. The great players think great thoughts more than the average player.”

He’s also learned that relationships are the No. 1 off-the-field cause of stress or distraction.

“I wish I’d had something like this when I played. It would have made my life a lot easier,” Tewksbury said. ” I got sent up and down, demoted seven times and had two surgeries and wish I’d had someone there to help.”

Players in the Red Sox organization will have someone to help now that Boston has extended Tewksbury’s contract through the 2008 season.

“The feedback’s been very positive, but the best thing is you can make a difference in someone’s life and that’s very rewarding,” said Tewksbury.

Now if he can just figure out his title.

“If I was in the public sector, I’d call it a sports psychology consultant,” said Tewksbury.

Seems more like a performance counselor for baseball.

“Hey! I like that,” Tewksbury said. “Baseball performance counselor. You may be onto something.”

Lots to like about Lester

Seven months after being diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer called anaplastic large cell lymphoma, Red Sox lefthander Jon Lester continues to impress with his major league comeback.

Playing ball was the least of his concerns when he first heard the “C” word back in late August.

“It’s kind of hard to describe what goes through your mind when you hear words like that,” Lester said after Tuesday’s morning workout. “When I found out in Washington, they didn’t know what it was. The doctor just said ‘Hey, you’ve got cancer’ so I came back and found out what type of cell, what it was doing and how to treat it.

“Then they said if someone held a gun to your head and said pick a disease, this is the one you’d want. As soon as they said it was treatable, we went on from there.”

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound starting pitcher appears to be the picture of health these days.

“I feel great. I don’t know that I can put a number on it, but I feel about back to normal,” he said. “Obviously things weren’t the same this offseason. I had to vary my program and could only work out a certain number of days a week. I had to work out of my house. I couldn’t go to the gym, but we got it done.”

The Red Sox have been taking things cautiously with Lester despite his quicker-than-expected recovery.

“It was frustrating having to slow it down, but once you get down here and get around the other guys and get the competitive juices flowing, you start pushing yourself a little more to get back in shape,” Lester said. “I knew once I got down here I’d surprise a lot of people because of the shape I was in.”

The Washington state native pitched two innings of a simulated game Sunday and will take his next big step in two days.

“Pitching in a real game is the next thing and I’ll be pitching in a minor league game Friday,” he said. “Once I get in the game and get the adrenaline flowing, we’ll see how I feel and then how I feel the day after.”

The former Portland Sea Dogs pitcher tests his limits each day.

“I do push it and then once I get about halfway through a drill and can’t do anymore, I just shut it down,” he admitted. “If your legs start to feel like Jell-O, you have to stop. You figure it out and get to know your body and try to keep doing more and more every day until you reach a point where you feel comfortable and then move on from there.”

Moss find Fort Myers comfort zone

A year ago, Portland Sea Dogs outfielder Brandon Moss was overwhelmed by his first major league spring training experience.

“Last year I just wanted to stay out of everybody’s way. I was nervous and it was my first time being in an environment like that,” he admitted. “You don’t know how to act or what to do.”

Thanks to some unexpected advice from Boston Red Sox team captain Jason Varitek, Moss has made his second trip to City of Palms Park a more lasting experience.

“In the offseason we went up to Boston and Varitek was there,” the 23-year-old veteran of five minor league seasons recalled. “He knew I was kind of uncomfortable and he told me to be myself and get my work done. Don’t worry about stepping on other people’s toes. That really helped me.

“I’m not him obviously, but I am trying to make my way and I’m a good player, so this spring I’m a lot more relaxed and being myself. I’m trying to show more how I can play than how I fit in.”

The attitude change seems to be serving Moss well. He’s still one of the 48 players in Boston’s big league camp and was batting .353 with six hits in 17 at-bats. The 6-foot, 205-pound Georgian had one home run, three RBIs and five runs in 10 games through Monday.

“Last year I wanted to stay in the shadows and this year, it’s like ‘here I am,'” Moss said. “It’s a big thing because last year, me and Murph [fellow Sea Dog David Murphy] were two of the first cuts.”