Running Head: EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIPS CROSNO 1

Effects of Communication and Relationships on the Mentalities of Baseball Players

Jesse Crosno

University of Central Florida

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Introduction

In recent years, there has been extensive research and conversation on the effects of

confidence, trust, and relationships on performance in sports. Along with an increase in interest

and technology that can analyze for optimal performance of athletes, there has also been an

increase in studying their psychology. Together, these practices allow researchers to understand

how the mentality of athletes in preparing and competing affects their performance.

One of the most prevalent factors in sports performance is confidence. Confidence can be

viewed under two interpretations throughout the articles: confidence in self and confidence in

others. Research on confidence in self has yielded mostly consistent results. Martens et al. (1990)

and Woodman & Hardy (2003) found positive correlations between self-confidence and

performance through their studies. Smrdu (2015) notes that confidence helps athletes to thrive in

stressful conditions by allowing them to obtain the praise they desire. However, Stanger et al.

(2018) found no significant impact of confidence on the in-game emotions and cognitive

interference that effect performance, but they noted that both emotional and cognitive

interference result in worse performance. Overall, confidence tends to show a positive impact on

the performance of athletes.

Confidence in others was also tested throughout many of the articles. Confidence in

others can also be termed as trust in teammates under the topic of performance in team sports. In

her study on optimal competition performance, Smrdu (2015) found that trust was one of the

most important factors in performance in team sports. One example she discussed was the

experience one athlete described during their interviews in which the individual described his

optimal performance situation as overall trust in himself, the situation, and his teammates

(Smrdu, 173). In their study on athlete flow experience, Stander et al. (2015) found that trust is
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essential in achieving flow experience in team sports. Trust among individuals has proven to be

vital to the efficiency and success of a team. Throughout exploration of secondary sources, many

researchers noted a correlation between trust and communication in connection with

interpersonal relationships among teammates.

In order to build trust with teammates, individuals must communicate well with one

another and build positive relationships. In her study on effective communication in sports, Janet

Young (2012) argues that open and directed communication creates an environment of optimal

confidence and performance for an athlete. The experiment performed by Furley et al. (2015)

showed that nonverbal expressions of pride between teammates had a positive effect on

confidence and performance expectations. Aznan et al. (2018) discuss the importance of

communication in building self-confidence and interpersonal relationships in sports. Although

these studies are useful for examining the effects of communication on performance of

individuals in sports, many of them fail to analyze the effect communication has on the

individual’s mentality.

Research up to this point has shown many instances in which confidence, trust, and

communication are positively correlated with performance in team sports. However, there has

been little research in this field on the how communication and relationships affect the mentality

of an athlete. Self-confidence, cognition, and emotions are all parts of the mentality of an athlete

both in preparation for and during competition, and they should be studied in conjunction with

performance. This study’s original aim was to fill this gap in the research of athletes’ mentalities,

but the findings also help to continue the tradition that the previous research on performance has

started. Overall, the study indicates that the quality of communication and relationships is

positively correlated with the mentality of baseball players, as well as their performance.
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Results and Discussion

The findings showed several trends between the factors examined that may be liked to

significant correlations. As far as communication and relationships themselves, the athletes

prefer to establish meaningful relationships through off-field interactions and communication.

Both interviewees noted that the interpersonal relationships they had with their teammates were

built through spending time together “going to eat or to the bar” and “hanging out on the

weekends,” rather than through the business-like interactions the coaches required from players

on the field (B. Dezayas & Z. Kaye, personal communication, October 23, 2018). As the

interviewees discussed, the quality of communication that occurred during these interactions

would determine whether they would have positive or negative relationships with teammates.

Communication and Trust

During the interviews, the athletes revealed a trend of communication correlating with

trust in one another on the field. Kaye states that “when you have positive communication, I

think you’re going to be more prepared… you know how the other guys are feeling, and you can

trust them” (personal communication, October 23, 2018). As far as the effects of negative

communication, Dezayas gave the example, “if everyone is talking bad about one guy, the guy is

going to be down… he’s not going to trust his teammates” (personal communication, October

23, 2018). The participants agree that there is a positive correlation between quality of

communication and trust in teammate relationships.

Trust and Confidence/Cognition

One of the major themes noted throughout the interviews was that the athletes’ trust in

their teammates was reflected in their confidence and cognition. When asked about his mentality

in a situation in which he is pitching to a catcher he does not trust, Kaye explained that he is
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forced to put more thought into the game, and that he may have lower confidence in his pitches

in this situation (personal communication, October 23, 2018). This idea is supported by the study

done by Stander et. al (2015), which explained that supporting relationships and trust are needed

for an athlete to perform with confidence. He also reported cognitive interference of emotions

during this situation, stating “you have to think about 2 things now, you have to worry about

yourself and you have to worry about his ability at the same time” (personal communication,

October 23, 2018). According to Stanger et. al (2018), unpleasant in-game emotions are

correlated with cognitive interference, which leads to a less focused mentality.

Dezayas showed milder forms of the same trend when presented with this hypothetical

scenario, claiming that there would be some concern or doubt, but “it’s in the back of your mind”

(personal communication, October 23, 2018). However, he explained that when he is preparing

to enter a game, he finds himself questioning his confidence in his teammates, thinking “how

have our guys been hitting? How have they been in the field?... Do I have anyone the can [back

me up] or is it all on me?” (personal communication, October 23, 2018). He showed cognitive

interference of emotions as well, describing a situation in which one of his teammates makes an

error trying to field a ball that causes a decrease in his trust in that player as well as anger. The

trends seen throughout the questioning on trust show a positive correlation between trust in

teammates and players’ mentalities.

Key Terms

There were many terms repeated in similar situations throughout the interviews that are

key to the research, and among them are those mentioned in Table 1. Correlational trends have

been observed with the terms confidence, trust, and communication, so far in the results of the

study. However, there is more to an athlete’s mentality than these aspects alone. It also involves
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the individual’s emotional state and thinking, whether it is in preparation or during the game.

The most common emotion noted throughout the interviews was worry. Worry came up multiple

times when discussing situations in which the athlete had little or no trust in their teammates. It

was also noted that increased confidence in teammates and coaches decreased levels of worry or

stress for the athletes during a game. This trend shows a strong negative correlation between trust

and negative emotional interference.

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Key terms and Number Example

Feelings of uses
Trust 10 “If I don’t trust my teammate to have my back when I’m pitching,
I’ll be scared to have the ball hit in their direction. When you trust
someone, and you get that good ground ball that you need, you
trust that they’re going to get that out for you, but if you don’t
have faith in them, then it’s like, ‘I really don’t want that ball hit
that way.’”
Confidence 12 “if your coaches or teammates are hyping you up and telling you
or positive reactions to how you’re doing, then it’s always going to
Confident make you more confident. And when they’re negative to you,
you’re going to be not as confident…”
Communication 11 “If you’re not having proper communication, then personally I’m
not going to be able to perform my best because if you’re sitting
there not talking and hyping each other up, personally I’m not
going to feel that love, like the team chemistry.”
“With negative communication, you are just not going to feel like
you’re prepared because you’re not going to know what the other
guys are thinking.”
Excitement 4 “it’s an exciting feel, thinking ‘How good are these guys that I’m
and facing? Is it going to be a 1, 2, 3 inning or am I going to have to
Anxiety work a little bit? When it gets closer to game time, and on game
day, I start feeling a little more anxious, like ‘Here we go. This is
what we practiced for all week, and I have to do my one job.’
Then in the game it’s a rush, it’s his best vs. your best, and you
throw one pitch at a time.”
Worry 7 “In game, if I’m not performing my best I’ll get worried about my
and performance…”
Stress “So, you have to think about 2 things now, you have to worry
about yourself and you have to worry about his ability at the same
time.”
Anger 1 “When one of my teammates makes an error, and there’s a guy on
base that shouldn’t be in my opinion, that just gets me pissed off.”
Table 1. Key terms and feelings commonly seen throughout the study.

Mentality and Performance

Although the study was not intended to examine effects of communication and

relationships on performance, both athletes repeatedly discussed it throughout the interviews.

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When asked about the effects of communication on athletes, Dezayas mainly focused on the

negative effects it can have on performance, summarizing his argument with “negative

communication will result in negative results” (personal communication, October 23, 2018).

Kaye shared the same view that negative communication hinders performance but added that “if

you have support from your coaches and teammates, you’re always going to play at a higher

level and to the best of your ability” (personal communication, October 23, 2018). These

findings are consistent with a variety of prior studies, including Aznan et al. (2018).

Many trends were seen in the results of the study that showed correlations between

communication, relationships, performance, and the mentalities of athletes. As previous research

has shown, the performance of a team-sport athlete is optimized by high-quality communication

and relationships within the team. Findings of this study support the idea that quality of

communication is positively correlated with teammate relationships as well as trust in

teammates. Since trust was also positively correlated with players’ mentalities, it is indicated that

the athletes’ mentalities are results of communication and relationships within their teams.
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Works Cited

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Perspectives, VS Verlag fu ̈r Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, 19-31.

Furley, P., Moll, T., & Memmert, D. (2015). “Put your Hands up in the Air”? The interpersonal
effects of pride and shame expressions on opponents and teammates. Frontiers in
Psychology, 6. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01361

Martens, R., Vealey, R.S., & Burton, D. (1990). Competitive anxiety in sport. Human Kinetics.
Champaign, IL.

Smrdu, M. (2015). First-person experience of optimal sport competition performance of elite

team athletes. Kinesiology, 47(2), 169-178.

Stander, F., Rothmann, S., & Botha, E. (2015). The role of teammate relationships,
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Stanger, N., Chettle, R., Whittle, J., & Poolton, J. (2018). The role of preperformance and in-
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Woodman, T. & Hardy, L. (2003). The relative impact of cognitive anxiety and self-confidence
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Young, J. (2012). Keys to effective communication with players. Australian Tennis Magazine,
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