Schuetz

The Oregon State Beavers baseball team recently repeated as College World Series Champions. That was the first time a team has achieved this feat.

But that wasnt the only first.

It was also the first time that high level collegiate athletes were seen tapping on national televison. In fact, the team reports that no less than five prominent players utilize this new mental game technique on a regular basis.

What is tapping, you might ask

The most prominent form of tapping is based on the pioneering work by Gary Craig in the mid 90s called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). EFT is a meridian-based energy therapy, often referred to as do-it-yourself acupuncture without the needles. Instead you simply tap on a few clearing points on the face and body while focusing on the negative emotion you might be experiencing. The purpose is the clear the negative feelings and be able to focus on the positive intentions you desire to happen.

While the method is considered unconventional by most standards, the results are well documented in many other disciplines. Gary Craig discovered astonishing results while working with war veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These men had recurring nightmares, phobias, paranoia, shame and guilt among other socially crippling conditions and feelings. EFT was able to give them peace and hope in a matter of hours, where more traditional therapies had failed for years.

Oregon State Assistant Coach Dan Spencer says, Its a way to free the energy in their body naturally. Basically, it allows then to do what theyve been trained to do and not worry about the environment or situation, the hoopla. And its been very good to us.

With the exposure and endorsement of the World Series Champions, it may be commonplace to see baseball players tapping at all levels in the near future.

Stephen Ladd of http://www.RMTforBaseball.com is a mental performance coach based in Columbus Ohio, USA and the author of Renegade Mindset Techniques for Baseball (RMT). Ladds book is the only baseball-specific manual utilizing the innovative and results-proven energy psychology work of Gary Craig, founder of Emotional Freedom Techniques.