The Yips Are Not a Mechanics Problem.
They Are a Mental Game Problem. And We Can Help.
40+ years helping baseball players win the mental game, worldwide via Zoom
The yips are the most frustrating experience for athletes, you can throw the ball perfectly in practice, but the moment pressure builds, your arm involuntarily tightens, jerks, or freezes. Work one-on-one with Peaksports certified mental performance coaches via Zoom from anywhere. We’ve helped college and professional baseball players overcome the throwing yips for 40+ years.
What Are the Throwing Yips, and What Causes Them?
The throwing yips are involuntary muscle movements, jerks, tightness, or freezing, that occur during a throw, almost always in competitive or pressure situations. Despite what many players believe, research and decades of practical coaching experience consistently show that the yips are primarily a psychological and neurological problem, not a mechanics problem. The yips are caused by a failure of automaticity under pressure: when a player becomes overly conscious of the throwing motion, the brain’s motor control system breaks down.
At Peak Performance Sports, we have coached collegiate and professional baseball players to overcome the yips, uses a proven mental performance coaching system to help players reclaim their throw and eliminate the yips for good.
Trusted by college, professional & youth baseball players since 1991 · Worldwide via Zoom
Call us today: 407-909-1700
Do These Throwing Yips Symptoms Sound Familiar?
You don’t have to be a professional to have the yips. They affect players at every level, from Little League to the majors. Do any of these match your experience?
→ “My arm involuntarily tightens or double-clutches mid-throw, I can’t control it.”
→ “I can throw perfectly in warmups and bullpens but freeze up in games.”
→ “The shorter or more routine the throw, the worse it gets, easy throws are terrifying.”
→ “I’ve changed my arm slot, grip, and mechanics, nothing has fixed it.”
→ “The yips are making me consider giving up baseball altogether.”
How do you know if you have the throwing yips?
If you lose control of your throwing or pitching accuracy in games but throw on target in practice, most likely you have the throwing yips. Or if you tighten up and over-control your throwing action in games but get worse results than throwing in the bullpen or during warmups, you may well have it.
Often with the throwing yips, players worry too much about what others might think about their game. This can lead to fear of embarrassment or fear of getting benched, which only reinforces the anxiety.
Another sign is when you can only trust one or two of the throws or pitches in your normal repertoire during a game — the same ones you throw effortlessly in practice every day.
And if you are a catcher, you might struggle to get the ball back to the mound after every pitch, or you can’t make an accurate throw down to second or first base. Infielders often describe a “hitch” or “double-clutch” right before release — a hesitation that wasn’t there before.
Real Results from Players Who Overcame the Yips
Yips Coaching Success Stories
★★★★★ 4.6 out of 5 — See our reviews on Google
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“I Felt I Was Throwing Completely Free”
“Today was a really good day. I felt I was throwing completely free, had maybe one or two tense throws and after coach told me it looked very good.”*
~Chris Fetters
“Your Response To The Throwing Problem Covers Many Situations In Life”
“Your response to the throwing problem in front of the coach covers so many situations in life…that is the beauty of playing sports…the life learning experiences. Keep up the good work…you are the best coach.”*
~Bill Brennan
Ready to Find Out About Yips Coaching?
Schedule a free introductory Zoom session with a mental coach or get more details about our coaching:
Available worldwide · No travel required · No commitment · Zoom · FaceTime · Phone
How Our Yips Coaching Works
Step 1: Assess the Yips
We use the Athlete’s Mental Aptitude Profile (AMAP) and a detailed intake process to diagnose the root causes of your throwing yips, whether they stem from overthinking, fear of judgment, perfectionism, performance anxiety, or a combination of factors. No two cases are identical.
Step 2: Rebuild Trust and Automaticity
Learn strategies for restoring automatic arm action, including pre-throw routines that shift focus away from mechanics, techniques for quieting the conscious mind before release, and proven methods for reducing the anxiety response that triggers the yip reflex.
Step 3: Progressive Practice Protocols
Use the Athlete’s Mental Edge workbook and Anti-Yips Throwing Drills, specific practice progressions designed to rebuild confidence from short, easy throws outward, restoring positive experience and automatic arm action.
Step 4: On-Course Application
Apply your customized pre-throw routine, focus strategy, and acceptance mindset directly to practices, then live games, with a specific escalation protocol for building confidence under pressure progressively.
What You Get with Throwing Yips Coaching
- A clear diagnosis of the specific psychological cause of your yips, not guesswork
- A pre-throw routine that redirects focus away from mechanics and into trust
- Proven anti-yips throwing drills that progressively rebuild automatic arm action
- Acceptance strategies for off-target throws, without the shame spiral
- Short-throw and routine-play confidence rebuilt from the ground up with a structured progression
Every program includes: the AMAP assessment, a custom Mental Game Plan, weekly Zoom coaching sessions, unlimited email correspondence, the Athlete’s Mental Edge workbook, and Anti-Yips Throwing Drills. Call us at 407-909-1700 with your questions.
Who Is Dr. Patrick Cohn?
Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D. is a leading expert on the yips in sports and the founder of Peak Performance Sports, LLC. He earned his Ph.D. in Applied Sports Psychology from the University of Virginia under Dr. Bob Rotella, one of the first sports psychologists to formally identify the yips as a psychological phenomenon, and his Master’s degree from California State University, Fullerton under Dr. Ken Ravizza. Over 40 years he has coached collegiate and professional baseball players to overcome the throwing yips. He is the creator of the Athlete’s Mental Edge workbook and the Mental Game Coaching Professional (MGCP) Certification.
Work with a Certified Mental Performance Coach via Zoom
Peaksports Mental Performance Coaches
Peak Performance Sports is home to a team of certified mental performance coaches personally trained by Dr. Patrick Cohn — an expert in mental performance coaching with over 35 years of experience working with athletes and performers at every level.
Every mental coach on our team earns certification through Dr. Cohn’s rigorous Mental Game Coaching Professional (MGCP) program, mastering the same proven mental skills framework he has refined across three decades of elite coaching. You’re not working with generalists — you’re working with specialists who have been vetted, trained, and certified by one of the most recognized names in sports psychology.
Learn more about Peak Performance Sports’ certified mental performance coaches who help with the throwing yips.
FAQ About the Throwing Yips
What causes the throwing yips?
The throwing yips are caused by a breakdown in the automatic motor program that controls the throwing motion. When a player becomes overly conscious of arm mechanics, typically due to performance anxiety, fear of judgment, perfectionism, or accumulated negative experience in games, the brain shifts from automatic to controlled execution, which disrupts the smooth, unconscious movement the throw requires. This is a psychological and neurological issue, not a mechanics problem. Changing arm slots, grips, or throwing technique may provide temporary relief but does not address the root cause.
Can the throwing yips be cured?
Yes, the vast majority of players who work with us on the yips see significant improvement and many eliminate them entirely. The key is addressing the actual cause: the psychological over-control and anxiety response that triggers the yip reflex. With the right mental coaching approach, pre-throw routine, and progressive practice protocol, most players see meaningful improvement within 4 to 8 weeks of coaching.
How is yips coaching different from regular baseball mental coaching?
Yips coaching is more targeted and specialized than general baseball mental coaching. It involves a specific diagnostic process to identify the precise triggers, a structured protocol for rebuilding automatic arm action, anti-yips practice drills, and a careful in-game application progression. Dr. Cohn studied under Dr. Bob Rotella at the University of Virginia, one of the first sports psychologists to formally identify and treat the yips, and has 40+ years of specialized experience with this specific problem.
How much does throwing yips coaching cost?
Self-guided resources including the Athlete’s Mental Edge workbook are available from $79. Virtual coaching programs are $600-700 per month and include weekly one-on-one sessions, the AMAP assessment, a custom mental game plan, unlimited email support, and all yips-specific resources. Contact us for full coaching pricing.
Ready to Throw Freely Again?
Schedule a free introductory Zoom session with a mental coach or get more details about our coaching:
Available worldwide · No travel required · No commitment · Zoom · FaceTime · Phone
Or Call us today: 407-909-1700
What the Research Shows About the Yips
The yips are a well-documented psychological and neurological phenomenon: Research published in BMC Psychology confirms that performance-impairing anxiety and over-conscious movement control, the mechanisms underlying the yips, respond meaningfully to psychological skills interventions. A 2024 meta-analysis in Sports Medicine (Röthlin et al.) found psychological skills training produced a significant effect on athletic performance (effect size of 0.83) across 111 studies.
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Disclaimer
*Testimonials found on this site are examples of what we have done for other clients, and what some of our clients have said about us. However, we cannot guarantee the results in any case. Your results may vary and every situation is different. No compensation was provided for these testimonials.
Last Updated on August 27, 2026