...a story of working with a baseball player who was AAA. This guy had been a great hitter, but had fallen off and was really struggling at the plate. Riley says he asked the guy about his routine and what thoughts he was having as he was getting ready to bat. The routine sounded good - and like it wasn't part of the issue - so he just kept digging deeper.

Finally he asked the guy what his last thought was as he stepped up to the plate. It was "don't strike out."

So - reader's digest version - our brains don't always process the negative in phrases like that. We do much better when we're able to say what we want instead of what we don't want. The guy changed his mantra stepping up to the plate to be "make solid contact" - and soon was out of his slump.

Your comment about worry about screwing up reminded me of the story. Your advice of remembering the good plays is good. I might take it a step further and suggest that he start visualizing throwing the perfect pass to the various routes his receivers run. Something he can do on the sideline when he isn't actually throwing warm up or playing.