Since being named to the 2020 All-Canadian College Team by the Canadian Baseball Network in December, Calgary’s Ty Scott has been giving pitchers a rough time.
Scott is a senior for the Bryan College Lions, an NAIA club that plays out of Dayton, Tennessee. As of late March, he was hitting at a .379 clip, with six home runs, 20 runs batted in and 10 stolen bases in 29 games. The stats are impressive for a middle infielder, but his coaches think his defensive abilities are even more his forte.
The 22-year-old Scott attributes his success to his emphasis on being mentally prepared. He has tried to develop an inner narrative of short, concise, positive thoughts that he uses when hitting or on the field. He feels his mental approach has helped him eliminate negative thinking and move his play forward at all times. Dealing with failure in a productive way has been his key to success as a collegiate player.
Scott listens to podcasts to help him with his mental preparedness. He likes to listen to military/special forces podcasts as a primary resource for learning. He believes the emphasis on training by military personnel allows them to operate successfully in even the most stressful situations and has tried to adopt some of their ideas into his baseball. Scott cites Josh Hoetmer, sports psychologist for the Vauxhall Jets, as being another support pillar in his development. Scott – a Calgary Bucks graduate who also played for Vauxhall – believes trust in your training is crucial during the tough times all athletes inevitably face.
Scott’s best baseball experiences come from the friendships he has made while playing the sport. He also takes great pride in being part of a Lions team that finished first in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. His greatest disappointment was his sophomore year when he became too concerned about the results, as opposed to putting greater emphasis on the process of becoming a better player.
For Scott, not making Alberta’s 2015 Canada Cup team is another regret but he focused on turning that disappointment into something positive. Through constructive thinking, he went on to have a great summer baseball season that same year.
In the future, Scott hopes to get a shot at professional baseball. If not, he would love to come back to Alberta to help continue to grow the sport in his home province.
