Youth-Athlete's Sport Blog

I have written several posts on guided imagery and visualization because of the potential impact it can have on your game. In a world where sports performance and success is measured in seconds, athlete's need to be playing at their peak performance level with their maximum self-confidence. Player hesitation or re-thinking through a situation can cost the team a game.  Practicing visualization gives an athlete the mental muscle memory for flawless execution with speed and confidence by maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of your training.

In the previous post we first covered why visualization is important, second was how to visualize, and third when to practice and operationalize visualization.  In the previous post on operationalizing visualization, I mentioned three distinct times when you can use visualization: 1) during a practice to increase the fidelity of the mental image, 2) in daily quiet moments where an athlete creates additional mental images to improve their performance, and 3) during game situations to bring subconscious mental images into the conscious brain to refocus an athlete during intense game moments. This is the final post in this mini-series and will revisit the second point above (creating new mental images during daily quiet moments) where the 10 step mental rehearsal process can be used to create vivid images. 

Visualization is ... 
Visualization, sometimes called mental rehearsal or guided imagery, refers to specific techniques used to help individuals mentally rehearse a desired event. It involves using all of the senses to create a vivid high fidelity imagined experience that is just as real as if it actually happened. By using all your senses, you create a very real experience of having the desired outcome in which your mind cannot distinguish between whether it physically happened or was created with the mind.  With mental rehearsal, your mind and body become trained to actually perform the imagined skill.

Scientific research has shown that physical and psychological reactions in certain situations can be improved with visualization.  Repeated imagery practice can build both experience and confidence in an athlete's ability to perform skills under pressure in a wide variety of situations.  Visualization is effective because the brain patterns during mental rehearsal of an action are the same as those when preparing for the action before the motor skill is selected.  The most effective techniques result in a very vivid sport experience in which the athlete has complete control over a successful performance and a belief in oneself.

What is the process
Those who wish to improve their skill can employ a number of simple practice techniques.  Here is a 10 step guideline to use during your 15 to 30 minute daily quiet time.

1. Sit in a quiet and comfortable place that is free from interruptions. 
2. In this quite place, pick an action that you want to experience.  For basketball, it could be free throw shooting, 3-point shooting, anticipating a pass and jumping in the passing lane for the steal, ...  For baseball or softball, it could be hitting with two strikes, hitting a curve ball, fielding a routing ground ball in the 5 / 6 hole, pitching a perfect low outside fastball, ...   The action is whatever you want to practice today.
3. Close your eyes and relax your body and mind.  Take several minutes of long, slow breaths. Breathe slowing in through your nose and exhale through your mouth.  As you breathe in, fee the air fill your lungs.  As you exhale, see the challenges of the day being blown away from your body.
4. Create a vivid and convincing image. This image can be one you have previously experienced or one you simply desire to achieve.  Use as many of the five senses as possible to feel, see, hear, smell, and taste the event.  Start early in the action sequence and carry it all the way through till past the completion and you feel the exhilaration of success.
5. If you become distracted or find yourself thinking about something else, simply acknowledge it, write it down, and then let it go.  The distraction will still be there when your done with your 30 minutes and since you wrote it down, you will not need to worry about trying to remember what it was.  It is on the paper next to you. 
6. If you lose the image focus on your breathing.  The breathing technique can help bring your body and mind into a relaxed state.  Many people describe the breathing process as centering.  It centers and focuses the mind on what needs to be accomplished.
7. Maintain a positive attitude. Every thought is positive.  Every action is perfectly executed with proper fundamentals.  Every result generates a positive outcome.
8. Take note of as much detail in the scene as possible. What are you wearing, who is there, what are you hearing, how do you feel?  Leverage and engage all five of your senses.  You know you have complete mental engagement when your muscles twitch and your nose is capturing the smells.
9. If your imagery session is not going the way you want it to, simply open your eyes and start over with your breathing.
10. Always end an imagery session with a positive image sequence. One last time of perfect execution that generates the successful result.

Mentally rehearse today's activity multiple times during your quiet moment.  Everyday pick a new action for excellence practice.  After you become proficient at visualization, then you can pick two rehearsal activities and spend the first 10 to 15 minutes on one, restart your breathing exercises, and then spend 10 to 15 minutes on the next.

Summary
Visualization is effective at improving your execution efficiency because in certain states of consciousness the brain cannot discern between a vividly imagined event and a real event. During visualization, the information enters the sensory system and is processed by the brain and stored for later retrieval.

Visualization induces a calming effect in the face of anxiety inducing competition.  It builds both experience and confidence in an athlete’s ability to perform under pressure and increases the athlete’s sense of complete control over their successful performance.  It provides three benefits.

1. Enhances Confidence: Research in positive psychology shows that simply thinking about an event makes it more likely to happen. When you think about an event, you start to construct mental scenarios of how it can occur and how it might happen. The outcome of this effort is greater confidence and personal improvement.
2. Is a Form of Practice: Practice is the most important reason visualization enhances success. Like any kind of practice, regular visualization makes you more skilled and successful when it comes to actually engaging in the desired behavior.
3. Boosts Motivation: Visualization is motivating because you can see how success is possible and makes personal development more effective. As your future dreams seem more likely and start to be more real, you become more motivated to initiate and sustain action that will lead to success. Visualization engages your thoughts, emotions, and senses and generates authentic excitement for personal growth.

Visualization should always be a part of your preparation.  When things are going bad, some players' routines break down, which is giving in and losing confidence.  It is allowing an important ingredient for confidence to slip away.  Just "seeing" oneself being successful can and does help.

A great advantage of mental imagery is that it can be used away from the competitive environment.  Your mind becomes the practice arena and is always accessible.  When done correctly, you can experience a perfect practice with no mistakes and in perfect form because you are in complete control.  As a competitive athlete, you need to reactivate your imagination and start visualizing yourself as the truly successful athlete that you are.

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