| Mental imagery or 'visualization' is nothing new in sports, particularly basketball. Many years ago, a famous experiment was conducted by a sports psychologist who took a number of individuals and had them shoot free throws, one after the other. The psychologist discovered that if the person in front made a mistake and missed the shot, then there was a higher probability that the person following would end up making the same mistake. The opposite was true if the person in front made the basket. Chances were better that the person following would also hit the shot. The effect was even greater when a 'poor' foul shooter watched a large number of consecutive shots performed by a 'great' foul shooter.
What was happening here? The power of the person behind seeing a positive or negative image caused by the person in front was having a profound affect on performance. A scientific rational for why this was occurring was provided by a Russian scientist called Alexander Romen. Romen theorized that when we see an image, be it real or imagined, our muscles actually receive the same electrical impulses or signals from the nervous system to perform the same skill. Using electromyograms, a machine to measure the electrical impulses that occur in muscle prior to actual movement, Romen then proved his theory.
This is powerful information indeed.
But again, the importance of players seeing images of themselves in their own mind, performing certain skills or making perfect plays is not necessarily a new thing for many coaches and athletes. However, many coaches and athletes are not aware that these 'seeing' or 'imagery' skills, which are commonly referred to as 'visualization' skills are most effective when the following five steps are followed.
1. First Relax.
Great visualization mimics game conditions, and game conditions can lead to body tension. When players find themselves imagining an image that creates some muscle tension and negatively affects breathing patterns, they need to bring their tension, breathing and overall composure levels back to normal before they continue. Players often play how they practice, and practicing in a state of constant nervous body tension leads to game time performance in a state of uncomfortable nervous body tension.
2. See from the 'inside out.'
Players need to spend 75% of their visualization time looking from the 'inside out,' and 25% looking from the 'outside in.' What does this mean? Seeing an image from the inside out vs. the outside in, is the difference between watching racing cars on TV (such as NASCAR) with one camera showing images of the race from inside one of the cars (inside out view) and another camera showing images of the race from the stands or bleachers (outside in).
When we visualize we want to spend 75% of our time with an inside out view as if the camera is showing images being recorded from the 'lens' of our own eyes, vs. an outside in view which would be as if we were in the stands watching ourselves play. In the midst of real competition, the view we have of our surroundings is obviously through the lens of our own eyes (inside out view), so this is the view we want to spend the majority of our time visualizing.
3. 'Feel' the vision
We need to use all five physical senses as we visualize: Eyes, Ears, Touch, Taste, Smell. Recreate competition conditions as accurately as possible. Recreate the smell of the court, track, pool, ice, field, or whatever athletic arena you are in. In the midst of the competition imagine the feelings of perspiration, of elevated body temperatures. Recreate all of the sounds. Recreate all of the colors. Feel all that you are doing in addition to seeing it. This is very important and is a skill that gets better with practice.
The more realistic you make the image, the more positive the results. Again remember, the more realistic the image, the more likely you will experience some mild tension as your body recreates competition conditions. When this occurs, hit the 'pause button' on your image screen, take the time to fully relax and compose yourself, and then continue.
4. Know what to do with the 'wrong' image
Sometimes, the wrong image will pop into our heads. Your athletes may imagine themselves missing the wide open lay-up, or the last second shot. If this occurs, tell your athletes not to worry! Seeing the wrong image happens from time to time. Just tell your players to imagine hitting the 'pause button' on their mental screen, and like a giant dry erase board, wipe the image off of the screen and replace it with a perfect image. Do this as many times as is necessary. Remember to tell your players that it's their image in their mind, and they have ultimate control of the creation of these images.
During the course of an imagery session, it can be useful to actually imagine a mistake occurring. Obviously, visualizing mistakes is something we do not want to spend much of our time doing, but its okay to purposefully create a mistake now and then so we can practice visualizing bouncing back from our error. This can be important because real competition is never mistake free.
You can play a great game and still make mistakes, the great athletes often do. Following the mistake, the key is how quickly you regain Peak Performance Composure, refocus with Peak Performance Concentration and maintain the same great Peak Performance Confidence. Great athletes are able to do this and visualization can really help this process.
5. Enjoy the Process
Tell your athletes to fully experience the joy of the images they are creating. Ask your athletes when was the last time they went 8-for-8 from the 3pt line, or drop-stepped to swish 11 straight jumphooks in competition in one game? They need to enjoy themselves and make it fun. By all means, as they are visualizing, they do need to work on certain skills that they want to improve on, practice certain team plays that you have designed, work on their clutch composure, concentration and confidence; but they also need to be reminded to have some fun and enjoy 'feeling' the perfection and power of their images.
When is the best time to visualize?
Usually we are most relaxed right before we go to sleep or right after we wake up. These times are perfect for taking 10-20 minutes for visualization. But in truth we can practice visualizing anytime, as long as we follow the five steps that are outlined. Research has proven that 20 minutes of imagery a day, performed for 4 straight weeks can dramatically improve skills, increase accuracy, reduce errors, and build winning confidence. Visualization helps players to create various experiences as if they have 'already been there.' Your team may visualize certain skills that you will be using during your next practice or game or certain pre-designed plays. Remember to encourage your players to really project themselves into that actual place or event, to follow each of the five guidelines, 'feel' the experience and enjoy the process!
Next month we will discuss how imagery can easily be combined with word suggestions or affirmations to give your athletes an instant confidence boost! For huge discounts on our products please use discount code 100111 at: www.iceboxathlete.com
About the author: Spencer Wood is an internationally renowned speaker and dynamic trainer of athletes and coaches in the areas of cutting-edge Mental Skills & Toughness Training; Athletic Speed, Agility, and Quickness. A former professional athlete in Europe, Spencer continues to use his unique blend of passion, dedication, training and humor to impact the lives and careers of 1000's of athletes and coaches of all ages and sports from junior high to the professional ranks - through seminars, camps, team and individual instruction. For more information visit www.iceboxathlete.com
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