1. UNIT III Visualization
Sports Psychology
UNIT III
Visualization

2. What is Visualization Also called: Imagery or Mental Rehearsal
Visualization is the ability to use your conscious mind to experience or re-experience an event.
Performing a skill
Re-living a memory
Seeing yourself having success

3. Benefits of Visualization
It has been proven that athletes perform better when they engage in some sort of mental imagery.
Neural Programming
Focus
Learning Complex Movements
Slow Motion
More Practice Time
Confidence

4. Neural Programming
In many instances your primitive brain structures do not know the difference between real and imagined experiences.
By visualizing yourself performing a skill you are actually creating new neural synapses/pathways.
This makes your mind – body connection faster and more efficient.

5. Learning Complex Movements
Many tasks, by nature, are complex and difficult for your mind to take on all at once.
Visualization helps you break down the individual movements and skills, which will create the neural pathways for you to perform the skill.
Tip: See it in your mind first and then act upon it.

6. Focus
Visualization increases your focus by allowing you to anticipate events before they actually happen.
Visualizing yourself performing at an intense level will increase your ability to enter “The Zone”.

7. Slow Motion
When you mentally rehearse your mind automatically slows the skill down.
This helps you perfect little details that you may overlook in real time.

8. More Practice Time
By incorporating daily / regular visualization routines it actually increases your practice time.
Mental rehearsal is almost as important as the actual physical practice.
By combining the two you will be able to address every issue / fundamental of your sport.

9. Confidence
By visualizing yourself performing correctly, your confidence will increase.
Playing out different scenarios in your mind will give you the perception that you have done it before.
When it happens during competition it wont feel odd or take you off guard.

10. When to Practice Visualization
Anytime you get a free minute it is always possible to incorporate visualization.
However… Research has shown for everyday living that the best times to practice visualization is right before you go to bed or before you start your day.
Before you go to sleep
When your in bed trying to fall asleep
Athletes who incorporate pre-competition visualization are more relaxed and focus, which helps them perform better.
Practicing visualization right after practice / competition helps re-live the experience.
Help with aspects that you could have done better
Have more confidence in your abilities.

11. Principles for Effective Imagery
Vividness
Controllability
Attitude
Previous Experience
Controlling Time
Start Small

12. Vividness
Your visualization should be as realistic and vivid as possible.
Include all of your senses
Taste
Smell
Sight
Touch
Hearing
Try and use a previous memory as a starting point
Incorporate emotions and feelings
The more you practice the more vivid images become

13. Controllability
An important factor is that you need to keep control of your mind.
Far to often when an athlete tries to visualize a skill they see themselves making a mistake.
You need to control what you see and do in your mind.
Visualize up until the point you make a mistake and then stop.
Start over until you feel comfortable with your imagery
Gradually add steps / techniques / fundaments
You can fix many mistakes in your game by fixing them in your mind first

14. Attitude Visualize with a optimistic and positive attitude.
It WONT WORK IF YOU DON’T THINK IT WILL !!!!!
In medical research they have found that those who are positive and see themselves getting better really do get better

15. Attitude
Believe that this will help you and approach each session with a purpose.
Just don’t do it to do it.
Stay relaxed.
Never try to force visualization – let it come to you.
Take deep breaths
Go somewhere quiet

16. Relaxed Attention Imagery is not effective if you are not relaxed
If you feel yourself getting tense or tying to force it
Stop
Relax
And start over

17. Previous Experience Use and relive previous successful experiences.
The more times you see yourself doing something correct the more likely you will be to repeat that action.
Always visualize the technique from your point of view or 1st person.
You are doing it… don’t watch yourself do it – actually live in the moment.

18. Internal Frame of Reference
Visualization is best if you do it from a “first person” view
See yourself doing it not seeing yourself do it

19. Control Time
You need to incorporate your visualization in slow motion and real time.
If you constantly rehearse in slow motion you will perform in slow motion
If you constantly rehearse in real time you will overlook the various little details of your sport.
Tip: The day of competition you need to visualize each technique in real time.

20. Start Small Never jump right into visualization.
If you are not used to practicing visualization your mind will tend to wonder and negative emotions and imagery will creep in.
Gradually increase the level of intensity and skill in each visualization session.
First Determine and visualize what you do good and then go down to what you need to work on.
Never start with the most difficult aspects of your sport.

21. Practice
It takes months and months of visualizing before huge improvements
The key is to start now and make it part of your daily routine
Start with one ten minute session a day for 2 weeks and then move to 2 sessions a day for 2 weeks and then up to 3 sessions a day
It like studying for a test small repeated steps many times is better then a cram session

22. “Ordinary people believe only in the possible
“Ordinary people believe only in the possible. Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable, but what is impossible. By visualizing the impossible they begin to see it as possible.”
- Cherie Scott-Carter