Visualization in sport is a
training technique that forms a part of the larger science of sports
psychology. Visualization is also known as mental imagery and rehearsal.
Visualization is used primarily as a training tool, one that improves the
quality of athletic movement, increases the power of concentration, and serves
to reduce the pressures of competition on the athlete while building athletic
confidence.
Visualization occurs when
athletes are able to create an image or a series of images relevant to their
sport, without any external prompts or stimulation; the images are mentally
generated by the athlete alone. Visual images are usually the most important to
athletic training and may be employed as the sole mental training method.
Athletes may also depend on auditory images (sounds), kinesthetic images
(movements), tactile sensations (touch), and purely emotional stimulation, in
combination with visualization or as freestanding training aids, as may be
appropriate to the effort to elevate the performance of the athlete.
There is a powerful
relationship between mental and physical performance in sport. The development
of a wide range of mental powers, such as focus and concentration, elevates
athletic performance; over-analyzing detracts from the athlete's ability to
react instinctively, an attribute that is usually a more desirable quality than
the ability to reason through every sporting circumstance.
Visualization is intended to
take the athlete to an image that conveys what perfection represents in the
particular aspect of the sport. During visualization, the brain is directing
the target muscles to work in a desired way. This direction creates a neural
pattern in the brain, a pattern identical to the network created by the actual
physical performance of the movements. A neural pattern is similar to
diagramming the specific wiring and circuits necessary to transmit an
electrical current. Alexander Bain (1818–1903) of Great Britain was the first
scientist to develop a theory as to how the brain built such patterns to direct
and control repeated physical movement. Numerous researchers since that time
have expanded on the concept. Visualization alone will not develop the most
effective mechanisms in the brain to later perform the desired action, but
physical training coupled with visualization will create better recognition of
the required nervous system response than physical training alone.
During organized athletic
training, sports psychologists will commonly direct the visualization
techniques employed by an athlete to be utilized in a quiet, secluded area, so
as to eliminate distractions. It is common for athletes who are employing
visualization training to participate in three such sessions per week.
The first application of
visualization tools is the mental rehearsal or practice of the specific
techniques required in a sport. Every sport has such training opportunities;
the mental rehearsal of the precise footwork that a high jumper will take in an
approach to the bar prior to takeoff, or the steps and delivery of a soccer
player attempting a corner kick can be replayed by the athlete indefinitely.
The mental replay of the
image of a successfully executed maneuver is a tool used by athletes to
reinforce athletic confidence. When this type of visualization is used in
conjunction with other sports psychology tools, such as positive self-talk, the
self-encouragement that athletes direct inward for motivation, they can connect
to an actual past success as a means of enhancing their future prospects.
Visualization is also a
useful tool to contemplate the appropriate tactics the athlete might employ in
a given competitive situation. A middle distance runner can visualize where in
a particular 1,500-m race the closing kick ought to be employed; for an ice
hockey player or a lacrosse defenseman, game situations such as defending a
two-on-one break by opposing forwards can be analyzed. In a similar fashion,
the athlete can reenact circumstances where an error was made or a breakdown
occurred, making the image an educational tool.
Visualization is also useful
while the athlete is recovering or rehabilitating from an injury. Positive
images of either competition or healthy athletic movement can be employed,
particularly while the athlete is using a stationary trainer or otherwise
exercising, to mentally remove the athlete from the mundane training room or
gym to the exciting athletic life.
The beauty of visualization
as a training tool is its portability; this form of mental training can be used
during the athlete's off hours, during training, rehabilitation, or in the
course of actual competition, particularly in those sports where there are
intervals between event segments. The delivery of a tennis serve and the
throwing of a javelin are acts that permit athletes to engage their powers of
visualization and, when coupled with a positive mental outlook, assist in
achieving their best form.
