Imagery in Sports

Practical Techniques for Developing and Utilizing Imagery

Introduction – Mental Practice and what it’s used for!
Mental Practice (imagery) can be used for:
1. Executing a performance and incorporating a new skill (e.g. a hockey player during a game may try a new defense skill).
2. Increasing your level or arousal/ excited ness (e.g. psyching yourself up for a Championship World Cup).
3. Concentrating on all minor practical details (e.g. a floor routine in gymnastics).

Properties of effective imagery!
Three properties of imagery skill defined: Involvement of imagery needs to be vivid, controlled and only correct:
1. VIVIDNESS – Teaching how to develop higher levels of vividness can enhance skills quicker on a learner.
2. CONTROLLABILITY – The ability to reproduce consistent images of a practice avoids variations of a defined skill.
3. EXACTNESS OF REFERENCE – Research has shown that practicing errors/wrong images prod...