Mental Moment-Imaging Sport Skills
As you refine your ability to use all of your senses, you want to begin using imagery to see yourself performing a skill in your sport. Work through the progression at your own pace.
Try following these steps to make it easier to do this.
Imagine that you in the environment where you generally practice
Use your imaging skills to look around your practice environment:
- feel the surface under your feet
- see what is generally around you: walls, scenery, equipment
- imagine yourself in your practice clothes, cap and sneakers
What are some other things you can incorporate into this image?
a.
b.
Incorporate some movement
- walking around the practice court, field, etc.
- do some warm-up stretches
Other movements common in your sport?
a.
b.
Image yourself performing a skill in your sport
Start with a an easy skill; something you are really good at. Imagine yourself doing that skill correctly in practice.
Some skills in your sport you need to focus on? (I.e., serve, baseline, net, putt, etc.)
a.
b.
Once you have a skill that is easy and that you are really good at, try moving into something that you are struggling with. This will probably be more difficult to created. It’ll take patience and practice.
What was easy and what was hard to image? Did you have a hard time using one sense or another? Could you see some things and not others?
Dr. Michelle
Photo credit: bariatricbeginnings.com
