Sports Imagery can be a key addition to an athlete's success. Visualizing the task at hand and being able to achieve that task coincide together greatly. As athletes it is not just a go out on the field and play attitude. The average to above average athlete will always visualize what they think he or she needs to accomplish. We must do this in order to get the right mindset and concentrate at what needs to be done.
Imagery is the process by which you can create, modify, or strengthen pathways important to the co-ordination of your muscles, by training purely within your mind. It rests on the important principle that you can exercise these parts of your brain with inputs from your imagination rather than from your senses. The studies done on the effectiveness of imagery use has very conflicting results. .
Not every athlete behaves in the same matter. Whether it be Michael Jordan, Barry Bonds, Pele, or any of the other great athletes in the world there will always be a different approach to the game. Imagery is a very unique thing especially when it breaks down to different sports. For golf you may imagine the perfect hole in one. For basketball you could imagine every free throw going in. Soccer could break down to the perfect upper ninety shot. These things going through your head creates not only confidence but also a repeat of action when it comes down to doing the real thing.
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A couple of questions come to mind when talking about imagery. Does the athlete already use imagery? And if so what could that particular athlete do to better himself or herself. Another question is the proper imagery being done for the particular task being asked of. There are many skeptics of imagery. Each and every athlete does not except it.
To sum up the questions of imagery; one if the athlete is using imagery and is successful at what he or she is doing than they already have the first step down.