Effects of Imagery

Australian psychologist Allen Richardson conducted an experiment with basketball players performing jump shots.  He divided them into three groups.

Group A – was to practice their jump shots on the court for 20 minutes
Group B – was asked not to practice at all
Group C – was asked to mentally visualize and rehearse over and over shooting and making jump shots through a basketball hoop for 20 minutes a day.

At the end of the study, Group A improved their shooting ability by 25%.  Group B, as expected showed no improvement at all.  To everyone’s surprise, Group C improved by 24%, almost as much as Group A, even though they had not physically set foot on the court.  Now just imagine what the athlete can achieve when adding the practice of clear imagery to their daily routine.

This is a powerful example of how imagery and visualization used together can have an awesome effect on one’s reality.

Nick Faldo’s return to competitive golf to play in the Open at Turnberry reminded me about the importance of focus and cognitive attitude and processes involved in a field of play.  In reviewing Nick Faldo’s current attitude to golf cognitive processing, I found this fairly recent video on YouTube with Nick Faldo giving a master-class in Thailand on golf concentration and his mental approach to golf.  See link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foLHqBKiyXI

I’m particularly in agreement with Nick’s emphasis on not using the word "Don’t" when thinking and talking about your shot.  For example, "don’t hit it in the trees"; "don’t hit it in the water"; “Don’t hit it left.”  You see, your unconscious mind doesn’t know the meaning of "don’t" and does its best to deliver what you are thinking about.  I also like his ideas around visualizing the shot you want to play, making a rehearsal swing to achieve that shot and then hitting it. I recently tested this with one of my clients.  They had a chip shot off the green.  I asked my client if he would like to experience the power of the subconscious and the effects of imagery.  I told him twice DON’T hit it fat, DON’T hit it fat.  He said I won’t and sure enough he hit it fat and did not even get the ball on the green.

Two main reasons why golfers do not daily practice imagery or visualization:
One, they think that because they do it somewhat on the course in their pre-shot routine, it is good enough.  You cannot leave anything to chance or luck.  Championship Preparation determines championship Performance! As an athlete, you can’t just rely upon your pre-shot preparation with imagery and expect to perform at a high level consistently.  To achieve your best and advance your performance requires discipline in preparation OFF the course.  Two, is the fear of the unknown.  Many have built up in their understanding that imagery and visualization is a time consuming exercise and it is like a twilight zone experience and just flat out goofy!  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  Imagery or visualization is the most important of the Mind Management Skills to advance performance.

In my work with athletes, I have seen no other skill so often misapplied and rarely used to its fullest.  However, I have also seen the tremendous effectiveness by some athletes who understand its power.  Athletes need a clear guide to imagery and visualization, one that explains in detail what it is, how it works, how to effectively utilize these creative tools, and how it fits in the current strengths of the athlete.

You can harness your creativity by implementing imagery techniques to enhance focus and advance your performance.  Three Modes of Visualization (All are important)

1. Visual
2. Auditory
3. Kinesthetic

In a study of Olympic athletes that used imagery and/or visualization, only 20% of athletes used imagery every day, another 40% used it three to five times a week.  When asked why – 80% said for preparation reasons only, 48% to deal with errors in physical technique, 44% used to learn new skills, 40% used for relaxation.  Get this: 97% of tested Olympic athletes said imagery was effective.

Some benefits of Effective Visualization & Imagery are:

1. Rapidly improve your athletic skill, concentration, and endurance
2. Increase energy and avoid possible injuries
3. Enhance motivation and overall enjoyment of the sport
4. Increase confidence, focus and self-composure which will in turn, advance performance
5. Provides consistent cognitive preparation, alertness, and assessments
6. Enhance Motivation
7. Help with proper emotional transference
8. Deal with stress more effectively
9. Rehab from Injury

Are you ready to develop and experience powerful lasting improvements?  Contact KaizenGOLF for your sports cognitive assessment and see what cutting-edge sports cognitive coaching can do for you.