VISUALIZATION: USING YOUR BRAIN FOR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE

STRENGTHENING THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN MIND AND BODY TO PLAY YOUR BEST

   A veteran basketball player who was honored as the Defensive Player of the Year in his league recently wrote me with the following question:

   “I would like to use visualization in my mental approach.  I have tried it before a bit but would like to improve on this and become more consistent with it.  Do I visualize myself doing shooting drills and such - or do I try to picture game situations and actual play? How often should I visualize? And for how long?”

ANSWER:

   First, keep in mind the goal of visualization – which is to recreate or imagine in your mind an actual experience you have had or might have on the court. The benefit of this experience is to improve and strengthen your physical skills by building stronger connections between the mind and the body … between the PHYSICAL and the MENTAL.

  Next, what is it that you want to improve?

  For example - a player who has been doing drills every day to get better in some part of his game could visualize doing the same drills in his mind.  As he does this, he could notice what is happening when he does this drill in his mind. Does it feel like it flows well or is there hesitation? Does it feel like he is getting it precisely or that he is struggling a bit.  After doing this a few times – he will get a good idea of WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO to get that move or play just right.

   The next step is what we call MASTERY – that is, doing the drill over and over in his mind with the proper moves, timing, and feel of his body.  There is research that athletes who use visualization in this way along with doing the drill itself in the gym perform better than players who ONLY do the drill itself without spending time using visualization.

   A player can also use visualization for actual games. One very effective thing a player could do the day before a game or the morning of the game is to picture certain situations that might come up and see himself making successful moves to score, rebound, pass, or defend in BEST FORM.

   He might use visualization with regard to MISTAKES made in previous games – seeing what he did wrong - then “rewinding the tape” to the moment just before he made the mistake, and then picture executing better moves this time. Doing this a few times can really help a player LEARN FROM HIS MISTAKES  (or missed shots, missed rebounds or missed defensive moves) and IMPROVE HIS LEVEL OF PLAY.

   Another use for visualization is to picture various situations where he wanted to work on his DECISION MAKING with the ball, seeing himself with the ball and picture himself making STRONG MOVES and FEELING CONFIDENT and IN CONTROL.

   The value of visualization might be seen in the fact that over 90% of Olympic athletes report routinely using visualization in their quest for an Olympic medal. Athletes who use visualization with consistency report improving such things as going strong to the hoop, feeling confident in being able to outplay their defender, and quickly finding their game rhythm when they are on the floor.