Imagery, simulation and concentration

Mental Imagery involves an ability to picture events via thoughts in the brain

Imagery is a form of simulation and allows the user to create, modify and strengthen important pathways involving coordination of muscles by training powerful thought processes

Imagery, mental rehearsal and simulation

Allow us to ‘feel’ our body as it moves through different actions

Heavily involves proprioception

Cartoon: “feeling” your way to the end result

EG: Hitting a golf ball

Kinaesthetic Senses

Before they jump, they will visualise the movements (flips, twists and turns) of the jump they’re about to perform

Mental rehearsal can only work if the athlete is in a relaxed state

Ski Jumper

Improves neural pathways between the CNS and muscles

Provides a mental template of rehearsal

Enables athletes to practice and prepare for foreseeable and unforeseeable events during competition

Imagery improves performance by;

Similar to imagery, simulation is carried out by making the physical environment as similar as possible to the game situation

EG: training in front of spectators, playing full contact games

Simulation

Very similar to the principle of specificity.

Simulation is thought to be superior to imagery as the stimuli introduced exists in reality

On the other hand, it requires greater preparation and set up

Simulation

The definition contains 3 parts1. Focusing on relevant environmental cues2. Maintaining attention focus over time3. Having awareness of the situation

Concentration and attention are used interchangeably

Concentration

1. Broad-internal focus:- Used to focus on

thoughts and feelings- Fast bowler preparing

to run in and bowl

2. Broad-external focus- Used to focus

outwards on an opponents actions

- Watching an opponent try to make a run to receive the ball

4 types of attention

3. Narrow-internal focus- Used to focus thoughts

and mentally rehearse upcoming movements

- A springboard diver

4. Narrow-external focus- Used to focus on very

few external cues- Taking an uncontested

mark in football

4 types of attention

Any most sports, attention needs to shift to adapt to the environment around them

It an athletes attention is inappropriate to the task, performance can be affected.

Sometimes distractions caused by future-oriented thinking EG?

Attention shifting

A situation where performance decreases because a heightened sense of pressure or importance is placed on an upcoming event or action

Choking

Roberto Baggio

◦ 1994 World Cup

Choking

The choking process

Simulation Shutting out irrelevant cues Use of cue-words (move your feet, follow

through etc) Routines (see example on P324) Overtraining skills (autonomous stage of

learning)

Improving concentration