Psychological Skills Training: Mental Rehearsal, Phase I

For athletes to improve their “game,” they have to replace old, ineffective habits with new, effective ones. Continuing my Psychological Skills Training series in pelinks4u, today’s article is the first in a two-part series on Mental Rehearsal (2nd part March 2014). Today’s article combines previously learned skills that you can review from articles in the pelinks4u archives (Dec. 2011, Feb. 2013 & June/July 2013). A coaches’ script and a handout for athletes to use when practicing at home are provided.

Psychological Skills Training: Mental Rehearsal, Phase I

written by Dr. Christine Lottes, Kutztown University, Pennsylvania

Psychological Skills Training series: previous issues

Coach’s Script for: Mental Rehearsal, Phase I

Bring to practice: Coach’s script, copies of the athlete’s handout, balls or other equipment connected with your sport, pencils or pens, dry board markers or chalk

Review:

During our psychological skills training we’ve learned a variety of techniques to make us mentally tougher.
In previous sessions we’ve learned how to get loose (muscle relaxation), breath easy, and concentrate on relevant cues (staying on the ball).
Today’s practice will combine these tools by mentally rehearsing a situation that happens during play, with the goal being to react automatically during competition.

Today: Mental Rehearsal, Phase I. (NOTE. For the sake of clarity in understanding this lesson, the sport of volleyball, is used as an example.) Coaches can replace all VB references with specific references from their own sport.

To improve your game, you have to replace one habit with another. But you can’t do that during a game. As a serve is whizzing into your court, you have to react automatically to it. You can’t be telling yourself, “Move your feet.” Your reaction must be automatic.
Mental Rehearsal helps you make that automatic reaction a desirable reaction. You will have desirable reactions (behaviors) by overlearning them so that they become a habit you can do without thinking, like riding your bike (or driving a car).
To make the desirable patterns automatic, successful athletes go over them in their minds – the movements and plays they want to execute. They also go over plays they are likely to see and their responses to them. Top U.S. athletes have been taught mental rehearsal skills and have used them with great success.
What is Mental Rehearsal? It is practicing the correct moves and strategies so that what you would most like to do is turned into what you will most likely do. In your mind, you are seeing yourself do a volleyball movement so that your muscles will respond to your thoughts during a game without you having to tell them to do it step-by-step. Your response will be automatic. For example, you will find yourself having recovered from one area of the court to where you now need to be without having had to tell yourself to reposition.
What does Mental Rehearsal do? It is an extension of the relaxation-concentration process that we learned. It carries your focused attention right into the upcoming action and keeps it there. It’s a way of getting used to keeping your mind in the here and now as you go through the sports action.
Through mentally rehearsing the successful play you will shut out anxieties and thoughts both positive and negative about the result of the previous play or nervousness about the outcome of the next . You will focus on what you can control – practicing the moves you want to make and giving yourself the best possible chance of doing them the right way.
It’s essential to always mentally rehearse the correct action, imagine the successful play. Rehearse the successful play- the correct motions and strategies.
This overlearning of the action will make it so familiar that under pressure you are most likely to do it automatically.
Mental rehearsal will also help you cope with emotional stress because you will learn to concentrate on the correct action, not on the past or future.

Preparation of Mental Rehearsal Script: As coach you must provide a sample drill of what you want rehearsed. In the future, athletes can also be invited to provide scenarios for rehearsal.

Sample Drill for Volleyball:

Player starts in defensive position.
Setter yells free and transitions to target position.
Player transitions to free ball position.
Coach throws ball over the net to where the player should be standing.
Player passes ball to setter.
Repeat 1-5

Begin:

Give each athlete a volleyball or a picture of a volleyball (actual ball is preferred).
Go over the drill that you will have the athletes rehearse.
Do the “Getting Loose” (Dec. 2011) and “Breathing Easy” (Feb. 2013) exercises for five minutes.
Do the “Staying on the Ball” (June/July 2013) routine for another five minutes. Have athletes concentrate on the volleyball in front of them.
Set the ball aside.

Now begin the Mental Rehearsal exercise: Coach reads the following:

Introduction. Sit down at a desk with a volleyball (or picture of one) and a copy of the drill in front of you.
Drill. Study the drill for a few moments as I read through the entire sequence twice.
Imagine the sequence in slow motion. Close your eyes and imagine yourself going through the same sequence. Imagine this in slow motion. Note the crucial components of each stage of the actions- where your feet are; what your legs are doing; what your hips, back, and arms, are doing; where your head is; what your hand motions are. Imagine the sensations; check how each part of your body feels – where your balance is, how, when, and where strength is applied. Imagine what you see when you make the play. Look at the ball, then see where it goes from start of play to end of play.
Study and imagine the sequence again. Now look at the drill again while I read it through. See if you missed anything or got anything wrong. If so, correct it. Now imagine the action with your eyes closed again, in slow motion.
Repeat sequence five times in more detail. Repeat this procedure five times, each time in more detail, looking at the drill, and then closing your eyes and imagining yourself doing this. Always imagine the play from start to successful conclusion. Bring out the feeling. Sharpen up the image. Keep checking your drill to keep motions correct. When you can go slowly through the action, start to finish, smoothly in detail, and without error, then you’ve “got the picture.” You may not be able to reach this point the first time you try it. If so, don’t pressure yourself about it. It won’t be long before you have it.
Imagine the sequence at normal speed ten times. Close your eyes and this time imagine yourself going through the play at normal speed. Imagine the play is the best you have performed. See it through from start to finish, and say to yourself, That was a terrific play. Check over the drill, close your eyes and repeat your “best play” again. Do this ten times.

NOTE. Athletes will finish each step in varying amounts of time. Let them know that if they finish the reps early to do more until you go on to the next step with the whole team.

Summary

The skills that I am teaching you take only 20 minutes per day. Athletes who take the 20 minutes per day will find that after six weeks they will be mastering them and more successful than they would have been without them.
Here is a handout to take home and use at home to practice each day (distribute the Athlete Handout).
You can use the drill we did or you can write another one.
I want to encourage you to write out series of movements that you need to do during play, and practice them. Also, see me if you’d like me to write out a drill that is specific to you and your position.

NOTE. Sports Psyching Techniques are taken with modifications from Sports Psyching by T. Tutko & U. Tosi.

Upcoming article on Mental Training…
In the March 2014 edition of pelinks4u will be Mental Rehearsal, Phase II – overcoming game pressures and the emotions they elicit. Provided will be the coaches’ script and a drill that athletes can use at home.