Mental Imagery - Anyone employ this tactic?

anyone have any resources?

We used to do this years ago but we don't anymore. Here's why.

After Thursday's practice the HC would take the team into a classroom, turn off the lights, and have the kids visualize. That was the theory, anyway. At first he didn't make the coaches come but after a couple of years he did.

The lights went off and in a few minutes you could hear the unmistakeable sound of the HC snoring, When the snoring started the graba$$ began. I got hit with a paperwad that was meant for another kid. Afterward we discussed it and we halted the visualize.

I think it's great in theory but, in the real world, we're dealing with kids.

BTW, I'm certainly not against mental imaging. I think it can help some kids. I agree with the others who say that they'd teach the kids how to do it on their own if the so choose.

to me visualization is an individual thing as opposed to a group thing.

one visualization tech. which tom osborne employed was when you can to the l.o.s., in your head, make a picture of your individual tech. he would have his players do this on every play. they would visualize what they were supposed to do right before they were to do it.

In my opinion, certain kids take to the "Lattimer" approach, but others, especially those who have no clue how to get ready for a game, need direction. I used the relaxation techniques as a way to get them prepared. The kids aren't really at peace, they are mentally prepared to play. They are thinking nothing but positive thoughts. I have, however, wondered if I need to move this exercise to earlier in the week/day.

I thought our kids played well after our sessions. I didn't notice any "sleepy" play at all. We were very undersized and not the most athletic kids, but we did okay.

I never had a problem with kids not taking it seriously and I did not participate myself. I let the exercise. Then again, I didn't make it mandatory. I try to make it so that kids can go through the exercise with me and then do it on their own too.

I took an athletic peak performance class in college where we used this stuff everyday. The class was full of jocks and, like you said, it was interesting to see how it worked over a period of time.

I think i'm going to teach our athletes some of the techniques i've learned and have them develop their own individualized program to use - the ones who actually want to anyway.

Your opinions - best time for voluntary group mental imagery...

After Thursday practice?
After Monday Practice?

we tried it for two years straight, but like it was mentioned....kids are kids - they really aren't mature enough for focus like that.

I think BFS is big on this.
I know Husker Power had a whole series back in the 90's about this.

It makes sense and I believe it works, it is just too out of the norm for most HS athletes.

You have to work visualization in another context (via video, music, etc) to get them to create a visceral experience of their own that ties in all the physical, mental, emotional modalities they take in for performance.

the psycho-physio response we're trying to illicite from the kids is to place them in the optimal 'peak performance' mental state prior to competition.

How do you do that?

If you can get 1/2 of your 17 year old boys serene and rhythmically breathing prior to competition, please post your methodology....I am all ears.

In all honesty, this is actually why I posted the thread last week about how we frame "competition", because if it is about the other guy then all we really care about is being better than the other dude, and if we can physically 'shout him down' - we will win. However, if we frame it from the opposite spectrum (of personal responsibility to improve ourselves) as the sole driver, now our perspective of the "perfect game" is changed.

I believe that is why this probably didn't work as well for "us" when we used it. We would preach physical dominance in practice, in the weight room, "don't be a p****!!" tough it out....then to turn around on GAME DAY and try to get them to 'calm down' using relaxation techniques smacks in the face of what we have preached all year.

I (would like to) think that we all believe in this process for performance, but with such young minds, I believe the cheapest, dirtiest way to take young kids is just to do the "BALLSTOTHEWALL!!!" gusto speech and let emotion take over.

Because most young men are driven 95% of the time by their hormones which enbles them to do some crazy things on sheer will and emotion,alone.

Personal experience as a player, that is how I 'survived' because to a large extent, my abilities were directly tied to my current confidence level. Maybe it has to do with being on the Front-7, where it was GO! time on every down, and there was no opportunity to take things according to the I-Ching. I had to be geeked up greater than my opponent and just dominate him with sheer explosiveness. The only thing that made me a good player was technique - but "in the foxhole" perspective as an athlete, I felt I had to be READY to GO!.

I equate this to squatting.

You have a big lift coming up. Do you get yourself in a rhythm (breath full breaths, fill the lungs, then squeeze the lungs out for twice the count you filled them) see yourself completing the movement, powering through the concentric phase, and achieving your personal best.....

but once you get under the bar, it is GO TIME! It is no $%*@# time, you had better show the *$%@# up or you are going to get flattened.

To a large extent, I think that is where we are at as coaches.

Also, I believe our roles as coaches is to paint that picture more clearly because if you ever ask the players what you covered in practice - they may not give you the answer you think they'd give. So.....on a Wednesday or THURSDAY night, it might be best to dedicate 30 minutes to the mental 'devotional' of peak performance, doing your best Tony Robbins

and eliminate all the distractions (visual, audible, peer pressure) and TALK THEM THROUGH THE TECHNIQUE of their position.

"feet are set....."
"seeing the TE.....you set the strength.."
"The riddell sticker of the TE moves down inside.....see yourself planting the inside foot and engaging him to his outside pec...."

I say all this, because
1) these are my personal (frustrated) experiences
2) I want to learn how to be better in this area.

That's exactly what the book I mentioned earlier explains how to do. How to train yourself to trigger these emotions on demand.

These are some of the tools.

Imagery (Seeing yourself knocking the offense on their face)

Positive thinking (I WILL DOMINATE!!!)

Acting the way you want to feel (Carrying yourself like you can whip Chuck Norris)

All of these activities take practice in order to trigger the desired emotions on command.

Once again, the book does a much better job explaining it in depth. This is just what I gleaned.

I explain to my players. It is important that correct movement patterns are visualized before the movement pattern is initiated.

kw

"5. ESTABLISH SEQUENCE. If you have running plays with any sequence to them at all, you will want to start the sequence so you can establish something to work from. If you can do this at home, or in your office, think and visualize yourself how you would like to see the game develop. Write down your plays and the corresponding formations. Believe me, it takes tremendous pressure off of you. If you feel confident going into the game, it makes you that much more confident. If you have the feeling that a lot of us have had before a game, that you are going to lose the thing, you are out gunned, etc., it certainly takes a lot of pressure off the out-gunned coach to know that you have done everything you could before going into the game. If you want to sleep at night before the game, have your first 25 plays established in your own mind the night before that. You can walk into the stadium and you can start the game without that stress factor. You will start the game and you will remind yourself that you are looking at certain things because a pattern has been set up."
coachhuey.proboards42.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=offarticles&thread=1135729101&page=1#1135729234


Coach Huey sharing the Bill Walsh approach. He used visualization for the coaches. That's where it starts, so players can learn to do the same by discussing and planning ahead.

We have a 7 minute "concentration" period right before the coin toss. After warming up, the guys have the order to go anywhere in the stadium, where
a) they can hear us
b) we can see them
c) they can´t talk to anyone else

They should do, whatever they want/need, to get "in rhythm" for the game. Some guys preach, some guys jog around, telling themselves they are they greatest, some guys just sit down and think about our gameplan, whatever.

Then, when it gets to the coin toss, we let them huddle, and then the game begins, while the huddle is symbolically "shaking off anything, that makes you not give 100%".

Since it is no group-thing anymore, everyone can do, what he needs, and everyone on my teams the last 7 years (from 14 to 47yrs of age) was fine with that idea.