As tennis players, we want to develop our skills to the point where they become automatic, especially under pressure. Although nothing can replace the endless hours of practice that are required to make physical skills automatic, athletes can significantly enhance their ability to perform sport skills automatically by using visualization.
Visualization, or using one's imagination to create images and scenes in our mind's eye, is a proven tool of championship players. Even if not competing on the tour, successful tennis players use imagery to create the perfect performance, seeing and feeling themselves perform at their potential. They also re-create past successful performances, calling to mind what they saw, felt, and thought. This kind of visualization allows players to create their performance twice: once in the mind and once when they actually perform the skill they have visualized. In addition, visualization can help you manage your emotions, build confidence, refine your skills, improve focus at practice and prepare you for competition.
I like to think of visualization as mental movie making. Here's a sample 'script' to help introduce you to visualization:
Picture yourself sitting in a theater watching a favorite movie. What images do you see as you look at the screen? What colors do you see? Who are the main characters? Who are the actors playing these characters? What are they doing?
Now imagine yourself watching a different movie, one in which you're the star. This movie features you, playing your absolute best tennis. Imagine what you look like on the big screen. What are you wearing? How are you standing? What expression do you have on your face? Picture your opponent, the court surface, the facility, thousands of fans watching your match, the umpire's chair, the ball. Make your images as vivid as possible. Engage all of your senses as you fill out the scene: sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Watch yourself as you play at your highest potential. Bring up all the emotional pieces as well: how it feels to play so well, the connection with your partner (if you're playing doubles), and so on.
In order to realize your potential as a tennis player, play this movie again and again in your mind until it is vivid and believable. Sport Science research is clear, athletes learn new skills faster, and more easily, using a combination of physical practice and mental imagery than simply relying on one method alone.
Incorporate visualization as part of your preparation routine for practice not just matches. See yourself practicing exactly the way you'd like to; handling errors the way you'd like to in a match; nailing your routine between rallies or points.
In addition, visualization is a powerful tool off the court. You can change your emotional state in the moment, by imagining the appropriate images during visualization. The chemistry of billions of cells within your body changes in response to what you imagine. In other words, you can change your emotional state by evoking the appropriate images during visualization. So if you need to calm down or psyche up prior to a practice, competition, meeting, phone call etc., take a few moments to visualize the appropriate images.
Enjoy the show!
Kathy Toon is a nationally-recognized sport psychology consultant, speaker, blogger, coach and author (Get Your Game Face On!). Her past and current clients include USTA, USPTA, Prince, US Sailing, US Lacrosse, Positive Coaching Alliance, and numerous colleges and high schools. A National Coach of the Year in tennis, at the University of California, Berkeley, Kathy holds degrees in: Sports Medicine & Nutrition and Sport Psychology. For more free articles and instructional videos by Kathy Toon, including The X-Factor Report on Winning Doubles Tennis, visit http://glamslamtennis.com/about
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