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I can remember my brothers talking about my father’s practices and how he used to talk to the team about closing their eyes and rehearsing the game in their minds. He wanted them to have already experienced the game in their minds so that when it was game time they were totally prepared. This was in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
This is a practice that, if done properly, can benefit any person in any life situation. We want our athletes to be faster, stronger, and more powerful. The exercises that they participate in are designed to improve these qualities. For the sake of this article I am going to keep my focus on speed development, but this doesn’t undermine the importance of the other abilities. When I teach a new multi-directional skill, I spend time explaining when, how, and why to use this skill. I am trying to empower the athlete with as much knowledge about the skill as possible so it makes total sense. This is important because when athletes are in the heat of battle they don’t have time to think about how to perform the skill; they just do it. But if they make a physical mistake performing the speed skill, they need to know what went wrong and how to correct it. Sometime this decision-making must occur in seconds.
Often times I talk to the athletes about the intensity of speed. When I address this issue with the athletes I get animated and intense in my tone and gestures. I want them to see themselves being aggressive with each and every movement. Don’t confuse this with tightness. I am not encouraging them to tighten up. I am asking them to apply force quickly and aggressively so they move efficiently and with speed. Now when the athlete is preparing to practice the skill and they run through the skill with intensity and technique in their mind, they are in essence getting quality repetitions even though they have not moved physically.
Denis Waitley, author of Psychology of Winning, has researched the results of athletes practicing their event in their minds. When they did, he found that the muscles would actually fire as if they were actually performing the event. This tells us that the mind can reproduce the exact event to be performed all through imagery.
The next time you are training athletes on a new skill or just reviewing a multi-directional speed skill have the athletes envision performing the skill over and over in their mind before they actually attempt it physically. It is important to make sure they fully understand the skill before mentally or physically performing it.
Mental rehearsal is something I personally have used for sport and now when I speak on stage. It gives me a sense of confidence and reduces the stress that would normally go along with performing. Give it a shot with your athletes and yourself!
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