ENERGIZING STRATEGIES and IMAGERY

Coaches want to learn how to maintain optimal levels of arousal in athletes. However, there is a proper time to get athletes excited and aroused. Increasing arousal affects each athlete differently, intervention procedures are best applied on an individual basis; each athlete should be treated differently. Using energizing strategies on initially underaroused athlete may be beneficial. However, for athletes who are initially optimally aroused and initially overaroused, energizing strategies may bring about lowered level of performance. As explained by the Fazey and Hardys Catastrophe Theory, when an athlete has high level of cognitive anxiety, it is possible that even a small increase may cause a catastrophic decrement in performance. Team Strategies: deal with teams as a whole and generally orchestrated by the coach 1. Team goal setting Motivational in nature Coach should provide leadership; athletes must be equal partners in goal setting Monitored on a regular basis Pep talks Emphasis on the lacking ingredient in the team, personal challenges and stories Bulletin boards Visually conveyed messages Should be placed where team members cannot miss them May include motto, captions and challenging statements by opposing teams and coaches Publicity and news coverage Means to show support to athletes Way to recruit members Fan support Tell athletes that what they are doing is important to people other than themselves Coach, athlete, parent interaction Parents are a great help in promoting involvement in physical activities Precompetition workout Lowers precompetition anxiety and tension Spend two to four hours before competition

Self-energizing Strategies: strategies that the individuals use to induce immediate activation and alertness 1. 2. Individual goal setting Self-talk Should be used with a positive frame of reference Attentional focus When there is higher attention, there is higher physiological arousal Narrowed attention occurs when we gate out irrelevant cues that may serve as distractors Self-activation Own methods on a moments notice Imagery Visualizing successful outcomes in situations requiring activation and strong effort

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Imagery A cognitive intervention: although athletes are considered physically prepared in executing skills, it does not mean that are they cognitively ready. Involves the athletes imagining themselves in a specific environment or performing a specific activity Conscious internal process that mimics real life experience in the physical absence of real life perceptual and sensory experience using all the senses to re-create and experience in the mind Vealey and
Greenleaf, 2001, p. 248

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an image can be created in the absence of any external stimuli an image may involve one or all of the senses an image is created from information stored in the sensory register, working memory, or longterm memory

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The brain cannot tell the difference between an actual physical event and the vivid imagery of the same event. Fisher, 1986 Mental practice is more effective than no practice, but less effective than physical practice . Athletes should spend a small amount of time rehearsing the execution of skills in her mind Can occur prior to physical practice or at a time when physical practice is not possible Advanced performers benefit from mental practice to a much greater extent than beginners. For mental practice to facilitate performance, a certain amount of skill is necessary
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The more skilful is the athlete, the more useful is mental practice

Paivios Two-Dimensional Model Imagery has two purposes: Cognitive function: use of imagery to experience specific sport skills and plan strategies Motivational function: use of imagery for goal attainment, effective coping and arousal management Imagery can be applied to two situations: specific and general

Mental practice is most effective for activities that require some thinking and planning. Less effective in motor tasks with lower cognitive component (such as bench press in weightlifiting, where in athletes may use imagery as motivational tool rather than cognitive aid) Mentally practicing for one to three minutes is more beneficial than mentally practicing for five to seven minutes. More is not necessarily better

Purpose

Motivational

Cognitive

Theories of WHY Imagery Works Psychoneuromuscular Theory Subliminal neuromuscular patterns identical to patterns used during actual movements Imagining movements produced muscle innervations similar to those produced in actual movement muscle memory helps the athletes practice a movement without even really moving a muscle Symbolic Learning Theory Imagery is like a mental blueprint Literally planning alternative solutions in advance Alternative solutions are considered cognitively before physical response is required Attention and Arousal Set Theory Combines the cognitive aspects of symbolic learning theory with the physiological aspects of psychoneuromuscular theory Physiological perspective: imagery may help athlete to adjust his arousal level for optimal performance Cognitive perspective: imagery may help athlete to selectively attend to the task at hand and be less likely be distracted by irrelevant stimuli

Specific

Motivational Specific (MS)

Cognitive Specific (CS)

Applicatio n Motivational GeneralMastery (MG-M) General Motivational GeneralArousal (MG-A) Cognitive General (CG)

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Reference:

MS: athlete imagines self in specific setting that is highly motivational MG-M: athlete in general sport situation exhibiting the ability to remain focused MG-A: athlete in general sport situation exhibiting the ability to control anxiety CS: athlete images self correctly executing a specific sport skill during competition CG: athlete reviewing team strategy in a game

Cox, R. (2007). Sport psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Perspectives 1. Internal: Athlete imagines herself performing a sport skill; more natural 2. External: Athlete imagines herself executing a sport skill from outside her own body; may add something new to our perspective Sensory mode using all the senses to recreate or create an experience in the mind The more senses the athletes use, the more vivid is the image, the more effective and beneficial the imagery training becomes
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