Article Imagery- Part 1

In renowned Sport Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book, Flow, Csikszentmihalyi describes an account of a 2 year POW who, within days of his release, goes out and plays one of the best games of golf in his life. To the astonishment of his playing partners, they ask him how he played so good. The former prisoner says that every day in his captivity he used to play 18 holes of golf in his head.

Imagery is a powerful tool and can be used to practice being mentally tough or playing in the moment so that when the game comes around you’ve been there and done that. In this article I will outline what imagery is and why to use it, I will then follow up in part 2 with how, when, and where to practice it.

Imagery is more than visualization, but visualization is part of imagery. Imagery is using the most powerful of your 5 senses (i.e., whatever is strongest for you such as sight and sound or sight and feel) to create the optimal performance inside your head. By going through the sights, feelings, or sounds of the game you are able to essentially re-create a real game experience in your head that allows you to be as successful as you choose. See yourself playing in your perfect place (described in previous posts) and having the outcome be success such as going 4 for 4 hitting, knocking down jumpers all over the court, or playing that perfect 18 holes of golf.
By doing this mental performance you are able to practice and see yourself in a controllable manner playing relaxed, confident, and successfully. You may ask, “well that’s not the same as actually practice, is it?” Well, in a way, yes it is. Although imagery is best combined with physical practice, the neural pathway from your brain to your muscles are the same whether you are doing a movement or just thinking about it.

Don’t believe me? Well then try this: grab a thin piece of string or key chain and attach something larger or heavier at the bottom. Hold the chain with your thumb and pointer finger and place your elbow on something immovable (such as the table). When you are calm and stationary, imagine that the large object at the bottom is going around in a circle. What happens?

The object moved because you were thinking it would! By simply imagining it you are creating it in the world. The same neurons from your brain that would create the movement still fire even when you only think about them. What is this saying about the power of our thoughts and images?

Understanding the power of our mind can allow us to unleash all its potential. How much of your game is mental? Well, here is your chance to practice the mental toughness elements I have laid out in the blog thus far.

This article was about what imagery is and why it is important, but I will follow up in another post with when, how, and where to do it.

Dream, believe, achieve and remember the power of the mind!

Article- What's Your Passion - Keep Swinging

What is your passion and where do you search for it? Without passion and love for a sport or task, what good is sport psychology? Mark Twain said it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, but about the size of the fight in the dog. The fact of the matter is that sport and life are pretty boring without a sense of passion. We have to find it, connect to it, and run with it.

Watch this clip;


How many times do we lose our authentic swing? In sport and life it seems as if we are worried about the past, mistakes, fear, etc. Instead of focusing on what we are good at, we dwell on what we’re not.

Finding what you love and embracing it is the most powerful tool of all for performance, success, and happiness. Many times, in order to find that passion in our current sport or life we have to get out of our own way, relax, keep swinging, have fun, and play.

This site is designed to be a resource for you to get the most out of your passion, but in order to do that you must first find that passion. Without the love, acceptance, and freedom within to simply “play” there is a wall that hinders us in every aspect of our lives.

Sport psychology is nothing without your passion. Find it, harness it, relax, keep swinging, and go have fun.

Article- Focus

Take a look at the picture of the golf ball and the course on the header. If you really look at the picture you will notice that the ball is in the foreground, in the rough, and the green and pin are hazy in the background. What am I trying to represent with this picture and how does focus play into our role on the course, court, field, or in life? This article will add onto the foundation of “Mental Toughness”, previously mentioned, and intorduce the element of focus.

The ball in the picture is clear, it is the only clear image. This is a metaphor that what is right here and now is all that matters. You must have an idea where you want to go (the pin), but focusing on what is right in front of you is what is most important.

You can also notice in the frame that the ball is in the rough, so maybe not the best previous shot to get there. But what matters is this shot, not the last or next one.

Did you get all that when you first looked at the picture? Applying the relationship of the picture to the point… we have to take one shot at a time.

Well here is another try for you. Watch this clip;


 
 
Did you see it? Were you able to be focused enough on the task given, yet also be aware enough to pick up the surrounding environment?
 
This is the lesson and challenge with focus. We have to pay attention to the task that is right in front of us, but be open and aware enough to see everything. It helps to be mentally and physically relaxed (see previous articles), and then we can best direct our attention to right here. A good way to prepare to focus is to breathe and then find a spot at the playing site where you can direct all your attention for a moment (such as a sign, foul pole, etc). Directing all your attention to one spot can get the mind prepared to focus in the game or match.

Whether it’s “Seeing the ball” hitting and fielding in baseball or “Eyeing the rim” shooting in basketball, we have to focus almost exclusively with our eyes and body on the successful completion of the task.

But, most of the time sport is a changing environment where you have to be focused yet able to see everything around you (as with the clip). A good and simple way to practice this is to juggle 3 small round objects. To be successful in juggling you have to be focused enough to catch the one that is falling, but still be aware enough to have a feel for the location of the other 2. Try it, you’ll be amazed at how the small drill of focus and awareness can carry over to sport.

Next time you are approached with a changing sport or life environment where you are searching for success, remember to focus on what is most important, but be aware and calm enough to see the dancing bear in the background. Know where you want to go, but focus on this step to get there.



If there are any questions with this or any article please leave a comment and I would happily answer in one of the coming blog posts.

Article- Do Less - Mental Toughness (cont.)

Everything in Sport Psychology revolves around essentially being “Mentally Tough”. Last article I laid the foundation for what that means to each one of us individually, and in this article I will expand on that.

First off, we have to be aware enough to make a change and/ or regulate the internal workings that allow us to play our best (as covered in the past article). Essentially knowing how you perform best with regards to mentality. The next step is being able to make that change once we are aware.

Most of us need to understand that we are too nervous, so we must relax, do less, breathe, and let our bodies take over. The clip above is an entertaining way to illustrate finding our perfect place of performance.

Do less. Emotionally and mentally, relax. You cannot hit a ball and think at the same time. You cannot decipher multiple options on a basketball court by “thinking about all of them”. Let your body take over and play!

It is not “not trying”, but it is controlling what you can control (practice, warm up, etc) and then when the game comes around simply playing and having fun without all the worry and concern.

As I spoke of in the last article my advise is to breathe and connect with the moment. You can practice breathing and relaxing all day, in practice, before bed, etc. Practice the way you want to feel just like you are going to practice the way you want your swing to feel.

In this article I have expanded on the foundation from the last article. I could go on and on about all these topics but I will do my best to not overwhelm and give you one thing to think about at a time. Check back for more as I expand into the continuation of “Mental Toughness”.

Remember, “Do Less!”

Article- Mental Toughness

Back when I played football in high school coaches would get in my team’s face and scream, “MENTAL TOUGHNESS, we need MENTAL TOUGNESS” as they spit on us with the rotting smell of old coffee. But what really is mental toughness and where does it start? Can we train it and how is it achieved?


The basis of this article is to lay the foundation for what mental toughness really is, where it comes from, and how you can start to apply it to your sport and life. Yet, I can tell you from personal and professional experience, it is not getting yelled at by a grown man on a power trip.

Every person has a perfect intensity level where they perform their best. One person may need to be super pumped up while another may need to be so relaxed its as if they are sleeping. So the first aspect to perform is to be aware enough to know what the perfect arousal place is.

I use the analogy a lot of driving a car - sometimes you step on the pedal (on the highway) and sometimes you creep along (in traffic). But you have to know the situation and your peak performance arousal level in order to perform the best in the task at hand.

For 95% of all the kids I have worked with in baseball the (internal) place they perform the best in is relaxed. Most kids try very hard, swing tight, play with nerves, and never really relax and play the game.

By relaxing and letting the body be loose it allows the skills and natural flow of the game to take over. It puts an athlete in the position to play NOW - playing in the moment and being free, thus putting yourself in the position to be successful.

A simple way to relax is to breathe. You have to breathe anyway, why not make it useful! By taking a deep inhale into the stomach you provide the body the necessary oxygen it needs to relax. By focusing on your breath you also enter the moment, because you can’t breathe in the past or future.

Yet there is another side - what if you are so tired that you feel like you just rolled out of bed, and you need some extra oomph. There is a reason the crazy baseball closer has all the thrill and act to a pump up song, it’s a fake. In the case that an athlete needs to pump themselves up I always recommend the phrase that my Dad used to say “Fake it till you make it”. Acting pumped up and running around can actually trick the mind into feeling good, thus bringing ones energy back to the optimal level. Or put on that baseball closer Hells Bells song and stew in your shoes!

So before any coaches start drinking bad coffee and yelling at kids, think to yourself “does that help?” And for all players, remember that you have to find your level of intensity where you play the best, to fake it till you make it to get pumped up, or breathe and relax to allow the body to perform. Either way, know what intensity level you play best at and try to repeat it, and practice it, because that is the foundation for mental toughness!

Article- Blue Elephant For Parents and Players

What we say to our kids as they approach the plate, get ready to throw a pitch, or wait patiently on defense has a direct impact on their ability to perform the task to the best of their ability. As a coach I have heard countless phrases from parents and coaches such as “don’t be tight”, “keep your hands back”, and “Don’t strike out”, to only name a few. Meaning well, but what these statements really does is make little Johnny tight, nervous, and undoubtedly worse. So what really helps a kid perform?

So as I start I say to you “Don’t think of a blue elephant sitting next to you as you read this!” What did you think of? Inevitably you thought of that blue elephant, doing whatever your mind created, exactly as I told you not to.

As we sit and coach our kids in sports, either from the stands or in the dugout, we need to remember that the mind only takes the main element to our phrase and instantly applies it. So, for instance, if I say “don’t think of the blue elephant”, you automatically think of that blue elephant.

Well the same goes for “don’t strike out”, etc, and we obviously by no means mean to say “Strike out”, but that is how the mind works. Simple, right? “Don’t say don’t!” Spin that negative “don’t” into a positive “do”. “Come on Johnny, hit it hard”, “stay relaxed and throw to the target.”

So the main elements in speaking out are to stay positive and controllable, easy right, but what do I really mean?

Positive is simply the opposite of the don’t, so what you want your son or player to do, and an easier of the 2 elements to grasp. But controllable, that is going to be a mind buster to a few.

For example instead of telling little Johnny “Don’t strike out”, you decide to flip it into a positive and say “Get a hit”. Well, a hitter cannot control if he gets a hit, there are fielders out there too! He can simply control his ability to see the ball, put a good swing on it, and try to hit it hard. And even the hitting it hard part is up to question on the controllability aspect, but it’s a start. So, the opposite of “don’t strike out” is not “get a hit”, but “see it and hit it hard.”

Making sense? Now here comes the curve ball to my “don’t” slider. When do we bark instructional cues to little Johnny at the plate, such as “keep your hands back”, phrases that are ingrained in the culture of the game. Now this one is not so black and white as the fact that it is necessary to stay positive and controllable.

From a parent I say “mostly never”, although I know that won’t happen - from a coach I say “sometimes”. Parents mean the best for little Johnny, but what they may or may not realize is that by barking cues at the little guy you are taking him away from the controllable aspects of “see ball- hit ball”, and infiltrating the little mind with things that may or may not matter. We can only think of so much at once!

As coaches, you need to know the time and place. In practice with a 10 year old, yes, with the 18u team in the bottom of the 7th with the winning run on 3rd, probably not. There is a time and place for things, and as a general rule the higher the skill level the less you need to stress mechanics.

In this brief introductory article I was hoping to bring to light a few of the mental elements of performance and what parents and coaches can say to help, and hurt, that progress. This is by no means a complete guide to coaching kids from a mental standpoint, but it is a start, and hopefully can bring some awareness to yourself next time you yell out trying to help little Johnny.

And the next time you go to say something to little Johnny at the plate, remember that blue elephant!