As many have said before, excelling at sports is mostly mental. You have to believe in yourself and your teammates and when the pressure is on, you have to stay calm and relaxed. If that is true, why is it that we spend so much time focusing on the physical training and so little time mentally preparing for matches and competitions?
Studies show that a practice called mental imagery (or visualization) can help all levels of athletes improve their skill, their confidence and their sense of calm in battle. Besides that, it is also suspected of increasing an athlete’s work ethic, motivation and desire to improve.
One volleyball-specific study in particular proved that the players that visualized making a perfect pass before entering a serve receive drill actually performed better than the group that didn’t visualize. Another showed that novices that visualized the new skill they had been taught improved at that skill faster than those who did not.
There is no definitive evidence that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that visualization alone can improve performance. But many athletes say they benefit from it and several studies have agreed. Try it for yourself using the tips below and see if your game improves.
