If you’ve read the Urban Meyer book, Above the Line, you know the value the Ohio State Buckeye’s place on the “mental reps.” In any team sport where only a limited number of athletes can participate at a time, maximizing the mental game is an absolute must. A fantastic way to get more mental reps is through visualization. Recently, I saw the embedded video below on Facebook and thought I would comment on my experience with visualization.
As a high school wrestler I started using visualization before my matches as well as every night before I fell asleep. My routine was to do my regular warm-up and a then find a quiet place to sit down and go through my routine. I would imagine the gym the way it was, along with my opponent, the official, etc., and I would visualize my match. I was taught to visualize everything going perfectly and if I visualized myself taking a bad shot, or opponents taking me down, I was to hit the rewind button on my imaginary remote control, and play it again the way I wanted to do it. After listening to a lot of Brian Cain and Michael Gervais podcasts the last several months, I think it’s more important for athletes who experience a mistake in visualization to problem solve and see themselves recovering from mistakes rather than everything being perfect.
Over the course of my wrestling career and as a coach, I had the opportunity to work with both Olympian Anthony Amado and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, both of whom led athletes they were coaching through visualization activities. I have heard Michael Gervais say that a great formula for both athletes and coaches is to combine a mindfulness practice and visualization. If I recall correctly, he suggested mindfulness just after waking up and visualization just before going to sleep.
Another use of “mental reps” or visualization for is through the use of film. Over the course of the week, we would install our defensive game plan on the field, and then have the players as a group, visualize themselves executing that plan by watching film. We would have the players watch our opponent’s offensive film from the weeks prior and make their calls for strength, coverage and making their reads. If your scout team has a difficult time simulating the look you’re going to get on Friday night, it is an excellent way to bridge that gap for your players.
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