"If you see yourself hitting a dive, your chances of hitting a dive increase greatly."
- Troy Dumais, American Diver
Dumais is able to mentally practice his dive prior to competition to increase his chances of performing how he would like.
For our first instalment of Sport Psych Saturday, we wanted to talk about mental practice and how it correlates with sport performance.
Mental practice is a term that is often interchangeable with imagery and visualization. It can be explained as a developed skill that used the five senses to re-create/create an experience or action within your mind. For example, an individual may visualize themselves making a save, scoring a goal or making a specific movement.
The goal with this is to see yourself performing/practicing a task vividly and in control which is where the term "mental practice" comes from.
Mental practice has many positive uses such as:
- Mental preparation.
- Controlling stress and anxiety.
- Improving focus and concentration.
- Building confidence.
- Learning a new skill.
- Recovery from an injury.
Click the link below to head over to our Instagram IGTV page to check out Psychology Assistant Brad's video on mental practice.