“Dreaming means ‘rehearsing’ what you see, playing it over and over in your mind until it becomes as real to you as your life right now.” Emmitt Smith

Sport psychology research has found mental imagery to be useful in the improvement of performance on the football field. Mental training can improve performance and help players reach their full potential.

An effective mental imagery strategy involves images of the athlete playing a mental film of playing a game, performing in competition and overcoming challenges that may occur in the game.

Many great athletes choreograph their performance in their mind before going on the field. For example, Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho employs mental imagery for game preparation and strategy purposes on a regular base.

Imagery Types

There are two general types of imagery: internal imagery and external imagery.

Internal mental imagery, the “view” in your mind is from the perspective of your own eyes looking at the field and players around you.

External mental imagery focuses on looking at your performance as if you were watching yourself play. This allows you to step back and see the bigger picture by enabling you to recreate the performance in your mind from an outsider’s viewpoint.

The Power of Imagery

Imagery means visualizing a specific opportunity of the game and imagining yourself being successful at that moment.

Imagery provides you the chance to take “mental practice attempts” before trying it to the real game.

It allows you to focus exclusively on what you want to accomplish.

It will increase the statistical odds of making actual attempts successful.

Mental imagery is effective at improving self-efficacy, thereby changing the way in which you approach a task and giving you the confidence to be aggressive.

Mental imagery can help you improve your overall mental toughness. Football mental toughness has been identified as a critical quality that determines athletic performance, strength, and even predicts success among high-level athletes.

For mental imagery to be effective, it is important to integrate it into your pre-performance routine and picture yourself doing it successfully over and over again.

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