The document discusses mental imagery and simulation techniques used by athletes. It states that mental imagery involves visually picturing events in the mind and allows athletes to strengthen muscle coordination through thought processes. Simulation aims to recreate competition situations for training. Both techniques improve neural pathways and allow athletes to mentally rehearse movements and prepare for events. The document also discusses different types of focus athletes can employ, such as internal focus on thoughts or external focus on environmental cues, and how attention shifts are important for performance in different sports situations.

2.  Mental Imagery
involves an ability to
picture events via
thoughts in the brain
 Imagery is a form of
simulation and allows
the user to create,
modify and strengthen
important pathways
involving coordination
of muscles by training
powerful thought
processes

3.  Allow us to ‘feel’
our body as it
moves through
different actions
 Heavily involves
proprioception
 Cartoon: “feeling”
your way to the end
result
 EG: Hitting a golf
ball

4.  Before they jump,
they will visualise the
movements (flips,
twists and turns) of
the jump they’re
about to perform
 Mental rehearsal can
only work if the
athlete is in a relaxed
state

5.  Improves neural
pathways between
the CNS and muscles
 Provides a mental
template of rehearsal
 Enables athletes to
practice and prepare
for foreseeable and
unforeseeable events
during competition

6.  Similar to imagery,
simulation is carried
out by making the
physical environment
as similar as possible
to the game situation
 EG: training in front
of spectators, playing
full contact games

7.  Very similar to the
principle of
specificity.
 Simulation is thought
to be superior to
imagery as the
stimuli introduced
exists in reality
 On the other hand, it
requires greater
preparation and set
up

8.  The definition contains 3 parts
1. Focusing on relevant environmental cues
2. Maintaining attention focus over time
3. Having awareness of the situation
Concentration and attention are used
interchangeably

9. 1. Broad-internal focus:
- Used to focus on
thoughts and feelings
- Fast bowler preparing
to run in and bowl
2. Broad-external focus
- Used to focus outwards
on an opponents
actions
- Watching an opponent
try to make a run to
receive the ball

10. 3. Narrow-internal
focus
- Used to focus
thoughts and
mentally rehearse
upcoming
movements
- A springboard diver
4. Narrow-external
focus
- Used to focus on very
few external cues
- Taking an
uncontested mark in
football

11.  Any most sports,
attention needs to shift
to adapt to the
environment around
them
 It an athletes attention
is inappropriate to the
task, performance can
be affected.
 Sometimes distractions
caused by future-
oriented thinking EG?

12.  A situation where
performance
decreases because
a heightened sense
of pressure or
importance is
placed on an
upcoming event or
action

13.  Roberto Baggio
◦ 1994 World Cup

15.  Simulation
 Shutting out irrelevant cues
 Use of cue-words (move your feet, follow
through etc)
 Routines (see example on P324)
 Overtraining skills (autonomous stage of
learning)