[from sockeye internal email list]
Hey guys,
Visualization can help. If you are interested, here are 3 small things you can do that might help for Nationals. This is a quick read, and it might help someone (they work for me).
1) Visualize the little things
Daydreaming about Nationals is going to happen. It can either help you or hurt you, depending on how you focus this spare mental energy.
Example: Half awake, I envision catching a D-goal on a huge sky. I rewind this play in my mind, and, using a little willpower, I force myself to envision the same situation, but this time I shut down the cut, preventing the throw and causing a turnover somewhere else. Or a stall. Now, I am doing a reasonable little thing instead of an unlikely big one.
Why it works: At some point, your mental prep will tell you what to do on the field. If you have prepared yourself to do the little things under pressure, you will; your daydreaming will help you in pressure situations. However, if all you have shown your brain is a highlight reel, your instinct will be to jump 8 feet high over 10 people...and since your brain doesn't know how to make that happen reliably, then it can get confused, and freeze.
Visualizing what you do consistently helps you do that even when it is tough. Or you are tired.
2) Visualize responding to mistakes
Your daydreams are only mostly under your control, and sometimes you will visualize adversity, either to yourself or your teammate.
Force yourself to visualize responding positively to this. Either jogging to the sideline and using your voice to help the next point, or help to a defensive stand. You can do the same thing when you visualize a teammates mistake...see yourself respond by playing better on O or D, or helping your team respond on the field, or by saying something useful from the sideline.
Turn daydreaming 'mistakes' into a useful exercise.
3) Mantras
This one is HUGE for me.
Pick a positive, goal-oriented, short statement. For me, last year, it was:
"I will be calm and focused with the disc at Nationals"
It should be simple to say, and achieveable. Avoid saying "I will not" or setting numerical goals.
Say this mantra to yourself 5 times before you go to bed each night. Feel free to say it at other times...I do it when I feel nervous about Natties or when I wake up.
5 times, physically SAY it (thinking it is much less effective, though it can still help).
Why it works: We have a feedback loop in our brains that actually can convince us that a statement is true if we say it enough. Crazy? Maybe. But it works, and can help your body respond better in crunch time by maximizing your instinct for success.
