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Mental Rehearsal & Visualization: The Secret to Improving Your Game Without Touching a Basketball!
- By Joe Haefner
Visualization is an often-taught mental rehearsal technique in sports. It is an extremely powerful
tool and numerous studies have been done to test this. You may have heard of
this basketball study or a different one with similar results.
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A study conducted by Dr. Blaslotto at the University of Chicago was done where he split people into three groups and tested each group on how many free throws they could make.
After this, he had the first group practice free throws every day for an hour.
The second group just visualized themselves making free throws.
The third group did nothing.
After 30 days, he tested them again.
The first group improved by 24%.
The second group improved by 23% without touching a basketball!!!!
The third group did not improve which was expected.
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 Picture by
Hape Gera
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We're not condoning being lazy and not practicing. What we're trying to drive home is imagine what you could do if you implemented
both practice and the mental rehearsal technique of visualization. The sky is the limit. You can apply this to all sports and if you do, it can do wonders for you and your team.
Tips on How to Use Visualization..
You need to involve Sight, Sound, and Feeling to really gain from the benefits of visualization.
Now, there are some important things to consider when visualizing. If you just picture yourself
shooting free throws in third person as if it was a movie, you probably won't improve as much as you could.
You need to visualize everything out of your eyes (in the 1st person). You have to be there at the
free throw line feeling the basketball. Seeing the goal. Hearing the noise.
As you shoot, you should FEEL the ball roll off your fingers. You should SEE the ball
traveling through the air with perfect backspin. You should SEE your hands out in front of you
with the perfect follow through. You should SEE your hands out in front of you holding the
follow through as you HEAR & SEE the ball swish through the net.
Once, you do this, you're guaranteed to see results.
On a personal note...
We had decided to discuss the concept of visualization and the importance in doing so at practice one day. We told the players to go home and visualize themselves shooting 10 free throws before they go to bed. We had to forgot to mention to everybody to visualize every shot going through the hoop. The next day some of the players were telling us about it. Jokingly, we asked a few of the players, "So, how many did you make?" assuming of course that everybody made 10. A couple of the kids said I made 10. Then one of our players sheepishly raised his hand and said, "But coach… I only made 7." The funny thing about it is that he wasn't joking.
So, don't assume anything with your players. Explain everything.
What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...
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Comments
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Med Salem Tiguit says:
5/8/2008 at 11:54:17 AM
the notes are very interesting and they are new to me , i have been playing basketball for high school and university team and i have never been lucky to get this kind of information , what was shared among us was just phisically and technically oriented , no time was given to the mental and the meotioanl side of the game which i see very important , now am a teacher of English in a junior high scholl and am a trainer for the school rteam , am very happy to share these notes and am sure they will help the kids improve their mastery of basketball! thank you so much , Med Salem Tiguit , Morocco
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frankie jones says:
5/8/2008 at 12:05:20 PM
this is a good tool to use and it works. i know it because when i wrestled in school our coach told us to use it. this can also be used for doing one on one moves. when you shot or pump fake picture how your defender will react.
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vhenz says:
7/17/2008 at 5:13:56 AM
Give some tips on
How To Train my Mind?
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Mitch4fsu says:
11/19/2008 at 3:43:38 PM
I really like this drill.
I was taught in College to shoot with my eyes closed.
Make one with eyes open and get an image of goal in mind and close eyes and visualize the goal. It really made me a better feel shooter.
Thanks for the drill
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David says:
9/3/2009 at 9:00:24 PM
Anthony Robbins is quoting this study incorrectly to make a point. He stated that the group which visualized beat the group that practiced.
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Casey says:
9/9/2009 at 1:24:09 PM
Visualization techniques work so well. I used this and have used an audio method as well. I got the audio method from Mental Champions. Keep up the great work!
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hannah hilton says:
12/5/2009 at 2:47:04 PM
how do you handle a ball hog in highschool basketball?
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Jeff Haefner says:
12/5/2009 at 5:26:09 PM
Depends, are you a player or coach?
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The Skeptical Hypnotist says:
12/16/2009 at 12:50:20 PM
Where is the academic support of this study. I have not been able to find anything in the journals or in the literature to prove that this study ever took place. There is plenty of claims under blogs all over the internet that this study took place. Some even report the anecdotal evidence of Dr. Judd Blaslotto just reporting on this study, not actually involved in the study himself.
Dr. Judd Blaslotto is supposedly a champion weight lifter. Do you know where any info can be obtained about him, this study, his credentials, or any other info to support these claims?
I believe that visualization drills are highly effective, as I use them quite often in my own athletic, professional and personal endeavors. I am just tired of reading of unsubstantiated claims just to sell products.
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Claire says:
5/15/2010 at 11:03:41 AM
I'm a sculptor. This technique works for just about everything you do.
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Anthony says:
8/31/2010 at 12:21:32 AM
I've also looked to confirm the claims, but I can not find anything. I can't even find Judd Blaslotto. For any academic, all one needs to do is type in his or her name into a search engine, and his or her web page is usually one of the first hits. For Mr. Blaslotto, I see only websites citing this basketball study. One site claims he's written books:
http://www.cosmicmysteries.com/imagination.php
but I can't find them on Amazon or anywhere else.
I did find this, though:
http://lib.typepad.com/suggest/2010/07/judd-blaslotto-basketball-and-the-university-of-chicago.html
They couldn't find it... Would you be able to provide a citation?
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Issues in Sport says:
10/15/2010 at 1:37:56 AM
First make your self open and create a lead before you receive the ball. When you get the ball set up the shot you want and go for it. Remember Hoped shots never get in the basket so have confidence.
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Professional Sports Fan says:
11/29/2010 at 2:57:59 AM
This beginner basketball drill is a great way to get your team acquainted with one another while reiterating the importance of a correct stance.
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Dr Dean Hinitz says:
1/7/2012 at 5:35:19 PM
Really nice article on an essential mental game technique! Dr Dean Hinitz, Sports Psychologist
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Tracy O''Brien says:
11/5/2012 at 2:42:34 PM
Thanks for sharing this study, Joe! As a life and confidence coach, I use this very technique to help people achieve what they want in all areas of life. Having a specific study to quote always helps the sceptics to be willing to try something new!
Tracy O''Brien
www.prospernow.me
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Mik says:
1/20/2013 at 3:09:02 AM
There is a "Dr. Judd Biasiotto, a sports psychologist who was a four-time world record holder in power lifting".
Source: http://www.worldhistorysite.com/rsc-6.html
Also, "Dr. Judd Biasiotto has worked as a sports psychologist with numerous amateur and professional athletes and sports teams, including the Kansas City Royals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Cincinnati Reds."
http://www.amazon.com/Psych-ebook/dp/B00AEGSUQQ
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