Mental Preparation and Training
Mental training is important for athletes, whether striving to do their personal best or competing against others. Mental imagery, what Bruce D. Hale of Penn State calls "No Sweat Practice," is very effective. The mind cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is imagined. Practice is practice, regardless of whether it is mental or physical.
Ask the athlete to sit in a relaxed position in a quiet place with few distractions. Tell the athlete to close his/her eyes and picture performing a particular skill. Each is seeing him/herself in a swimming pool on a large movie screen. Walk them through the skill step by step. Provide as much detail as possible, using words to elicit all the senses — sight, hearing, touch and smell. Ask athletes to repeat the image, rehearsing the skill successfully, even to the point of seeing themselves touch the wall at finish.
Some athletes need help to start the process. Others will learn to practice this way on their own. The link between performing the skills in the mind and performing the skills in the pool may be hard to explain. However, the athlete who repeatedly imagines him/herself correctly completing a skill and believing it to be true is more likely to make it happen. Whatever goes into one's mind and one's heart comes out in their actions.
