How To Handle Pressure Through Imagery & Visualization
When you step onto the field for a big game, your body’s stress response skyrockets.
While this uptick in heart rate, metabolic processes, and thinking is necessary, it often overshoots the sweet spot.
So, it’s important to know how to bring it back down a bit so your body can mobilize resources to perform near your peak without producing racing thoughts.
Some mental skills are relevant during play, when you step onto the ice, like changing your breathing or self-talk with intention. But, you can also manage this stress proactively through imagery and visualization, which I’ll refer to as mental training for the rest of this article.
That skyrocketing stress response your brain and body goes through is a consequence of all of the senses taking in a ton of information. Examples include seeing your opponent(s) warm-up, feeling the sensations of your cleats hit the turf, smelling the aromas of the stadium or your equipment, hearing the noise of the crowd and teammates/coaches, and so on.
All of this hits differently when your brain knows game time is just moments away. When all of this information comes flooding in before the big moment of that first play, the brain can feel overwhelmed - and as a result, racing thoughts and a rapid heart rate come into your attention.
Sport psychology research shows we can help the brain feel less overwhelmed.
You’ll still be in a place where your brain and body mobilize resources to be quick, strong, and think on your feet. It’ll just come with less overthinking and physical sensations of stress. Sounds great, right? Let’s discuss how mental training can proactively prepare your brain for the future so you can then handle the pressure-filled present more calmly and confidently.
It’s important to try implementing mental training into your pregame routine. I will say, it’s not for everyone, but so many athletes find value in this mental skill in some capacity. Whether it’s the morning of your game, an hour before, or 5 minutes until you walk out onto the pitch, there’s a method out there that will work for you if you experiment with it.
Regardless of when you do this exercise, here are some guidelines to help prepare your brain to handle pressure.
Relax your mind and body as you ease into this exercise.
Research shows you’ll get more out of mental training if you’re in a relaxed state. This will allow you to focus effectively on imagining your experience more vividly. The more vivid your imagined experience, the better prepared your brain will be to handle the real experience.
Imagine multiple senses, not just what you see.
I call this skill mental training because imagery/visualization put the sense of sight on an undeserved pedestal. Your brain will be more activated from this experience if you incorporate other senses, especially what you can feel and hear. These three senses, sight, touch, and hearing, flood your brain with information when you feel the pressure come on - so imagine this happening ahead of time so your brain is in more control when it all comes in.
Sight: imagine what you’ll be seeing in game. Picture specific players - both teammates and opponents. Do you have a spot on the field you’ll be at most of the game? What does the crowd look like? Try to do this in the 1st-person, like there’s a go-pro camera on your forehead. You can also do 3rd-person if it’s more comfortable.
Touch: imagine what you can feel both internally and externally. How does your heart rate feel as you step onto the ice? Imagine a calm, controlled breath as you take your warm-up. What does it feel like to hit the court for the first time? Try and grasp what it feels like to have a ball or bat in your hands.
Hearing: what sounds flood your brain that could overwhelm you? Hear them ahead of time in your imagined experience. Sounds of the crowd, your teammates communicating, coach giving you instructions, the sounds of the ball as you kick it across the field, etc.
See yourself playing well
While fear drives some athletes to keep imagining themselves making mistakes, notice this error in executing mental training, then correct it. On the flip side, be careful about imagining yourself making highlight reel plays and doing things you never do - you’re not doing an effective job to prepare your brain if you imagine things the brain is unlikely to experience.
Focus on seeing yourself making very common and expected plays that will be necessary to win the game. Making accurate passes, communicating effectively with teammates, working harder than anyone else, and executing the fundamentals with confidence is a great way to prime your brain for a great game.
By incorporating these 3 factors into a consistent pregame mental training practice, you’re one step closer to landing your brain and body in the sweet spot of performing - enough pressure to propel you to play hard, but not so much where you feel tense and afraid.
