Under development, patience as it develops. Thank you
Level 3 - Mental Development
They continue to say "Athletes use visualiz -ation to improve confidence, sharpen skills, enhance focus, and prepare for high-pressure situations by programming their minds and bodies for success." Because I write about Lawn Bowls which does not have the level of coaching of Swimming or other Olympic sports; my readers may find this level of Sport Phychology a far reach from our club house or the club coaching. But my blog was always intended to invite discussions between members and here is a topic of interest.
Interesting enough I was stunned when a first year bowler in a qualification game to be on the Provincial National team did an amazing draw to within inches of the jack while going around a frontal opponent's bowl at 8 inches. I later talked to this individual and discover that he was an International Swimming Athletic and had simple brought his ability of Visualization to his new interest, Lawn Bowls. (Yes he had been bowling less than a few month at my old Club when he did this shot)
In blogging about "Muscle Memory" and the Instinctive Abilities of allowing the Subconscious mind to take charge of the performance; I was puzzled how a sport like swimming could influence a Lawn Bowl Delivery. My first question is about Muscle Memory and as there are no similar Muscle Performance between the two sports; this feat of drawing his bowl around a frontal bowl with his first delivery seem impossible. But as we all learn in sports. Nothing is impossible if you work hard and believe in your abilities.
Over the last few weeks while in conversation with this new Lawn Bowler I discovered that he had simply "Visualized" his bowl and in Dropping into the "Muscle Memory Zone" (which he did not mention); he did what he wanted. (By the way he and his Skip won that 5 day qualification competition and went of the 2025 Canadian National Competition and won Gold). And this is a great feat as our province never had the level of coaching or athletics which is found in those four or five Western provinces. It, of course, helped that his skip had been a member of a United Kingdom National team prior to coming to Canada, but at a National competition both players must perform to win.
Under the Association for Applied Sport Psychology we find a detail explanation of research into Visualization. Jennifer Cumming has been working for more than 20 years, and with 181 publications on her research; she is a leader in this field, For the reader who has a further interest in this areal; I leave her work as another source of reading. I will attempt in two blogs, to join the dot in this area of Sport Psychology and how it applies to Lawn Bowls and "Muscle Memory". ( Now back to the blog)
How he achieved such a quick and unique switch to Lawn Bowls involved his Visualization Mental Development from his years of International competition and training.
The above PeakSports.com article reads " Elite athletes utilize the power of guided imagery or visualization. Imagery has long been a part of elite sports and many Olympic athletes have mastered the skill with the help of Sport Psychologists and Mental Game Coaches.
Guided visualization or imagery for athletes is consciously controlling the images or directing an athletic script in your head. One example of guided imagery that you having unknowingly used is when your coach was teaching you a new skill. You created an image in your mind of how the skill should look or the successful execution of the skill."
So the athletic "Creating an inage of their expectation and Creating the proper instructions and direction to their Mental Development" and performance. In a previous blog I explained how in my Archery perfection I had developed such a strong mental image of doing my arrow shot to the 10 spot (target center); that I had actually experienced seeing myself at the shooting line from above. My memory of this event and visualization was so detailed that I experience an "out-of-body" image where I saw myself doing the shot from a remote location. To this day, I can even recall that memory of that shot being seen from above.
Visualization is not unique to Sports. A photographer wanting to get that "Perfect Sunset" or the Painter wanting to get that "Perfect expression" must visualize the image they are to create. The photographer waits and waits as the sunset become more beautiful. However, his visualize image is what he is comparing what he see and if he was to wait too long as the sun sets and that maximun beauty moment has passed; it is lost. (Of course, I did photography when the camera was the 4x5 Graphic with a 4x5 inch sheet of film in a removeable film holder. If you were to miss that moment you knew it was quits for the day. Yes you may have still got quite a good shot but not perfect as you wanted.)
This type of Visualization may be referred to as "Result visualization" which only requires you to compare your image to the actual event and capture that perfect moment. As a News Photographer in my youth I had some of those perfect shots. My wife, who is a professional painter with very unique painted images, often scraps her work because as she added more and more to the image that she wants until she has also passes that "Point of Prefection".
In Lawn Bowls this "Result Visualization" can be simply seeing the image of your bowl in the head and believing in your ability to allow the "Muscle Memory" to create that performance. But what athletics develop through Visualization is more complete than a "Result Image" or vision. To maintain Focus which involves concentration and a discipline of thought is more pushing distractions aside and only having the actual performance in sight.
A new area for me as in "Result Visualization", I can see the Lawn Bowler projecting his view of the score as he decides his path to catching up in the score. (two points here, a long jack and two ends of 2 points). Much like a Soccer player seeing his path of running up the field as he goes toward his goal making shot. Likewise I would assume a swimmer wanting to close a lead that the opponent beside him has gained, would see his advance location at each turn of his swim with the object or "Result Vision or Image" of the opponent being behind him. Even if just a few strokes but still an image of winning.
No comments:
Post a Comment