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Lakers' Using Mental Preparation for Games

Rob Hartt — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 12:33:00 GMT

We've heard of players pumping themselves up for games. How about using meditation to win championships? It is the path more teams are starting to take. With sports being a mental game, coaches and athletes are always asking themselves about things they can do to take their play to the next level.

I know that sometimes it is better not to try and recreate the wheel. So here is a great article by ESPN writer Henry Abbott: Mental preparation for Game 7 . It talks about how the Lakers' use meditation as part of their regular preparation and training. It also gives a view into how the other coaches view the practice and its impact on the team chemistry and personality.

I believe there is a place for being pumped up but what is the foundation under that for when that fuel tapers out. Although meditation is not for everyone in every situation, I think it is right for 99.9% of athletes at some point in their training. As Lakers' coach Chuck Person puts it, how can you question it too much, "Phil (Jackson), is the ultimate leader when it comes to the mental coaching game."

After winning 5 championships with Phil Jackson, Kobe was asked by a report what one of the things was that he appreciates most about him and his coaching approach. His reponse: "Meditation probably. Meditation. I'm a lot older now, have a little more patience now to be able to understand his teachings, his philosophy in terms of meditation and breathing, things of that nature."

Visualization and Sports

Rob Hartt — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:43:00 GMT

Visualization in sports is nothing new but what science is learning about it is. Most recently two research studies have shown that visualization can have a significant impact on an athletes performance.

Visualization started to get noticed in the 60s and 70s and was really something that was only practiced by athletes in the Olympics. Now, athletes like Sydney Crosby, Peyton Manning and Michael Jordan have said how it is or was an important part of their preparation for achieving excellence.

Research wise, professors like Dr. Blaslotto of the University of Chicago have found that by using visualization alone, people could improve their free-throw percent by about 20% over a month. Or at the The Cleveland Clinic, researchers found that people could increase their muscle strength through visualization. Think of the implication for athletes who are traveling frequently. While they are traveling, they could be increasing their accuracy and strength further during their season.

In a world where people say that sports is 90% mental, how much should athletes include this in their training. It is hard to say but I believe it should be a frequent part of their weekly schedule. It is recognized that to become a master in any sport or art that it requires approximately 10,000 hours to achieve that level. That is a lot of passes thrown, shots taken or bats swung. However, the body can't distinguish between visualizations and real training. Therefore, this technique can drive their sports excellence deeper into their muscle memory on down times.

In combination with techniques like meditation, goal-setting, energy boosting and biofeedback, visualization can be an element that both boosts and refines a player's performance.

Here are two other interesting article on this topic:

Visualization and Muscle Strength

Sports Psychology and Its Impact on Athletics

Cammalleri's Visualization

Rob Hartt — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:08:00 GMT

More athletes are using visualization techniques to improve their performance. Most recently, Mike Cammalleri of the Montreal Canadiens was captured going through one of his visualization routines. At this point in the playoffs, he was leading the NHL with 12 goals.

As a key tool for increasing reaction time and accuracy, it helps players reach the balance between calmness and readiness during games.

Highest Levels of Sports

Rob Hartt — Thu, 13 May 2010 10:46:00 GMT

This blog is about everything that goes into great athletes and teams.The blog will focus mostly on mental performance techniques and newer modalities of physical training but it will also include contributor articles from experts in all areas of athletic training and excellence.

Our audience is a wide group: athletes, coaches, trainers, therapists,psychologists, general managers, athletic directors, team owners and agents. We hope to bring together the latest information on elite performance and what techniques can be brought to athletes and teams to help them achieve their goals.

Mental performance techniques are widely becoming one of the most interesting spaces in sports training. It is recognized as an area that has the quickest and greatest lift in a players play. From mindfulness-based meditation and visualization to biofeedback and neurofeedback, professional teams, college programs and Olympic athletes are using these innovative approaches to boost their performance.

In our coming blog posts, we will talk in greater depth about all these topics. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!