Sports Psychology and Pro Gaming: Visualize to Win

Play Counter-Strikein your head?

Have you ever imagined an upcoming match or scrim in your mind before having actually played the game? Ever thought about your strategy, where and how you will aim, and where you will first engage the opposing team? If so, you engaged in a sports psychology technique known as visualization (a.k.a imagery).

Visualization is a training technique used by many of the world’s top athletes today. The basic concept is that by vividly imagining something before it actually takes place, you can better prepare your mind and body for the event when it comes to pass.

An example of putting visualization to work in eSports would be mentally rehearsing a match in your mind prior to logging onto a server or playing a big game at a LAN event.Imagining how good you will play, how and where you will outsmart or outshoot your opponents, anticipating the other team’s strategy, and even calming your nerves can all be accomplished through intense imagery. By thinking and “seeing” it all happen before it takes place in the real world you will be better prepared.

Basic Tips for visualization:

1) Relax for a few minutes and think about a skill you would like to improve
2) Picture yourself completing the action successfully paying attention to how it will feel,look,sound, etc
3) Visualize the complete action and success several times and imagine the feeling you will get from your accomplishment.
4) Repeat the process to work on all areas of your game.

Put visualization into practice today. Mentally rehearse strats and aim skills or use it to picture yourself with calm nerves before the next big LAN and you’ll be one step ahead of the competition. eSP: Play Better.