Impact of mental imagery on skill performance and quality of life among Soccer players

Abstract

Mental Imagery also called as mental rehearsal or visualization of something is a cognitive process where a person imagines about any event, behavior or real life experiences. This study which is based on mental Imagery is aimed in finding the effectiveness of mental imagery techniques in improving football player’s performance and enhancement of overall quality of life. MIQ-R scale was administered to 30 participants who were then divided into control and experimental group based on the scoring. The intervention protocol for control group consisted of routine physical training whereas experimental group had mental imagery techniques added on with the later. WHO QOL was used to assess the quality of life whereas skill performance was evaluated by professional coaches. The findings show that the experimental group, which gains from using mental imagery in their training, makes noticeably more development in their ability to do a skill than the control group, which just uses conventional physical training techniques. Also better quality of life was found in experimental group then control group.. These results shows the benefits of using mental imagery exercises while practicing football. This study promotes the use of mental imagery techniques as a part of training regime in various sports as it enhances overall satisfaction of players.