Katelyn Deremiens

The Science Behind Repetition and Visualization

 We shoot 100s of shots in practice and do the same things over and over again. "Practice makes perfect." Why? We know how to shoot correctly and often times it appears as though the coach is repeating the same things over and over. We know we are training to strengthen our muscles and enhance muscle memory. More importantly, we are training our brains. Your hands hold the basketball because your brain tells them to. Shots are missed because our brain miscalculated the distance to the basket or caused us to overcompensate on the follow through. Each time you focus on your technique and making the perfect basket you are rewiring the synapses of your brain (the connections that make the action possible). Especially as a teenager, your brain is very susceptible to change and development- you need to take advantage of this. Therefore, every time you focus on executing proper technique you strengthen those connections in your brain, which makes the desired action more of a natural process. The initial changes are temporary. Just because you did it right once or twice, does not mean that you can abandon focusing on the details of your form while practicing. Always shoot with purpose. Repetition is critical to strengthen and consolidate these new connections in your brain. The more you practice and focus on form, the stronger the connections will become and your brain will begin to adapt and assign more brain power to the muscles which execute these actions. That being said, each time you revert back to old habits your brain begins to strengthen those connections that we are trying to eliminate and take away brain power from the new connection that you are attempting to build. For example, when you shoot out of your range (your not strong enough) you begin to lose form and overcompensate in other areas. If you consistently do this, you will strengthen those pathways which involve overcompensation and you will lose form. Guaranteed. If you miss a shot in practice, you should be able to analyze why. Was it your follow through? Were you square to the basket? It does not matter if you are a natural or if it takes you more time and concentration to achieve perfect form, with repetition and practice you can train your brain and your muscles to shoot a perfect shot. 

Don't have access to a gym to practice? Visualization is a powerful and misunderstood tool. Athletes can have trouble understanding the value of visualization and many find it to be kind of "cheesy." Studies have proven that, for example, a piano player mentally rehearsing a music piece will show the same cerebral blood flow patterns as if they were actually physically playing the piece. The same is true for basketball. Visualization in conjunction with focused repetition will lead to an enhanced consolidation of the synaptic circuits in your brain. Visualization is a key tool for an athlete to use while mentally preparing for a game, especially if you know what to expect from the team your playing. The reason coaches ask players to watch games between other teams is so that the players can begin thinking about what they can do to break the other team. If you know what to expect, you can prepare for it. For example, if we play a team that we know is going to put pressure on us, we can start thinking (before the game even starts: that day, the day before etc.) what we can do to combat their pressure. When we step on the court, we already have purpose and a 'plan of action.' As opposed to getting on the court and then trying to adapt to the other team's style of play. We want the opposing team to play our game, not the other way around.

The consolidation of these synaptic circuits will make basketball a natural activity for the athlete and will lead to elimination of 'thinking' on the court. As is the same in many sports, mastery of basketball is achieved when the player is able to react immediately on the court, without having to analyze and think about the situation.

Practicing repetition and visualization will allow the athlete to remove thinking from the court and focus on playing the game of basketball.

Visit the following page for a more in depth explanation: The olympic brain. Does corticospinal plasticity play a role in acquisition of skills required for high-performance sports? http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/jphysiol.2007.142661/full