Abstract
The purpose of this article is to provide strategies for using imagery to build confidence in esport athletes. Because confidence is a belief and strongly influenced by success and failure, mental training using imagery should be designed to create and sustain an agile mindset to accept events that shake confidence and enable athletes to respond productively to adapt and restore self-belief. Esport athletes should start small with short but frequent sessions of polysensory imagery practice of simple skills and strategies to build imagery skill and confidence. Imagery practice should be similar to competition, in terms of physical posture, setting, and equipment. Confidence-building imagery strategies include creating and rehearsing optimal performance plans as well creating imagery scripts for productive responses to mistakes, losing, tilting, and worrying about the skills and decision-making of teammates. Uses of imagery can be periodized to optimally develop confident performance and responses, prepare for specific opponents or tournaments, and assess prior performances using a growth mindset to enhance self-belief.
References
Anuar, N., Cumming, J., & Williams, S. E. (2016). Effects of applying the PETTLEP model on vividness and ease of imaging movement. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 28, 185–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2015.1099122 Search in Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.Search in Google Scholar
Himmelstein, D., Liu, Y., & Shapiro, J. L. (2017). An exploration of mental skills among competitive league of legend players. International Journal of Gaming and Computer Simulations, 9(2), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJGCMS.2017040101 Search in Google Scholar
Jeannerod, M. (1994). The representing brain: Neural correlates of motor intention and imagery. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 17, 187–202. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00034026 Search in Google Scholar
Migliore, L. (2021). What is esports? The past, present, and future of competitive gaming. In L. Migliore, C. McGee, & M. M. Moore (Eds.), Handbook of esports medicine (pp. 1–16). Springer.10.1007/978-3-030-73610-1_1Search in Google Scholar
Nagorsky, E., & Wiemeyer, J. (2020). The structure of performance and training in esports. PLoS One, 15(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237584.Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Poulus, D. R., Coulter, T. J., Trotter, M. G., & Polman, R. (2021). A qualitative analysis of the perceived determinants of success in elite esports athletes. Journal of Sport Sciences, 40(7), 742–753.10.1080/02640414.2021.2015916Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Scott, M. W., Wright, D. J., Smith, D., & Holmes, P. S. (2022). Twenty years of PETTLEP imagery: An update and new direction for simulation-based training. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 12, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajsep.2022.07.002 Search in Google Scholar
Smith, M. J., Birch, P. D. J., & Bright, D. (2019). Identifying stressors and coping strategies of elite esports competitors. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, 11(2), 22–39. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJGCMS.2019040102 Search in Google Scholar
Trotter, M. G., Coulter, T. J., Poulus, D., Davis, P. A., & Polman, R. (2021). Social support, self-regulation, and psychological skill use in e-athletes. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 49–76. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.722030.Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Vealey, R. S. (2018). A periodization approach to building confidence in athletes. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 9, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2018.1496213 Search in Google Scholar
Vealey, R. S. (2022). Coaching for the inner edge: Practical sport psychology for coaches. FIT.Search in Google Scholar
Wu, M., Lee, J. S., & Steinkuehler, C. (2021). Understanding tilt in esports: A study on young league of legends players. In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 1–9).10.1145/3411764.3445143Search in Google Scholar
Wulf, G. (2013). Attentional focus and motor learning: A review of 15 years. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 6, 77–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2012.723728 Search in Google Scholar
© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Why imagery use in esports?
- Articles
- Translating the applied model of deliberate imagery use to esports
- Practical assessment and application of imagery techniques in esports
- Developing imagery ability in esport athletes using layered stimulus response training
- Getting the most out of imagery: PETTLEP and ESports
- Imagery for game strategy in esports
- Using imagery to build confidence in esports
- Using imagery to build team confidence in esports
- An imagery-based intervention for managing anxiety in esports
- VR training and imagery training in esports
- Using imagined partners to enhance esports performance
- Coaches as teachers and facilitators of esports imagery use
- Imagery use in esports: future research directions and unique considerations
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Why imagery use in esports?
- Articles
- Translating the applied model of deliberate imagery use to esports
- Practical assessment and application of imagery techniques in esports
- Developing imagery ability in esport athletes using layered stimulus response training
- Getting the most out of imagery: PETTLEP and ESports
- Imagery for game strategy in esports
- Using imagery to build confidence in esports
- Using imagery to build team confidence in esports
- An imagery-based intervention for managing anxiety in esports
- VR training and imagery training in esports
- Using imagined partners to enhance esports performance
- Coaches as teachers and facilitators of esports imagery use
- Imagery use in esports: future research directions and unique considerations