Document Type

Thesis - University Access Only

Award Date

2004

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Health, Physical Education, and Recreation

First Advisor

Jeffrey Janot

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the practice of internal visual imagery and explore various theories that suggest imagery, along with physical practice, can enhance performance in shooting a penalty kick in soccer. The study examined whether IV or not internal visual imagery, internal visual imagery plus physical practice, physical practice, or no condition improved performance on the penalty kick in soccer. In addition this study was designed to determine whether or not, in certain situations such as penalty kick shootouts, a player with effective visualization training will be at an advantage.

The participants were 32 varsity level college soccer players between the ages of 18 and 22 . Participants were recruited by a convenience sample through personal contact with individuals from the South Dakota State University Women's Soccer Program and college level soccer players attending the United States Soccer Federation coaching course in Tampa, Florida. The randomization procedure was as follows: Participants were numbered as a one, two, three, or four based o·n the order in which they arrived to complete the task. The conditions were also numbered and participants were placed accordingly.

Standard descriptive statistics (means, standard deviation, range) were used to present subject demographics, accuracy of the kicking task for both directions, and clarity of imagery. A t-test was used to analyze the difference in clarity of images between the imagery and imagery plus practice conditions. In addition, a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) procedure was completed to determine overall group differences on task accuracy for both kicking directions.

Results showed that the imagery plus practice condition had significantly (p < V .0 5) greater clarity of images when compared to the imagery condition. Shooting accuracy to the left direction had a significant difference (p < .0 5) between means for the imagery plus practice and control conditions. Shooting accuracy to the right direction had no significant difference (p > .0 5) between any of the conditions.

Only the control group and the imagery plus practice group differed significantly. The performance of the imagery and imagery plus practice group is inconsistent with current literature. These results suggest that internal imagery may not always be the optimal perspective for performance enhancement on the penalty kick in soccer.

In the present study, the imagery training exposed the subjects to the psychological dimension of the game but the quality, quantity and realism of the exposure limited the success of the participants. Although the imagery conditions did not result in definite improvement of the penalty kick, it enhanced the participants overall knowledge of the components of soccer.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Soccer -- Kicking.
Imagery (Psychology) -- Physiological aspects.
Sports -- Psychological aspects.

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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Rights Statement

In Copyright