This article on imagery, or what others may call visualization, explains how that discipline can improve athletic performance. Included is an extraordinarily insightful quotation from the international soccer star, Ronaldinho, reading in part, "...what I do, always before a game, always, every night and every day, is try and think up things, imagine plays, which no one else will have thought of, and to do so always bearing in mind the particular strength of each team-mate to whom I am passing the ball. When I construct those plays in my mind I take into account whether one team-mate likes to receive the ball at his feet, or ahead of him. That is my job. That is what I do. I imagine the game”.

A study referenced in the article proposes that there are shared areas in the brain that are activated during both physical and imagined movements. Such “functional equivalence” is hypothesized as the means by which imagery can improve performance. That hypothesis is ties to PETTLEP, an acronym representing seven key elements to include during imagery: Physical, Environment, Task, Timing, Learning, Emotion and Perspective.

The article is housed at BelievePerform.com, which collects articles on sports psychology.