E49: PETTLEP Series - Soccer - Shooting a Penalty Kick

Hello and welcome back to the sports mastermind. Last week we used PETTLEP to break down hitting a pitch in baseball. This episode we will be going over the sequence of events leading up to shooting a penalty kick in soccer. For those of you that are new to the series, see episode 46 for more details on PETTLEP imagery. 

Transcript

Laura Ratto: It's the 55th minute. The score is 0-0. This goalie is tall. Should I go left or right? Low or High? I think I'll go low and to the left. Nope, nope. Changing my mind. High into the right. Oh no, I just sailed it over the crossbar. Hello and welcome back to the Sports Mastermind. Last week we used PETTLEP to break down hitting a pitch in baseball. This episode we'll be going over the sequence of events leading up to shooting a penalty kick in soccer. For those of you that are new to this series, see episode 46 for more details on PETTLEP imagery. I will describe a scenario, explain what to focus on and run you through a sequence that you can listen to while you visualize that has keywords and phrases to help keep your focus on track. This is great for beginners and those new to visualization. As you become more comfortable with the skill of visualization, keep in mind that it's important to personalize the images when doing imagery intervention. As with any skill when you first start, you want to start with a few minutes a day and build up. Benefits can be seen in as little as 10 minutes a session. Research has shown that the range is anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes a session to see significant benefits, with a minimum of 3 sessions a week. Imagery can be done anytime from when you first wake up before practice, before competition, or before going to bed. This episode we will be going over the sequence of events leading up to shooting a penalty kick in soccer. Imagery is best done in the environment in which you're going to compete. So if you cannot be in that environment where you normally compete, try to mimic it as much as possible, such as going outside in the grass or turf. So grab your cleats, ball, socks, shin, guards and kit and do this imagery session at your home field or simulated environment. Are you there? Go ahead and pause this recording. I'll be here when you get back. Now that you have your kit and ball, walk out twelve yards from the goal line. Make sure your guards are on, your cleats are tied and you see the soccer ball in the grass. Imagine yourself on the field. See the goalies set up in the middle between the posts with part of their foot on the goal line. Take a quick glance behind you outside the penalty arc where the rest of the team is waiting and watching and anticipating. Smell the fresh cut grass and let yourself hear the fans in the crowd and the excitement about what is about to happen. Now take a deep breath and refocus your attention on the task at hand. You're at the 55 minute mark and are stepping up to take the penalty kick. Focus on the way you position your body. What side are you going to? If you set up in the middle of the ball you can use either foot or go either way. Position your body to psych out the goalie. What do you think the goalie is going to do? It looks like the goalie is leaning to dive to the right corner so you stare at that corner to reinforce that is the direction you're going. Now you move your gaze to make eye contact with the goalie. Should I do a panenka? No, not today. Today is all about the lower left corner. The goalie is on the taller side and you decide that low is the way to go. You are confident and going to stick with your plan. You place the ball and then take three to four steps back and a little step to the side. Keeping your hips from giving anything away, you get ready to strike the ball with about 70% to 80% power. You start your approach one step, two step three, plant my left foot next to the ball. Keeping your head down, you contact the ball with your full instep and strike through the ball. You see the ball go into the goal in the lower left corner. As the goalie looks on from the grass on the ground to the right, you hear the cheers and your team is now leading 10. This is just one of many scenarios that can use PETTLEP imagery to practice shooting a penalty kick in soccer. While this first example is good to listen to for cues and specifics, as you get more comfortable with imagery, it is important to make it as personal and specific as possible. For example, you can envision different scenarios: you are down zero one or you're in a penalty shootout and you're the first one to take a shot. Now it's four four and you're in the fifth shot of the shootout and the other team has missed their fifth. If you make this shot, your team wins. Now it's five four and it's the last shot and if you do not make it, your team loses. Now you're in sudden death. Is your focus where it should be? How is your self talk? Incorporating self talk and emotion when using imagery is important because that is the best time to practice imagining and working through highly stressful situations before you have to be in them. Notice how these changes in situations could lead to different thoughts and emotions going through your head. Think about what you would be thinking and feeling in these situations and incorporate those into your visualization and see what things you can do to help reduce your levels of anxiety so that you're in a position where you can perform optimally. Here is a quick review of things to use when you're creating your own PETTLEP imagery scenarios. First, we start with the physical environment. You imagine you're in your home field and wearing your home kit. Next, we examine our environment. In an ideal situation, imagery should be done in the same location as where you are competing, or an environment as similar to where you compete as possible. We move our focus a little more internal to the task. You imagine the details related to the task and your thoughts and feelings while performing the task. How long does the skill take? Imagine yourself performing the skill in real time. Imagine yourself performing the skill from an internal perspective, meaning seeing the actions through your own eyes instead of watching from TV. It is also important to factor in emotion to the skill. How do you feel in each of the specific scenarios as you get better with imagery and the physical skills involved with your movement, the things that you visualize will need to change as your skills progress. Now that you have a soccer, taking a penalty kick, example of PETTLEP imagery, what are some other scenarios that you want to try? If you'd like me to run you through a PETTLEP scenario, email or send me a voice memo to Laura@rattoconsulting.com and yours could be used in this series. That's laura@rattoconsulting.com. If you or your coaches or organization are interested in hosting a workshop or virtual on this or any other sports psychology or performance optimizing topic, please contact me at rattoconsulting.com or email me at laura@rattoconsulting.com. Special thank you to my soccer friends that assisted me with the scenarios.