E50: PETTLEP Series - Beach Volleyball - Serving a Ball

Hello and welcome back to the sports mastermind. This is the FIFTIETH episode today, so I am going to be doing the beach volleyball bonus episode of PETTLEP. Last week we used PETTLEP to break down taking a shot on goal in soccer. This episode we will be going over the sequence of events leading up to serving the ball in beach volleyball. For those of you that are new to the series, see episode 46 for more details on PETTLEP imagery. 

Transcript

Laura Ratto: It's really windy. I want to make sure I serve the right person. I can't see and the sun is in my eyes. That was a terrible toss. It barely went over and I forgot to move into my base position. Hello and welcome back to the Sports Mastermind. This is the 50th episode, so today I'm going to be doing the beach volleyball bonus episode of PETTLEP. Last week we used PETTLEP to break down taking a shot on goal in soccer. This episode we will be going over sequences of events leading up to serving the ball in beach volleyball. 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 skills of visualization, keep in mind that it is 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 per week. Imagery can be done anytime from when you first wake up, before practice, before competition, or before going to bed, just to name a few. This episode will be going over the sequence of events leading up to serving a ball in volleyball. Imagery is best done in the environment in which you are going to be competing. If you cannot be in the environment where you normally compete, try to mimic it as much as possible, such as going to the beach or somewhere where you can feel your feet in the sand. So grab your beach volleyball gear, volleyball, sand, socks, sunglasses, hat, and sunscreen and do this imagery session at your home beach 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 gear, imagine the situation. You're on your home court on the good side with the wind blowing in your face and the sun at your back. It is practice and you're on your favorite court on your home beach. You're in the third game of your round robin. You're playing with your regular partner this game and working on team dynamics and the flow of the game. You remember listening to episode seven of that amazing Sports Mastermind podcast that explained to you mental preparation and the importance of developing a pre performance routine. You kick up the sand just a bit to check which way the wind is blowing. You hear, “ball on!” and pause to see where it's coming from. You reset. Holding the ball in your left hand, you hit the ball four times to make sure the sand is off. Spinning the ball, you take a deep breath and hold it out in front of you. You glance at the area that you want to serve the ball to and refocus on the ball. With a toss and a step, you make a solid contact on the ball and end with your palm facing the target. Taking a couple quick steps to get set up on your base position, you see that it is an ace. This is just one of many scenarios that you can use Petlab imagery to practice serving a ball in beach volleyball. 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 playing on center court or in the final match of a tournament. Be specific as to changing elements. Which way is the wind blowing? Where is the sun? Are there any shadows? How is the sand? If you have a specific beach that you struggle with, such as the deep sand of Hermosa or the glaring white, humid beaches of Florida, imagine you are playing in that environment. In addition to changing the environment, you can also change the emotional level of arousal. Let's say that is the beginning of the first set. Now it is the end of the third set and the score is tied. How would these changes in the situation affect how you would be feeling? Who are you playing against? Is it your old partner? Is it a possible new partner that you want to impress? Is your focus where it should be? How is your self talk? Incorporating self talk when using imagery is important because that's 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. What things can you 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 Petlab imagery scenarios. First, we start with the physical environment you imagined you're at your home beach or your preferred court. 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 moved our focus a little more internal to the task. You imagine the details related to the tasks and your thoughts and feelings while performing the task. How long does the skill take? You imagined 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 yourself play on TV. It is also important to factor in emotion to the skill. How do you feel in this specific scenario? What level of arousal are you? As you get better with imagery and the physical skills involved with your movement, the things that you visualize will need to change. For example, you may move from a standing serve to a jump float or a jump topspin serve. Now that you have the beach volleyball standing serve example of PETTLEP imagery, what are some scenarios that you want to try? If you would like me to run you through a PETTLEPscenario, email or send me a voice memo to Laura@rattoconsulting.com and yours can be used in this series. If you or your coaches or organization are interested in hosting a workshop or virtual seminar on this or any other sports psychology or performance optimizing topic, please contact me at rattoconsulting.com or email me at laura@rattoconsulting.com. That's laura at R-A-T-T-O-C-O-N-S-U-L-T-I-N-G.com. Have a great day.