or that goal to be met, he or she has to set that goal and make guidelines in order to obtain the prize. This may require hours and even years of practice to become the best athlete possible. Bonnie Blair, 1988 Olympic speed skater says, Having that ultimate goal and knowing those steps are what youve got to take in order to get to that ultimate goal makes it easier to comprehend (Mertzman, 300). Its like child in school. If you wind up doing your homework, you are hopefully going to be able to get those good grades. For Blair, if she did those workouts and spent the countless hours on the ice, she would hopefully get the results that she wanted. Goal setting pertains to any athlete and any person in life who wants to achieve an ultimate goal. Imagery and mental rehearsal is the second psychological skill learned in most sports that can be applied to everyday life. Imagery perspective refers to the basic distinction between internal and external imagery which Mahoney and Avener (1977) described as follows: In external imagery, a person views himself from the perspective of an external observerInternal imagery, on the other hand, requires an approximation of the real life phenomenology such that the person actually imagines being inside his/ her body and experiencing those sensations which might be expected in the actual situation (p.137). In a sport such as gymnastics it is detrimental for a gymnast to learn how to picture himself doing routines in competition and practice. When it comes down to the actual competition when a gymnast has to perform his routine, it is proven that the routine will have a better outcome if the gymnast has learned the skill of mental imagery (Mertzman, 62). This learned skill of imagery can be beneficial to those who learn to use the skill in other parts of their lives as well. Young people have far better chances of becoming what they want to be later in life if they learn the skill of imagining themselves ...
