Visualization and Visual References

In all jumping events, success is often in the details. And of the many variables that contribute to a performance jump, visualization and the setting up of visual references are the most crucial ones. The jumper must not only know where s/he is in space at all times, but the very action of launching oneself for the run-up, taking off to land is always mentally rehearsed. It is a process that starts with what sport psychologists call Mental Imagery

Mental imagery or visualization is imagining all the right actions that lead to a successful attempt. It is thinking methodically about the ideal jump when everything goes as practiced. The jumper imagines himself/herself performing the right actions, setting up for the right posture, accomplishing the record performance s/he has been working on.

While visualization is a mental process, visual references are physical; they delimit the space in which jumping occurs. They are start marks, the coach's mark, and the back of the pit or anything in the jumper's line of sight (in front of the jumper).

These above-mentioned references are important for several reasons. They spatially delimit the jumper's range of actions. The start mark is the beginning of the approach run. The latter is but the distance between the start mark and the take-off board. The coach's mark helps the coach monitor the jumper's stride consistency. Finally the back of pit is crucial because it helps the jumper focus on execution.