28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Chapter 16 Meta-imagery processes among elite sports performers Tadhg MacIntyre and Aidan Moran I picked out three numbers in the stand behind the posts. I can still picture them perfectly. That was my target. I visualized the ball going through and kept that image. Ireland and Lions rugby player speaking out his last minute drop- goal to win the 2009 ‘grand slam’ for Ireland, Ronan O’Gara cited in Walsh, 2009, p. 9. You have to see the shots and feel them through your hands. Golfer Tiger Woods, quoted in Pitt, 1998, p. 5. This visualisation technique is a sort of clarified daydream with snippets of the atmosphere from past matches included to enhance the sense of reality…The game will throw up many different scenarios but I am as prepared in my own head for them as I can be. If you have realistically imagined situations, you feel better prepared and less fearful of the unexpected. Former England and Lions rugby player, Jonny Wilkinson, 2006, p. 58. Visualising things is massively important. If you don’t visualise, then you allow other negative thoughts to enter your head. Not visualising is almost like having a satellite navigation system in your car, but not entering your destination into it. The machinery can only work if you put everything in there. Golfer Darren Clarke, 2005, p. 3 Introduction As the above quotations show, recent years have witnessed a plethora of anecdotal testimonials from elite athletes such as golfers (e.g., Tiger Woods, Darren Clarke) and rugby players 16-Guillot-Chap-16.indd 227 16-Guillot-Chap-16.indd 227 9/7/2009 2:52:45 PM 9/7/2009 2:52:45 PM