How imagining a perfect wave can improve your skills in the water.

Written by: Hilary Achauer

During the Olympics I sat down one Saturday afternoon and watched the early heats of the women surfing Teahupoo. While they looked calm dropping into massive waves breaking over a shallow reef, I knew how much skill and bravery it took to surf there. I also knew that what they were doing was so different from what I’m able to accomplish in the water that it might as well be a different sport altogether.

The next morning my husband and I biked down to surf, like we do every weekend morning. The waves weren’t big – certainly nowhere near Teahupoo size – but they were steep and fast. Without realizing it, I began dropping into waves I’d have passed on a few days earlier. I felt more daring, more confident.

It wasn’t until I was sitting on the couch that night after dinner that the thought occurred to me.

“I think,” I told my husband, “watching the Olympic surfers improved my own surfing. Is that crazy?”

“I don’t think so,” he said, “I noticed a big difference, you were much more aggressive.”

To be effective, imagery needs sensory details

It turns out I may have been inadvertently practicing visualization while watching the Olympics. Sports psychologists have recommended athletes use visualization – now referred to as “imagery” – for years. The shift in terminology from visualization to imagery represents how important the details are when picturing the activity. To be effective, researchers have found athletes need to imagine every detail of the athletic performance, from the sounds to the smells. Many sports psychologists even develop imagery scripts for athletes, making sure they are including the five Ws (who, where, when, why, and what) when they picture themselves on competition day.

The amazing thing is that using imagery can improve motor skills as well as the ability to learn new skills. Some athletes close their eyes and imagine everything without moving, and some find it’s more effective to involve the body, moving in the way they will when actually performing the skill or competing.

My accidental imagery likely worked because of the high quality video I was watching and also because unlike heavily edited surf videos, I was able to see the entire process of each wave: the waiting, the paddling, and the drop.

The announcers, trying to fill the air while the women waited for a set, described the conditions as well as what they imagined the women were thinking and feeling. They showed both the perspective of the competitors – their view of the judging tower – as well as what they looked like on a wave. Without knowing it, I was imagining myself in their position, as comical as that might sound.

How to use imagery to improve your surfing

If you’d like to try imagery to improve your surfing, sports psychologists recommend trying to make the images as detailed as possible. This means picturing what it’s like putting on your wetsuit – whether it’s a thick 5/4/3mm, a 3/2mm, or your Long Jane – and walking out into the ocean until it’s time to get on your board and paddle. Picture what you’ll hear, either seagulls shrieking or dogs barking, and imagine how the salt water feels on your skin.

Go through the whole process, including waiting for a set to come. Don’t rush, make sure your imagery is as similar to the real thing as possible. Once you start visualizing a wave coming, be sure to focus on a positive outcome. Picture yourself getting the wave and riding it well, not backing off or falling over.

None of this is easy, and it’s more difficult for some people than others to imagine scenarios in detail. You may have to practice before you start to see improvement, but sports psychologists recommend focusing on quality, not quantity. This means start with short bursts of high quality imagery, putting in as much detail as possible, instead of attempting to visualize your sessions for long stretches at a time.

Make sure to spend time focusing on the part of surfing you find challenging. For me, that’s dropping into the steepest part of the wave. This means I should imagine myself positioned perfectly in the most critical part of the wave, then smoothly making the drop and heading down the face.

If you feel fear or anxiety when surfing, try to imagine yourself in the situation that causes that anxiety. Maybe it’s when the waves are big and you’re struggling to make it out through the set. In this case, picture yourself successfully duck diving (or turning turtle) with each wave, and then sitting on your board feeling calm and accomplished.

Try to schedule a time a few days a week to practice. The good thing is you can do this at any point in your day – when you’re brushing your teeth in the morning, sitting on the couch at night, or when you first lay down to sleep. (It’s best not to try this when doing something that requires open eyes and full concentration, like driving.)

Then, see if your practice pays off. Are you calmer in conditions that normally fill you with anxiety? Do you feel your skills slowly improving?