#186: Coach Phil Jackson on visualization

In this session, Coach Jackson discusses his background with visualization and how he used it with his teams over the years. Visualization is a powerful tool in sports, backed by extensive research on its neurological, psychological, and performance benefits. By incorporating vivid, goal-oriented, and emotionally engaging imagery into their routines, athletes can enhance their physical and mental preparation, ultimately improving performance. Its effectiveness is maximized when combined with physical practice, tailored guidance, and consistent repetition.

1.     Coach Jackson’s first experiences with visualization. His mom took a friend into his room: “Watch this child, I don’t know what this child does as a three year old”…She said, ‘it looked like you were catching balls, going through those motions.’ Probably there was something to that. There was some imagery going on in my brain as a child.”

2.     “One of our issues as human beings is that we’re moving on to next instead of living with now. So, living in the now is really the ideal…However, visualization has a purpose when goals are to be attained and things have to be planned, visualization becomes practical at that point.”

3.     Using visualization as a fifth grader in Great Falls, Montana. And later as a pitcher in baseball. “You imagine what it’s going to be like…It became part of my prep.”

4.     Using downtime for visualization.

5.     Coach Jackson’s brother using hypnosis on him to get him ready for pitching in high school after an injury. “I went out and had a two hitter…It was another event that led into the idea that the mind is a big participant in the athletic experience.”

6.     Tex Winter using visualization. What did he visualize?

7.     Pairing video with visualization. Show video and then tell the team.

8.     The learning curve. Developing muscle memory – neurons and synapses in the brain. 

9.     A game against San Antonio in the playoffs, when things were tough.

10.  Bringing other senses into practice. Touch. Sioux and the “counting coup.” Example with Pat Riley. “That feeling or touch or using physical presence is beyond the mental.”

11.  Visualizing both success and failure. Gaining perspective and context.

12.  Visualizing what is about to happen. Bulls vs. Jazz in game 6. Talking to MJ. “You know exactly what their go-to play is ... (we will get the steal vs Malone)…”

13.  “We all knew in our mind’s eye what it looked like for our opponent to do what they do.”

14.  “What you’ve been doing is dropping your hand because you’re tired.” On the winning shot, MJ held his hand high. “That was something that was just already an image.”

15.  Visualizing individually. Having a conversation with a competitive skier. 

16.  Is visualizing still a part of Coach’s routine? Yes. “One of our problems as human beings is that we’re not involved in the current moment of totally doing the task that we’re doing. And, so, as a consequence, we’re moving on to the next task…And that’s part of human nature. I think one of the things that meditation does is it puts you in the moment doing the task you’re doing fully. So, next has to take a backseat until it’s useful. Until you need to actually be prepping or planning for what your activity is going to be…To always be moving on to the next task means you don’t complete the task you’re doing. And that’s the thing that’s really important, is that you fully engage in the task that you’re doing. So that you’re completing it with nothing left undone…You need to complete the task that you’re doing fully.”

17.  Visualizing the drive from Montana to California.

18.  Metacognition and visualization – how do they interact?

19.  Differences in visualizing as a player and a coach.

20.  How far ahead to you visualize? “I used to do two weeks…There’s a goal and there’s a timeframe.”