The Effectiveness of Imagery Training on Improving the Overhead Serve Skill Level of MSSD Mersing Volleyball Athletes

In this era of globalization, the mental capability and stress resilience of Malaysian athletes remain relatively low. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of imagery training in enhancing the overhead serve skill level among athletes of the Mersing District School Sports Council (MSSD). This quasi-experimental study involved two groups of athletes: the control group and the experimental group. Each group consisted of 15 athletes of different genders. The Movement Imagery Questionnaire-Revised (MIQ-R), a revision of the original MIQ (Butler et al., 2012), was used to assess the athletes’ visual and kinesthetic movement imagery abilities. The questionnaire consists of eight items, with four visual and four kinesthetic items for each movement. This study demonstrates significant effectiveness in improving an athlete’s overhead serve skill in volleyball. The AAPERD Serving Test was used to assess the researchers’ ability to serve the ball accurately and consistently. A Paired T-Test was conducted to compare the improvement in overhead serve skill levels between pre- and post-tests. The overall comparison revealed an average score difference (M), standard deviation (SD), and t-test value between the pre- and post-test of M = 28.04, SD = 0.543, and t = 24.353. These values indicate a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test, with p < 0.001, confirming statistical significance. Imagery training showed a substantial impact in enhancing overhead serve skills in volleyball. Coaches or school volleyball team advisors may incorporate imagery training into athletes’ daily training sessions to improve their mental strength and stress resilience.