Improving penalty shoot-out performance in skilled youth soccer players: An imagery modality-based approach

Background: Since their introduction in professional football, penalty shoot-outs represent key moments in matches. Motor imagery (MI) can improve soccer performance, but different MI modalities can be used to mentally simulate motor actions. This study aimed to evaluate whether the MI modality used by the players would influence their penalty shoot-out performance. Methods: Twenty youth skilled football players from the Elite Center of the French Regions of America (CERFA) voluntarily participated in this experiment (Mage ​= ​16.4 years). After an assessment of their MI ability, the participants completed 4 counterbalanced experimental sessions spread over 4 weeks, each including the completion of 5 penalty shoot-outs. The sessions consisted of a control condition (count-down and actual execution) and 3 MI conditions during which the players had to mentally imagine themselves performing a penalty shoot-out according to one of the MI modalities: Internal Visual Imagery (IVI), External Visual Imagery (EVI), or Kinesthetic Imagery (KI), before kicking. Number of goals scored, shooting accuracy and ball speed were measured and served as dependent variables. Results: The soccer players benefited from MI. Indeed, in both the IVI and KI conditions, their performances were significantly higher than in the no-MI (i.e., control) condition with respect to the total number of goals scored and shooting accuracy variables. Conclusions: Practically, we suggest skilled football players imagine, from an internal perspective, taking a successful penalty kick before shooting.