The findings from this study indicated that an important variable that differentiated volleyball players at the youth national team level to those at the 14's high-performance camp level was the utilization of imagery in the athlete's training. It appeared that volleyball players who had been taught to use imagery and who often used imagery in practice and competition had a greater probability of being successful. From a coaching perspective, one way that coaches can help their players reach the highest level of volleyball performance is to teach the individual how to use imagery. To teach players how to imagine skills mentally does require a commitment from the coach as competence in imagery takes awhile for most athletes to master. For imagery to be effective in the beginning stages it should be built into an athlete's daily routine.
Imagery preceded by relaxation is more effective than imagery alone.
Get the athlete to image the skill for as long as it takes to execute the skill physically. This is known as imaging in real-time. Make sure that the athlete not only images the execution of the skill, but also experiences a positive outcome. When using imagery to improve serving, make sure the ball is served into the correct zone. Don't just focus the image on the serving action.