“Physical repetition alone will not get the job done in mastering a skill and taking an athlete or team to the next level; images are equally, if not more important.” (Mallett). Many people believe that although sports are played with the body, they are won with the mind. It is no surprise that sports athletes are increasingly turning to psychology in an attempt to gain a winning edge over their rivals. In this sense, mental imagery, or the ability to represent information in the mind that is not currently perceived, is widely used by athletes to improve their performance in competition. (Morano). Many sports, such as golf, tennis, and swimming, not only require physical skills, but also a strong mental game. Most coaches say that sports are only 10% physical and 90% mental. An added advantage, the metal edge, can be extremely crucial in sports where hundredths of a second or tenths of an inch separate the champions from the mediocre athletes, so many athletes turn to mental imagery to take their sports performance to the next level. (Plessinger). Although physical training alone is effective in improving sports performance, when combined correctly with mental imagery and visualization it can amplify an athlete's performance to levels that could not be achieved with physical training alone. Mental imagery can best be defined as an experience that mimics actual experience, and involves the use of a combination of different sensory modalities in the absence of actual perception. (Quinton). In short, mental imagery is imagining performing an action in the absence of physical movement or practice. Mental imagery, also known as visualization, can be positive or negative in nature and therefore influence desired outcomes in a positive or negative way… center of paper… Print.Kaye, Charlotte. “Mental rehearsal is the key to improving sports performance.” Whole Science Np, July 8, 2012. Web.LeVan, Angie. “Seeing is believing: the power of visualization.” Psychology today. Np, December 2, 2009. Web.Mallett, Ryan. “Imagery and Visualization: Strength and Conditioning for the Athletic Brain.” - Sport in mind – Sports psychology. Sport in Mind, May 23, 2013. Web.Moran, Aidan. "In the mind's eye." The Psychologist Archive 2014. The British Psychological Society, August 2002. Web."Performance Psychology, Sports." Self-hypnosis in sport. P2P Publishing Ltd., and Web.Plessinger, Annie. “The Effects of Mental Imagery on Athletic Performance.” Mental images. Vanderbilt University, and Web. Quinton, Mary. “Images in Sports: Examples of Elite Athletes and the PETTLEP Model.” - Sport in mind – Sports psychology. Np, nd Web.