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Athletic visualization: How to train your brain to win

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When American soccer player Carli Lloyd was preparing for the World Cup, she not only trained her body, she also trained her mind.

The star player says she visualized scoring goals and winning games to help her overcome her anxiety.

"It sounds pretty funny, but over the years and definitely over the last four years, I've taken that visualization part to another level," Lloyd told the Philadelphia Inquirer as the U.S. team traveled to the site of the World Cup final Sunday night. "I've basically visualized so many different things on the field, making these big plays, scoring goals."

Visualization is a popular technique used by high-level athletes. MPR News' Kerri Miller talked to two sports psychologists about what this technique is and how mental training has developed for athletes over the last decade.