NLP sport pro

The Best Team Won

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do” Pele

The ‘healthy mind, healthy body’ philosophy dates back to ancient Greek and Chinese civilisations. The study of sport psychology and how the mind affects a sportsperson’s body has developed in much more recent times but, even without such deep historical roots, it has grown quickly into a recognised and significant part of the science of sports performance.

In its widest sense, sport psychology encompasses all areas of exercise, fitness and leisure, not just competitive sport, but in terms of competition results, what are the factors that lead us to the conclusion that the best team won on the day?

The team holding the trophy are undoubtedly the winners but there’s much more to getting your hands on the prize than simply turning up on the day and hoping you play better than the other team. Without appropriate levels of fitness and physical preparation, the chances of playing well are instantly limited but equal emphasis must also be placed upon mental fitness and preparation if a top performance is to be realised.

Here are some frequently heard comments made by sports commentators:

Ÿ “He seems to be struggling to find his form today.”

Ÿ The winner, “…just wanted it more.”

Ÿ “They’re all over the place; there doesn’t seem to be any spirit in the team.”

Ÿ “There’s no sparkle; she seems to be just going through the motions.”

Ÿ “His focus would appear to be on picking fights with officials rather than on his game.”

Ÿ “That missed shot seems to have shaken his confidence; he’s struggled to regain concentration since then.”

Now here’s a list of proven sport psychology, or mental skill, techniques that can help to ensure those comments are never true of your own or your team’s performance:

Ÿ Goal Setting

Setting a course towards the ‘big event’ and progressively working through a series of lesser events, or smaller goals strategically placed in a training schedule, will ensure you achieve your peak performance when it really counts.

Ÿ Understanding Motivation

By learning what motivates you, you can prepare a training schedule that will keep you going even when the going gets tougher! Understanding motivation is an important part of the goal setting process.

Ÿ Understanding ‘Mindset’

In a nutshell, the term ‘Mindset’ describes an individual’s view of who and what they are. A person with a ‘fixed mindset’ holds the belief that they are what they are and nothing will change that. A person with a ‘growth mindset’ holds the belief that change is always possible and that nothing is set in stone. In a sports environment, a fixed mindset leaves no room for learning new skills or improving performance through making changes. It could also lead to a successful athlete resting on their laurels in the mistaken belief that they don’t need to work at their skills - as they’re a given! Promoting a growth mindset is therefore of vital importance if athletes are to thrive through continued learning and the mastering of new skills.

Ÿ Developing Team Spirit

‘There’s no I in team,’ or so the saying goes. There’s also a great comedy come-back to that line that goes, ‘But there are four in platitude quoting idiot.’ It goes without saying that an effective team must devote a large proportion of training time to the actual physical practise of perfecting their skills as a unit. However, an effective coach will also recognise the need to utilise the learned skills of goal setting and understanding motivation for each individual player if a winning team is to be formed.

Ÿ Visualisation

Learning how to visualise a positive outcome under any set of circumstances is key to preparing any sportsperson in any sport for the pressures of competition. A vision of exactly what it takes to create a winning performance must be clear in the athlete’s mind’s-eye and there should be no surprises on the day! Negative external factors such as poor weather or noisy crowds will no longer have the power to break concentration or focus when visualisation techniques, along with the ability to use positive self-talk, have been mastered.

Here’s the question, “Why are some athletes able to rise to the occasion and perform well under pressure when others seem to lose the plot?”

The answer? Ask a sports psychologist!

© Don MacNaughton 2009