NLP Sports Training and Coaching Tips for Performance Coaching

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Cheers,
— Don MacNaughton,
Zoned In Performance

Wimbledon 2010 is underway and No.1 seed Roger Federer is bidding for a seventh men’s singles title. Much to the surprise of spectators, the ‘Super Swiss’ found himself two sets down in his first-round match against Colombian Alejandro Fallo, ranked world number 60. Federer recovered and secured a win but in a post-match interview he said, “I definitely got a bit lucky today, this is a match I should have lost and he played incredible.” But how much of his recovery was down to “luck” and how much was down to mental skill?

I think the answer to that question can be found in something else Federer once said: “I know I can be beaten when I go on court if I’m not on top of my game.”
In that one sentence, we learn that Federer takes nothing for granted; he’s not complacent, and he never sits back and rests on his laurels. Basketball coach Kevin Cook once said, “You’re only ever as good as your last game,” and I think that’s a viewpoint Federer shares. He may be the No.1 seed at Wimbledon but he didn’t get there by chance and staying there is down to a lot more than luck.

Dedicated Effort

You don’t just wake up one morning to find yourself at the top of your game. Federer’s rise to the top has not been meteoric and he has experienced a great many defeats on his journey up through the ranks. It takes dedicated training to master your craft and Federer’s professional career highlights the importance of mastering both physical and mental skills.

In 1998, aged 17, Federer entered four ATP tournaments and lost three. Things weren’t much better the following year, winning only one challenger event. Then in 2000, he lost five times in a row and totted up a total of fourteen losses in first-round matches. I think it’s fair to say that at this point many lesser mortals may have been considering a different career path, but he kept going! In 2002, Andre Agassi beat Federer in a final. After the match, Agassi said, “When Roger Federer learns how to play tennis at this top level, we’re all in trouble.” And learn he did.

Positive Thinking

So what does it take to keep going through the rough times? Clearly, Federer was prepared to put in the training hours to master the physical skills required at top level but it’s perhaps his mastery of mental skills that can really help us to understand what it takes. Federer has a winning mentality and he focuses only on the positives. Mastering his craft meant learning from his mistakes but not focusing on the failures; learning from mistakes and moving forward. We all know that we can learn from mistakes but it’s important to remember that we can also learn from successes.

Federer’s success comes from his ability to play any strategy he wants on the tennis court, he has a phenomenal level of physical skill as a player, but it’s his mental skills that sets him apart from his opponents. Every game, every set, and every match, he is focused only on winning. Being two sets down to an ‘inferior’ opponent could have created a potentially performance damaging downward spiral of negative thinking, but Federer kept his focus firmly on what had yet to be achieved - winning - and firmly away from what had already been done, and therefore couldn’t be changed. With his mastery of physical and mental skills, he learned how to “play tennis at this top level” and yes, everyone else is in trouble!

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Sir Chris Hoy has just won his tenth track cycling gold medal at the World Championships in Copenhagen, the very place he won his first cycling gold eight years ago. In an interview he was asked how it felt to achieve such a landmark victory and spoke reinforced the importance of mental preparation to sports performance:

“I’m delighted. I was aware of the magnitude of a 10th world title…because it’s been in the press and people have been asking me about it…but it was only when someone asked me ‘what does it feel like to have 10’ when I’d finished that it registered because I was so focused on the race itself. That’s the key really, to be focused on the process and not worrying about the outcome.”

Preparing to win

Hoy is renowned for his meticulous race preparation. Setting process goals is just one example of the effective mental skill training tools he uses in his race preparation plan and it’s a practice encouraged by sports psychology 2 for athlete’s at all levels of competition.

His 10th gold medal was perhaps his hardest earned yet. His event, the Keirin, is not for the feint-hearted and competitors expect a bit of rough and tumble as they jostle for position on the track. However, Hoy was dumped on his backside during qualifying rounds by an opponent trying to prevent him from reaching his favourite position as the race started.

“That was out of order,” said Hoy. “It did make me angry, but that’s another emotion you try and keep in check - you don’t want to let the red mist descend and lose the plot, you’ve got to stay controlled and focused.”

Learning how to stay controlled and focused - in every imaginable circumstance - is a major part of Hoy’s race preparation plan. It’s also a huge contributing factor to his sporting success.

“The episode did frustrate the usually placid, gentlemanly Hoy, but - after years under the tutelage of Dr Steve Peters, the British Cycling psychiatrist - he controlled his inner chimp” - Brendan Gallagher, The Telegraph

Perfect preparation, perfect performance

His opponent’s ploy to rob him of his favourite racing position was just one of many deliberate attempts made to unsettle Hoy in all of his  Copenhagen races. He’s the man of the moment, the one to beat, so all eyes are on him. Many of his opponent’s will be studying video recordings of him in action as part of their own race preparation. They’ll study how he rides, research his race tactics, and plan their own races around trying to ‘block’ Hoy.

Studying successful people in action is at the core of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). NLP is essentially a study of what makes great people great, and if you want to be a great track cyclist, who better to study than Sir Chris Hoy! Hoy’s meticulous preparation, both physically and mentally, sets him apart from his opponents - for now. He knows they’re studying him, he knows they’re looking for ways to beat him. His strength remains his ability to prepare and to remain focused on riding and controlling his own race. In effect, by the time Hoy lines up on the race start-line, his preparation is so complete, he’s already won.

“The work’s done, you turn up on the night and do your best” - Sir Chris Hoy

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