NLP Sports Training and Coaching Tips for Performance Coaching

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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“Everything is practice” - Pelé

Brazilian born Pelé, arguably the greatest soccer player ever with a career history of 1281 goals scored in 1360 games believed that everything in his life was practice for the game. So what does practice mean to someone with such natural talent lets explore using a NLP Sports Model?

Dictionary definition: practice > verb 1 perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly in order to improve or maintain proficiency in it. 2 carry out or perform (an activity or custom) habitually or regularly.

Coca-Cola once ran an advertising campaign to coincide with a World Cup: ‘Eat football, sleep football, drink Coca-Cola.’ To a soccer player like Pelé, practice means eating, sleeping, and drinking football. In fact, during his career, every thought and every action, every moment of every day remained focussed on what he coined ‘the beautiful game.’ Practice was not something limited to training sessions, practice was a routine habit.

Some of Pele’s talents may have been inherited from his father who was also a professional player but at the age of five he was already practicing his skills and scoring goals in matches he played with other street kids. They had no shoes, and they had no ball either - the soccer ball was a sock stuffed with newspaper, or a melon. So, anyone believing that sports success comes easily to those born into it or from a privileged enough background to have access to all the best equipment, think on! Pelé worked as a shoe-shine boy to save enough money to buy a proper soccer ball - a good example of ‘thinking’ soccer to be able to play soccer.

Practice makes perfect
In his book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell states that it takes 10 000 hours of dedicated practice to become a world class master of a skill, any skill. That translates into 3 hours a day for 10 years, or 10 hours a day for 3 years. Just think about that for a moment - how much training time do you put in on a daily basis? Mind-boggling isn’t it? Pelé’s quote about everything being practice now becomes an important and powerful message for anyone who wants to reach the top of their game.

Mental skill practice
Sports psychology 2 promotes dedicated practice in the form of mental skills training to help get the most out of physical training. Elite athletes not only have to be at the top of their game physically to be competitive but also mentally to have that winning ‘edge’ over others. It also stands to reason that if every hour of training is purely physical, injuries are more likely to occur.

So how did a ‘natural’ talent like Pelé practice? Well, he played a lot of soccer matches for a start! His superior physical skills were the result of practicing what spectators believed to be ‘natural’ talents but the key to his phenomenal success as a player lies with his mindset. Pelé continually strove for perfection, he never sat back and rested on his laurels, he was considered “the best player in the world” throughout his career yet he always looked to achieve more - he maintained a growth mindset.

Mindset
 Fixed mindset : An athlete with a fixed mindset believes they’re stuck with their lot. They see talent or ability as just something they’re born with and, for good or bad, that’s just the way things are. In a fixed mindset, athletes are quick to judge themselves harshly when faced with defeat and will often suffer exaggerated feelings of depression or anxiety. However, if talents are seen as ‘natural gifts,’ a successful athlete might also display an exaggerated sense of superiority, and feel they’re above the need to practice.
 Growth mindset : An athlete with a growth mindset believes that change is always possible and that with dedicated effort and practice, performance can always be improved. It was Pelé’s growth mindset that allowed him to reach his full potential - and to continue pushing the boundaries of what that potential was!

Don’t let your mindset hold you back. Sports psychology 2 can help you discover what your current thinking is and, here’s the really good news, show you how to realise your own ‘Pelé power’ by developing a growth mindset of your own.

“Pelé called me the greatest footballer in the world. That is the ultimate salute to my life” - George Best

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Mind’s-eye of the Tiger

Well, let’s be honest, Tiger Woods is unlikely to win ‘Husband of the Year’ in the near future but how do you rate his chances of winning the Masters when he returns to competitive golf after nearly five months away from the game?

Tiger Woods is one of the most recognisable figures in the world, known to sports fans and non-sports fans alike. As an outstanding golfer, he’s no stranger to media attention but after a very public scandal, he knows the eyes of the world will be on him for different reasons. With media and public attention focussed on his personal life, will he be able to remain focussed on his golf?

In terms of career victories, Woods is in third position in the all-time PGA Tour rankings, with only Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus ahead of him, so his ability as a player is beyond question. However, he has twice before come back to the game after a lengthy lay-off and with mixed results. In 2006 his performance suffered after the death of his father but in 2008 he won, despite playing on a seriously injured knee. This highlights how important it is for competitive sports players to be mentally prepared as well as physically prepared before making a return to play.

Mind Control

American golf writer Ian O’Connor believes that Tiger Woods’ return to golf will create unprecedented interest in this year’s Masters at Augusta. With this being the case, it begs the question why Woods should choose such a major event to make his return? According to former golf pro Arnold Palmer, Augusta is in fact a wise choice as the venue affords the organisers, and the players, a great deal of control over external factors that might affect the game.

“Augusta is the one place in the world where you can really have control. They will control everything from the crowds to the situation that will be facing Tiger”
- Arnold Palmer

A mentally prepared competitor knows that worrying about external factors out with their control is counterproductive. But, with the potential for intrusive media interest, Tiger Woods no doubt views Augusta as his best opportunity to focus on his game without distractions.

With external factors under control, Woods will then need to utilise a number of sports psychology techniques to remain in control of internal factors.

 Visualisation Tiger Woods will have played every hole on the course countless time through visualisation. He will know the best course of action to take under every set of circumstances - no shot he plays on the day will cause a surprise (not to him anyway!), allowing him to feel in total control of every aspect of his performance. He will not only have seen every shot in his mind’s-eye, he will have felt every tiny detail of his body position through every swing he takes, and he will have heard the sound of the ball as it rolls into the cup each time.
 Positive self-talk When you already know that not everyone in the crowd is on your side, positive self-talk becomes invaluable. An ability to boost your own confidence and to keep yourself motivated, even in a potentially negative environment, allows you to remain totally focussed on the job in hand.
 Positive mental attitude / Winning mentality Tiger Woods knows what he’s capable of, he knows he has prepared, he knows he’s ready, and he knows he’s in winning form. Positive thoughts lead to positive actions - he’ll be letting his actions do the talking.

“I can promise you he’s not going to come out if he’s trying to play his way into shape, especially at Augusta - he will be ready, mark my words”
- Jay Townsend, BBC golf pundit

Having recently apologised to just about everyone on the surface of the earth - and their dog - he’ll be out there making sure he doesn’t owe himself an apology for playing anything other than his best.

http://www.sportspsychology2.com/

Talking S*** in your  head ?

I was training with a group of young soccer players in California talking about mental skills for soccer and the things that hold us back from playing a great game. And the conversation kept on coming back to “Worry”. Worried if I am good enough , worried if I make a mistake, worried that we will win. All this gets in the way of playing  the game of your life.

Than it came to me, I asked the boys to gather round as I would tell them what worry actually is and not a mumbo jumbo sports psychology definintion  ! And as they came closer and closer looking at me with intent I encouraged them to come closer still. Then I whispered worry is…worry is…”talking s**** in your heads” and after a little pause everyone laughed and got it.

Worry does nothing positive it performs no useful function ! it keeps us from our best. Its that little voice that makes fears bigger, not always easy to stop but if we see it for what is it ..Talking Shit in our head we can laugh and raise it up to a concern and then do something’s about it. For example.

If I am worried I might not be fit enough I stay In my head even more and probably don’t do anything about it. just think about how unfit I may compare myself to other people over and over.

If I move that up to a concern I get my training shoes on and go out for a run, I take action or I do a few push ups or sit ups, Or I call Johnny and see if he will go down the park for a game.

Worry gives nothing constructive it paralyses you , move it to concern and we can take action.

So remember see it for what is it and Laugh when you start talking S*** to yourself, you are better than that !!!

“The earth seemed to move with me…a fresh rhythm entered my body. No longer conscious of my movement I discovered a new unity with nature…a new source of power and beauty, a source I never knew existed.” Roger Bannister

One of the iconic images and ground breaking moments of  20th century sport was Roger Banister breaking the 4 minute mile barrier. His description of what it is like to find that place inside you, that is calm, in the midst of the storm of competition only re-inforces the power of sport and performance as a vehicle of self expression and freedom of the spirit. NLP and  Sports psychology encourages you to explore those internal barriers that may be holding you back from smashing through or even gently easing into flow and your next level.

What is your four minute mile ?