Most athletes, trainers and coaches do not differentiate between traditional sport psychology and NLP sport consulting methodologies. Those of us utilizing NLP when working with athletes and teams know the difference. We know that comparing traditional sports psychology with NLP methodologies is like comparing a Model T to a brand new Ferrari. NLP methods help athletes get better results faster.

Those of us who hope to specialize in working with athletes, coaches, managers, trainers, and agents need to help them discover the difference. Presenting NLP methodology via anecdotal cases (as is being done in Sports Watch) is a viable way to clarify the difference. The results of some of my work have been presented and will continue to be. However, I need your help in verifying that other NLP sports consultants are also getting desired results efficiently.

Readers of Anchor Point from around the world have expressed interest in the application of NLP to athletics. Some of you with training in NLP indicated that you were beginning to market your-selves as NLP sport consultants. Some of you existing sport consultants indicated that you were beginning to take training in NLP.

Whether a neophyte in using NLP or a certified NLP trainer, if you are applying NLP to athletics, please send me your results so that I can publish them. Whether you have worked with a professional or a little leaguer, utilized NLP to teach basic techniques, overcome a slump or elicit peak performance, please write me.

This current article features NLP sport consultants, a brief description of their work and their results (statistical where applicable).

Bowling:

Chris Collins ofWaco, Texas did some excellent work improving the performance of an adolescent, female, bowler. Chris utilized the following:

1)  The Scramble Technique (Robbins, 1992) to neutralize the counter productive psycho-physiological state associated with memories of recent poor performance.

2)  a) Video clip of the "Zone" shown for understanding the concept.

     b)  This was followed by the "Sherlock Holmes Technique" (Mackenzie, 1990) to discover the submodalities used to represent poor performance vs. peak performance.

      c)  The Swish Technique (Mackenzie, 1990) utilizing these submodalities to swish from poor performance to future-paced peak performance.  In her next tournament, less than a week later, the young woman finished first out of 62 bowlers. She bowled a series of 1171, averaging 195; her previous average being 155. Way to go Chris!

Softball:

Utilizing the basic strategies described by Rosa (1993) which incorporates anchoring, future pacing, and Ericksonian language patterns, NLP consultants did the following.

Lisa Haught of Hatboro, Pennsylvania worked with a high school women's softball team. She worked with the entire softball team to enhance their defensive play; i.e., to reduce the number of fielding errors.

Specifically, Lisa did the following:

1)  Anchoring - As a means of eliciting players' peak performance psychophysiology for defensive play, each was asked to recall a time when she had executed well defensively. Next Lisa guided them to revivify the experience fully. The players were instructed that as each felt her peak performance psycho-physiology mounting, she would say to herself "let's go." This auditory anchor was selected by the team and coach.

2)  Future Pacing - Each player imagined being in ensuing soft-ball games, saying and hearing "let's go" and playing an exceptionally good game defensively.

This one session NLP intervention resulted in an 80% reduction in errors in the last two games of the sea-son. Great work Lisa!

Track:

Laura Lemle of Wayne, Pennsylvania worked with a college track athlete to in-crease his self confidence during practice and meets and (at the same time) improve his running times.

Specifically, Laura did the following:

1)  Ericksonian Induction -to enhance the accessing of the athlete's peak performance state (psycho-physiology).

2)  Anchoring to elicit the athletes' peak performance psycho-physiology. Next, Laura associated him into the experience of the race in which he ran his best. When the athlete felt his peak performance psycho-physiology heighten auditorally, visually and Kinesthetically, the athlete anchored his resource state by taking off his watch. This anchor was chosen by the athlete because immediately before running in a meet or at practice, he takes off his watch.

3)  Future Pacing: the athlete was told to imagine a race in the future and before he begins his race, he will take off his watch. He can picture himself having the self  confidence he knows he has and is capable of running the kind of race and times he wants.

The athlete came for two NLP sessions. He reported back to Laura that he felt much more con-fident in practice than he had in over a year. Greatjob, Laura!

Football:

Utilizing this same three-step strategy, I worked with an inside linebacker for one half hour. In the next game, the linebacker made 20 unassisted tackles (plus 3 assisted tackles), an all-time single game high number of unassisted tack-les in the 100-year history of football at Villanova University (VU).

I also worked with a VU freshman back-up quarterback who was scheduled as a probable replacement for the injured starting quarterback. As a result of 2 half hour sessions of NLP, this freshman quarterback completed 27 of 56 pass attempts for a total of 334 yards; the 9th best single game performance in the 100-year history at VU. As a result of his perform-ance, this freshman quarterback was selected East Coast Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week.

Thank you Chris, Lisa and Laura for reporting your NLP sport consulting work. It is through such reports that we can generate greater awareness of the applicability and efficacy of NLP in enhancing athletic achievement and creating a market for our services.

References

Mackenzie, Marlin with K. Delinger. Golf The Mind Game. Dell, New York, 1990.

Robbins, Anthony. Awaken the Giant Within. Simon & Schuster, New York, 1992.

Rosa, Nicholas. Re-instating Athletic Peak Performance Strategies. Anchor Point, March 1993.