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NLP and Sports - Where two worlds merge and the

outcome is ultra high performance

Home / Articles / NLP and Sports - Where two worlds merge and the outcome is ultra high performance

POSTED IN OCTOBER 2017 - WRITTEN BY JOSH CARROLL

When thinking back to the origins of NLP in its early days, you would not be forgiven in thinking that NLP
and Sports were polar opposites in society. However, as me has moved on and both fields have evolved,
these different worlds have begun to merge into parallel routes whose outcomes may not be so dissimilar
a er all. This has been partly due from the intensity within modern day sports and the massive rewards
that having the ‘edge’ over a compe tor can have to an athlete or team.
This has led to coaches and high profile athletes seeking new ways to gain this mental edge in sports that
range from the grassroots youth development to elite athletes winning major championships.
NLP was originally formulated as a discipline to provide therapists with tools to help them be more
effec ve. As it evolved it became apparent, that NLP as a science of excellence can be applied in any
context where high performance is valued. So in terms of spor ng excellence, NLP is the ul mate mind
development system providing sports people with the mental resilience for high levels of achievement and
coaches with communica on tools and psychological processes to mo vate individuals and teams.

I have been in the fortunate posi on to have grown up on NLP. My brother Jack Carroll and I, as highly
compe ve sports people have naturally integrated NLP into our spor ng ac vi es. I have also had the
opportunity to watch my father, Michael Carroll, work with high profile sports people and how successful
that coaching has been.

For me, it seemed natural to take my degree in Sports Development and Coaching Sciences, thus u lising
that knowledge and integra ng it with NLP to create NLP courses and coaching experiences designed to
get high performance in sports.

I have witnessed the posi ve effects of NLP on achieving high performance from my coaching experience
where I had conversa ons with many high profile coaches about varying pa erns that they have deployed
(some mes without knowing that they are doing it), to speaking with friends who have used NLP in their
coaching to achieve fantas c results. Then on a recrea onal level, I hear many stories of people who have
studied and applied NLP to achieve enhanced results on an elite and non-elite level.

But how can this be achieved?

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This can be achieved with a delicate blend of the Classic and New Code of NLP.

The Classic Code of NLP that was developed by Bandler and Grinder in the 1970’s can provide coaches
with an effec ve tool for communica on and posi ve rela onships with athletes that are vital skills for a
coach. I am almost certain that most sports people have had a coach that they didn’t connect with and that
didn’t provide them with the belief to perform to the best of their ability.

Then on the other side of the coin, I remember having a coach who I felt believed in me and I really looked
up too. This led to me performing at my peak in every game with confidence in my ability and my team’s
ability because of the rela onship with the coach. This was at a grassroots level, but at a professional level
it is frequent for athletes to talk about ‘running through walls’ for their coach and men oning how they
were once inspired by a coach.
This ‘coach effect’ is massive in sport, it could also be seen as a ‘leader effect’ with high profile members of
a team or organisa on inspiring individuals to reach their highest levels of confidence and performance
each me they par cipate in sport or any situa on in life. This is the effect that you can apply with the
correct understanding and applica on of the Classic Code NLP pa erns.

Blending Classic Code NLP with New Code of NLP, created by John Grinder and Carmen Bos c St Clair
with recent inputs from Michael Carroll, you can create peak performance states at will which take athletes
to a significantly higher level of performance.

These states can also be described as high performance states that are the moments of peak performance
in sports where you are unconsciously performing to your highest level. So if you use scoring in football for
example, these states would be when you score a goal but a er the event you have no real recollec on of
how you scored the goal and you have a very limited recollec on of internal dialogue or thought at the
moment of scoring.

The state I am describing is some mes called the ‘know nothing state’ because you are performing without
thinking and can be typified by Andy Murray’s quote a er his famous victory over Novak Djokovic at
Wimbledon - ‘I have no idea just what happened out there’.

The last hour of that final was electric to watch, with many match points and each player giving it their all.
Murray was physically exhausted but managed to dig deep and give the performance of his life, such an ‘in
the moment’ experience of excellence that his brain is working so differently his conscious mind is silent
whilst his unconscious takes over and provided the ‘know nothing state’.

The New Code of NLP seeks to create these states so ‘at will’ during spor ng events, extreme levels of
high performance can be achieved, which of course is an invaluable tool for an athlete at any level. As well
as this, the New Code breaks through the barriers that can limit performance of an individual in sport, this
could be a moment of self-doubt on ability or even the individuals internal representa on of fitness that
could cost them. This can be replaced by focussed a en on on the posi ve outcome of a spor ng event
that will assist you in achieving spor ng excellence.

So when I think about these different worlds that would have appeared alien to each other in the 1970s, is
a lot closer than some may think and now with the integra on of Classic and New Code NLP techniques
NLP and Sports NLP run hand in hand for spor ng excellence. These skills will prove invaluable for anyone
with an interest in achieving high performance in sports or any form of life. If you are interested in
achieving the best results possible check out our course calendar for upcoming courses here
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