Also in Sport: What You Say Is What You Get
Your Language Determines Your Result!
As a fanatic sports fan I always listen to what the sport coaches have to say to their teams. Several years ago, I witnessed an interview with one of the top soccer coaches in Europe, Louis van Gaal. Louis is now the Coach of German Club Bayern Munich but several years ago he was the trainer of AZ Alkmaar in Holland.
Neuro Linguistic Programming in Sport
One year AZ Alkmaar were doing quite well in the Dutch competition and several journalist asked Louis whether AZ was going to be the new champion of the Netherlands. Every time the question was asked his reply was: “We’re going for a top three position” although at that time AZ were leading the table. One match before the end of the competition it was very close and two other teams: PSV Eindhoven and Ajax Amsterdam could still grab the title for that season. And Louis van Gaal apparently had no idea that he was a true user of neuro linguistic programming (NLP)!
At the end of the season, AZ only had one match to play against one of the lower teams in the Dutch league and if they would win, Louis van Gaal would have managed to get the number one spot. Not many people expected that AZ would lose that match but they did. And because PSV Eindhoven won their last match with a nice goal difference, they became the champions.
To me this was no surprise. Many people who know me remember that before the final match I told everybody around me that Louis van Gaal was “programming” his players NOT TO WIN! That’s exactly what he did, because as neuro linguistic programming trainers, we know that what you say is what you get! As Louis van Gaal was going for a “top three position” that’s what his players went for…