NLP for Sport - special offer
This book is in my bookshop at the reduced price of £5 because I have changed the cover so it is in line with the new NLP & EFT Series of workbooks. Workbooks in this series are £7.99.
Let me tell you something about it.
Summary
Judy Bartkowiak’s NLP for Sport is a dynamic, practical workbook designed for young athletes aged 11–18 who want to strengthen their mental game and achieve peak performance. With decades of experience working with young people and elite athletes, Bartkowiak brings the powerful principles of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to the sports field, track, court, or pool—empowering young competitors to understand how their mind works, build confidence, and stay emotionally balanced under pressure.
This book is not a dry theory manual; it’s a highly interactive coaching companion, filled with exercises, real-life examples, and reflection questions. The core message is simple but profound: "Control your controllables." Athletes learn how to shift unhelpful thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and behaviours into empowering ones using NLP models adapted specifically for youth sport.
Why Mindset Matters in Sport
The book opens with a powerful reminder that sport is more than just physical activity. It shapes identity, emotions, relationships, and resilience. Young athletes are invited to reflect on what their sport gives them—freedom, focus, connection, fun—and how it plays a unique role in their life.
Judy shares her own experience growing up in a sporty family and working with athletes of all levels. This personal tone makes the book feel like a conversation with a supportive coach who genuinely understands the emotional and mental ups and downs of youth sport.
Chapter Themes & Key Techniques
1. It’s More Than the Sport
Athletes reflect on what their sport means to them and how their beliefs—about themselves, their sport, and their abilities—can either help or hinder performance. Bartkowiak introduces the foundational NLP idea that our thoughts, language, and behaviours form patterns that can be changed.
Athletes explore:
What sport gives them emotionally and socially
How unhelpful self-talk ("I won’t win") shapes outcomes
The importance of focusing on what they do want, not what they don’t
The concept of “control your controllables” is introduced as a recurring mindset tool.
2. The Champion’s Mindset – NLP Beliefs of Excellence
This chapter introduces eight core NLP "presuppositions"—beliefs that high performers share:
If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.
→ Athletes learn to break unhelpful patterns and experiment with new strategies.
The person with the most flexibility controls the system.
→ A key principle in high-performance sport: mental flexibility leads to better outcomes.
Behind every behaviour is a positive intention.
→ Athletes reflect on emotional outbursts or nervousness with curiosity instead of shame.
There is no failure, only feedback.
→ A reframing tool that encourages growth mindset after setbacks.
You have all the resources you need.
→ Emphasis on internal strengths and transferable skills.
The map is not the territory.
→ Each athlete experiences the game differently—empathy and perspective are vital.
If you spot it, you’ve got it.
→ What we notice in others often reflects our own strengths or challenges.
You cannot not communicate.
→ Awareness of body language, tone, and unspoken signals in sport.
This chapter is packed with mindset reflections and journaling prompts to encourage athletes to identify what is or isn’t working in their current approach.
3. Your Mind, Your Power
This chapter focuses on how each athlete’s brain processes the world, introducing representational systems—Visual, Auditory, and Kinaesthetic (VAK)—to help athletes understand their preferred way of learning and responding under pressure.
For example:
Visual players might focus on what the court or pitch looks like
Auditory players are affected by what coaches or teammates say
Kinaesthetic players (common in sport) rely on how the movement feels in their body
Athletes are taught how to shift between VAK modes to build greater awareness and control.
The chapter also explores metaprogrammes—patterns in how we think:
Big chunk vs. small chunk (broad vs. detailed thinkers)
Match vs. mismatch (looking for similarity vs. difference)
Towards vs. away from (goal-oriented vs. problem-avoiding)
Internal vs. external reference (self vs. others’ approval)
Choices vs. process (preferring options vs. routines)
Understanding these patterns helps athletes improve communication, adapt to coaching styles, and manage team dynamics.
4. Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt
This is a deeply practical chapter, addressing the inner critic, performance anxiety, and pre-competition nerves. Judy uses real examples from her work with teen athletes to show how simple language choices and NLP techniques can shift unhelpful thinking.
Key takeaways include:
The impact of “don’t” language: e.g., “Don’t mess up!” becomes an embedded negative command.
Replacing “I can’t” with “How can I?”
Identifying specific trigger moments and creating new responses
Using positive anchors (phrases, gestures, or images) to regain control during pressure moments
Athletes are encouraged to create affirmations like “I am focused,” “I choose calm,” or “I am strong and ready,” using the NLP principle of presupposing success.
5. Emotions: Helpful or Unhelpful?
Bartkowiak introduces a non-judgmental approach to emotions, helping athletes explore:
When emotions arise (before, during, after performance)
What they’re worried about underneath emotions like anger or fear
Strategies to reframe emotional patterns
Techniques include:
The Feedback Sandwich: What went well / What to improve / What to try next time
Challenging generalisations (“I always mess up”), deletions (“That was bad”), and distortions (“He hates me”) using NLP language filters
Using breath and body awareness to shift emotional state in real-time
The emphasis is on emotional agility—not trying to suppress emotions but learning to manage and move through them constructively.
6. Mindset in Action: Bringing It All Together
In the final chapters, young athletes are encouraged to:
Create a pre-performance ritual using NLP tools
Practice mental rehearsal and visualisation
Use affirmations, positive self-talk, and body language intentionally
Seek feedback and model excellence in others
There’s a strong emphasis on self-awareness, responsibility, and choice. Athletes are empowered to own their mindset and use what works for them—not what someone else tells them to do.
Parents, teachers, and coaches are gently encouraged to shift from giving outcome-focused feedback to process- and effort-based encouragement, supporting the athlete’s self-leadership.
Why This Book Works
What makes NLP for Sport different is that it speaks directly to young athletes in relatable, non-clinical language, while weaving in complex NLP theory in a clear, accessible, and highly practical way. The workbook format makes the reader an active participant, encouraging engagement, reflection, and personal growth.
It is ideally suited to:
Youth athletes in individual or team sports
Coaches and PE teachers seeking to support mindset training
Parents who want to help their child manage nerves or emotional challenges in sport
NLP Practitioners working with young clients on performance and resilience
Conclusion
Engaging NLP for Sport is more than just a sports psychology manual—it’s a mindset transformation guide. Judy Bartkowiak offers young athletes the tools to become not just better players, but more self-aware, emotionally intelligent, and mentally strong individuals. With every page, the reader gains more power over their thoughts, emotions, and performance—on and off the field.
Please get in touch to book a coaching session with me for you or your child. Sometimes it is easier to arrange a sports coaching session for a child or teen in the knowledge that whilst they engage in the process of improving their sports mindset they are also learning skills for school!
Comments