Run Amadeus, Run!

by Tom Nicoli, BCH, CI

Westwood, Massachusetts High School running back, Amadeus Guerrero, had all the skills and natural assets a football star is made of. But after injuring an ankle, he learned what every athlete knows. The game begins in the mind.

Though consciously Amadeus was well aware that his ankle had healed and his doctors had given him the word to play again, he was unable to play at the level he had played at before his injury. His ability to play with the skill and abandonment that he required for athletic success was prevented due to the omnipresent thought that he could injure his ankle again.

When I first met with Amadeus he told me, "Every time I go to make a move or cut I think I might get hurt. I'm not as confident any more when I play."

I had Amadeus scheduled for 3 visits, each a week apart. The first session went well and he left as most clients do with one of my hypnosis audio CD's to use daily to reinforce his confidence levels and to remove the anxiety he was experiencing. When he arrived for his second session he told me he was "feeling more confident and played a little better."

Amadeus spent the following week with my Athletic Series CD's to improve his mental focus with guided imagery and mind practice techniques. When he came in for his third session he had great news.

"So tell me, how was your week." "It was good," Amadeus replied rather modestly. "Good how"? I asked. "Well, I ran for 212 yards in last week's game. I just kept moving my feet and breaking tackles. And I did something I never did before without even thinking about it. I made a spin move on someone when they went to tackle me in the open field and ran for the touchdown."

Is there any more I could want to hear? Not really. 212 yards?! The beauty to the follow up of this session was my next client "played ball" when he was younger and when Amadeus told Paul about the results and the 212 yard game, he stood up to shake his hand. Next?

Tom Nololi, BCH, CI is a regular contributor. You can visit him at www.TomNicoli.com