In the mid-1980s, I joined Ajax as technical director. This position was new in the world of soccer. I was put in charge of a very good, young, promising generation of soccer players. This was a completely new challenge for me. The experience and knowledge I had gained in my active career I could now be able to use them to be successful as a technical director as well.
By working with good trainers and also having my own opinion on training methods as a soccer player, I could now pass it on to this new generation of soccer players. A group with players like Marco van Basten, John van ‘t Schip, Sonny Silooy, Rob Witschge, Dennis Bergkamp, Aron Winter. I also chose Ronald Spelbos, Arnold Mühren and Jan Wouters.
Using people with experience, and an opinion, that can complement your own , I have always liked. It provides the right balance. I kept telling the players that everything was a learning process for them, learn from the successes and the mistakes by analyzing them. In the field I had experienced players and in my coaching staff I chose practitioners like Tonnie Bruins Slot.
So I was looking for the right balance with these practitioners, but I also wanted the young players to learn through other means.
Tension and lack of concentration are fatal to good results. Tension can paralyze a person, so that your legs no longer do what you want, and concentration is needed to stay sharp. During this time, I asked Len Del Ferro for help.
Del Ferro had already made a name for himself as a singer, vocal pedagogue, breathing specialist and stutter therapist. His method was based on concentration on the diaphragm muscle combined with a breathing technique he called flank breathing. That Del Ferro’ s help played an important part in winning the the European Cup for Cup Winners in 1987 is beyond doubt for me. His method took away tensions and gradually the concentration on the field got better and better.
Concentration and removing tension were also the focal points in the stutter therapy developed by Len Del Ferro. Len told me a lot about his method and always drew a parallel; his students were doing top sport with his stutter therapy!
I thought about that and came to the same conclusion on many levels. Many things that a top soccer player, or an athlete in general, has to take into account also apply to a course participant at Del Ferro. I also notice this these days in my talks and lectures for the Johan Cruyff Foundation. Del Ferro said that by concentrating, his students gained mastery over their diaphragm and therefore did not stutter and also, physically and mentally, took away tension.
There are also parallels in other areas; just think about discipline or sacrifice. Top athletes adhere to diets and disciplined lifestyles. But where an athlete gets rest, a student who wants to solve stuttering must apply the Del Ferro method all day long when speaking. This demands an iron discipline and lifestyle aimed at getting rid of stuttering.
And then of course THE parallel; having a goal!!! An athlete wants European or World or Olympic gold. For someone who stutters, the complete resolution of stuttering is the gold medal.
The parallels with top sports are there in many areas. A great thing is that with the Johan Cruyff Foundation , I also see a lot of what Len Del Ferro, and now Ingrid Del Ferro, his daughter, and her collaborators are doing; Providing assistance to people to develop physically and spiritually.
The course of action of Len and now Ingrid Del Ferro has greatly helped me and many people I have worked with.
I have never had any problems with speaking in my life. The Del Ferro Institute has been successfully continued by Ingrid Del Ferro. Follow the guidelines of the Del Ferro method and achieve your gold medal so that speaking is no longer a problem for you either.
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