Sports Performance Hypnosis: What It Is and How STRYV Uses It

If you heard about STRYV from another family, there's a good chance you heard the word "hypnosis." Most parents have the same two reactions: curiosity, and a picture of a stage show where someone clucks like a chicken. This page is here so you don't have to guess. Here's what sports performance hypnosis is, what it isn't, what the research says, and how it fits into STRYV.

Why I use it

I was introduced to hypnosis in a lecture at the University of Pittsburgh's medical school. It covered surgical techniques for patients who were allergic to anesthesia or afraid of needles, and it taught hypnosis as an alternative to anesthetic. Learning that the brain could quiet its own pain signals enough for a patient to get through surgery changed how I thought about performance. That lecture led me to formal training and certification, and to 20 years of studying hypnosis and related methods.

I've used these tools in my own competitive life and in business, and I've seen what mental performance tools can do for athletes, including my own kids. But I also want to be clear with you about what it is and what it isn't.

What hypnosis actually is

The American Psychological Association's division for hypnosis defines it as a state of consciousness involving focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness, with an increased capacity to respond to suggestion.

In plain English: it's a state of deep, narrow focus. Athletes already know it. It's the at-bat where the crowd disappears and all you see is the pitcher's hand. It's the inning where you stop thinking and just pitch. Sports performance hypnosis is a structured way to enter that state on purpose, and to use it to rehearse the responses an athlete wants to have under pressure.

What it isn't

It isn't sleep. Athletes are aware, can hear everything, and remember the session.

It isn't mind control. Hypnosis depends on the person's willingness. Nobody can be made to say or do anything they don't want to, and they stay in control the entire time.

It isn't stage hypnosis. Stage shows rely on volunteers who want to perform. Sports performance hypnosis is quiet, private, and focused entirely on the athlete's goals.

It isn't therapy. STRYV is performance coaching. It doesn't diagnose or treat anxiety disorders, depression, trauma, or any other clinical condition. If an athlete needs clinical care, I'll say so and point the family toward a licensed professional.

Why it fits with mental performance training

Most of the practice-to-game gap isn't about knowledge. Athletes usually know exactly what they're supposed to do. The problem is that under pressure, automatic responses take over: the tight swing, the rushed tempo, the spiral after one bad pitch. As we cover in Why You Can't Think and Hit at the Same Time, the moments that matter happen faster than conscious thought.

That's why STRYV works on two levels. The practical, systematic work trains the conscious side: routines, self-talk, reset plans, and a clear approach. Visualization and, for families who choose it, sports performance hypnosis work on the automatic side, rehearsing calm, confident responses until they're the ones that show up when the pressure is real. You can read more about the science of mental rehearsal in The Neuroscience of Softball Visualization.

A long track record in sport

Sports hypnosis isn't new or fringe. Members of the Soviet Olympic team were reportedly using hypnosis as a performance tool as far back as the 1950s. In baseball, Detroit Tigers pitcher Bill Faul made headlines in 1963 for working with a hypnotist from Wayne State University, and he later used self-hypnosis on the mound with the Chicago Cubs.

Since the 1980s, peer-reviewed studies have tested hypnosis with runners, archers, golfers, and college basketball players. In one study published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, every college basketball player in the study improved their shooting during the hypnosis phase. Golf in particular has embraced it, and researchers describe it as one of the sports most affected by hypnosis training.

Most recently, a 2025 systematic review in the International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology brought together 13 studies and found significant associations between hypnosis and better athletic performance, faster injury recovery, and less psychological distress during competition.

At STRYV, it's one tool inside a complete system, working alongside the practical training rather than replacing it.

How it works at STRYV

It's optional. The STRYV program works without it. Families decide whether to include it, and for athletes under 18, that decision belongs to the parents.

It builds on the visualization work. When it's used, it deepens the same mental rehearsal of the athlete's own sport, position, and pressure moments that's already part of every program.

Ask me anything first. If you're curious or skeptical, bring your questions to the free evaluation call, or text me at 919-353-6313. I'd rather you understand it fully than say yes to something you're unsure about.

My training

• Certified in Neo-Ericksonian Hypnosis, trained under Mike Mandel
• Certified Specialist, Hypnosis and Sports Performance, American Hypnosis Association
• Mental Performance Mastery (MPM) Certification, Brian Cain Peak Performance
• Degree in Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh

More about my background is on the About page.

Common questions from parents

Will my athlete be "out"? No. They'll feel relaxed and focused, and they'll be aware of everything that's said.

Can it make them do something they don't want to? No. Hypnosis depends on the athlete's willingness, and they stay in control throughout.

Is it required? No. It's an optional part of the Visualization pillar, and the rest of the program works without it.

Is this therapy? No. It's performance coaching. STRYV doesn't treat clinical conditions.

Sources: American Psychological Association Division 30 definition of hypnosis, as summarized by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. History of hypnosis in sport, including Soviet Olympic use: Sports hypnosis (Wikipedia). Bill Faul: Society for American Baseball Research biography. Pates, J., Maynard, I., & Westbury, T. (2001). An investigation into the effects of hypnosis on basketball performance. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13, 84-102. Golf: Milling, L. S., & Randazzo, E. S. (2016), "Enhancing sports performance with hypnosis: An ode for Tiger Woods," Psychology of Consciousness. Miró, A., et al. (2025). Therapeutic hypnosis and sports performance: a systematic review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology.