Sports Hypnosis Coach for Athletes: Hypnosis for Performance, Confidence, and Mental Training
Discover how hypnosis for athletes can unlock focus, confidence, and elite-level performance.
“Barry is a magician with the human mind.”
— Marianne Berglund, Ph.D., Former World Champion, 10× National Champion, Two-Time Olympic Cyclist
When physical training is no longer the limiting factor, the mind becomes the difference-maker.
Elite athletes across the world now work with a sports hypnosis coach to strengthen confidence, sharpen focus, and perform consistently under pressure. Hypnosis for athletes is no longer an alternative method—it is a proven form of mental training for performance.
Barry Jones is a pioneer in this field, blending clinical hypnosis, sports psychology, and lived athletic experience to help athletes reach peak performance states—on demand.
Why Mental Training for Performance Is Essential in Modern Sports
Athletic success depends on more than strength, speed, or technique. Mental factors such as:
Confidence under pressure
Emotional regulation
Focus and concentration
Recovery from mistakes
Motivation and resilience
Often determine outcomes in competition.
Mental training for performance, especially through hypnosis, allows athletes to train these skills just like muscles—systematically and effectively.
Barry Jones: A Sports Hypnosis Coach with Real-World Athletic Experience
Barry’s journey into sports hypnosis began through extreme endurance competition.
While competing in the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii, Barry became aware of the altered mental state required to sustain elite performance. Later, during an extreme biathlon from Death Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney—over 23,000 vertical feet climbed in extreme heat—he experienced a four-hour trance-like state while racing.
This experience led Barry to formally study hypnosis.
He completed advanced clinical hypnosis training at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where hypnosis was taught to physicians and health professionals. While teaching and coaching at another University of California campus, Barry began applying hypnosis directly to athletic coaching—long before hypnosis for athletes became mainstream.
How Hypnosis for Athletes Improves Sports Performance
1. Sports Hypnosis for Focus and Concentration
Hypnosis places athletes into a state of heightened focus and selective attention, allowing precise mental rehearsal of skills, routines, and strategies.
Legendary athletes such as Jack Nicklaus and Michael Phelps used visualization techniques strongly aligned with hypnotic mental training to remain calm and focused under pressure.
This form of hypnosis for sports performance strengthens neural pathways responsible for automatic execution—so athletes perform without overthinking.
2. Reducing Performance Anxiety with Sports Hypnotherapy
Competition anxiety activates the stress response, interfering with coordination and decision-making.
Sports hypnosis helps athletes:
Enter deep relaxation while staying alert
Regulate breathing and heart rate
Remain present during high-pressure moments
This makes hypnosis for athletes especially effective for pre-competition nerves, choking, and emotional overload.
3. Building Athletic Confidence Through Hypnosis
Confidence is not wishful thinking—it is a conditioned mental state.
As a sports hypnosis coach, Barry uses:
Positive suggestion
Mental imagery
Multisensory rehearsal
To help athletes experience success internally before it happens externally.
Elite performers such as Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Novak Djokovic, Wayne Gretzky, Shaquille O’Neal, and Mary Lou Retton have credited hypnosis or hypnotic visualization as a critical part of their mental training for performance.
4. Overcoming Mental Blocks and Subconscious Barriers
Many performance limitations originate in the subconscious—fear of failure, past injuries, self-doubt, or perfectionism.
Hypnosis for athletes allows these patterns to be:
Identified
Reframed
Reconditioned
This creates lasting change rather than temporary motivation.
Understanding Sports Hypnosis and the Subconscious Mind
Hypnosis is a natural state of focused awareness where the subconscious mind becomes more receptive to learning and change.
In sports hypnosis, this allows athletes to:
Access unconscious beliefs
Resolve emotional interference
Strengthen positive automatic responses
Core Mental Training Techniques Used:
Hypnotic induction and relaxation
Performance-based suggestion
Guided visualization
Post-hypnotic performance cues
Research shows these techniques improve confidence, emotional control, and execution under pressure.
A Holistic Approach to Mental Training for Performance
Barry integrates hypnosis with:
Sports psychology principles
Mindfulness training
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) strategies
This comprehensive approach ensures athletes develop mental toughness that holds up in real competition, not just during practice.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hypnosis for Athletes
What does a sports hypnosis coach do?
A sports hypnosis coach trains athletes to optimize focus, confidence, emotional control, and performance using hypnosis-based mental training.
Is hypnosis effective for athletic performance?
Yes. Research consistently shows hypnosis improves performance, reduces anxiety, and enhances confidence in athletes.
Will I lose control during hypnosis?
No. Athletes remain fully aware and in control. Hypnosis enhances focus—it does not override free will.
Is hypnosis only for elite athletes?
No. Hypnosis for athletes is effective for youth, amateur, collegiate, and professional competitors.
How soon will I notice results?
Many athletes experience measurable improvements within a few sessions, especially in confidence and focus.
Work with a Proven Sports Hypnosis Coach
Conclusion
Barry Jones has forged a unique niche by merging academic rigor and clinical expertise into a powerful form of mental training. His pioneering work in applying hypnosis to sports demonstrates that the mind plays an equally critical role alongside physical training in achieving peak performance. Whether it’s enhancing concentration, reducing stress, boosting confidence, or overcoming mental blocks, Barry’s techniques offer athletes an accessible, drug-free method to harness their full physical and mental potential.
Barry Jones helps athletes access the same mental performance tools used by world champions and Olympians.
If you want to:
Compete with confidence
Perform consistently under pressure
Break through mental barriers
Train your mind as hard as your body
Now is the time to work with Barry.
👉 Contact Barry today to begin personalized hypnosis-based mental training for performance.
Online Hypnotherapy Wherever You Are
Although I’m based in Tavistock, England, hypnotherapy doesn’t need to be limited by location. I work with clients online worldwide, offering the same effective, personalised hypnotherapy support via secure video sessions. Whether you’re in the UK or anywhere else in the world, you can access hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis tools from the comfort of your own home.
Scientific Research Supporting Hypnosis for Athletes
Barrett, D. (2010). Hypnosis and hypnotherapy. American Psychological Association.
Barker, J. B., & Jones, M. V. (2008). The effects of hypnosis on self-efficacy, anxiety, and performance in sport. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20(2), 199–213.
Gruzelier, J. H. (2014). Hypnosis and performance: A review. Contemporary Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy, 31(2), 92–107.
Lindsay, P., Maynard, I., & Thomas, O. (2005). Effects of hypnosis on flow states and performance. The Sport Psychologist, 19(2), 164–177.
Pates, J., & Cowen, A. (2013). The effect of hypnosis on an elite golf-putting performance. European Journal of Sport Science, 13(2), 115–122.
Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D. (2019). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology (7th ed.). Human Kinetics.
The Role of Hypnosis in Sports Performance
How Hypnosis Can Help Sports Performance
Reduce performance anxiety
Remove self-made limitations or blockages
Increase self-belief and confidence
Learn anger control
Facilitate better visualization and mental rehearsal
Positively reframe and release past negative experiences
Increase motivation
Remove any negative thoughts before, during, and after competition, and replace them with positive thoughts
Improve specific skills by practicing mental rehearsal techniques
Improve healthy habits including nutrition, weight control, sleep, substance abuse, self-care/balance, etc.
Enhance healing from injury and promote return with intact confidence
The Winning Combination—— Physical and Mental Conditioning
There is NO substitute for extraordinary fitness in competitive team sports. Of course skill work is imperative, but once your fitness level deteriorates so does your skill.
If an athlete does not have the fitness or skill necessary for a sport, no amount of hypnosis will help them. Hypnosis is not a panacea or an easy way out.
Most of the athletes I work with have a supreme level of fitness and skill; their minds, however, CAN lack in mental conditioning. This is by no means a negative connotation, it is merely a lack of experiential coping mechanisms.
Having said this, I also see hardened veterans who lack confidence. There is a myriad of physiological reasons why an athlete has performance blues, and that is why no hypnosis session can be treated in the same way.
Every person has the ability to experience hypnosis. When I facilitate the process, it is still self-hypnosis and cannot happen unless the individual wants to participate.All Hypnosis is Self Hypnosis
Talking with England 7s Captain Ben Gollings England Rugby 7s squad experiencing hypnosis
Of all the players I met in my life, Ben Gollings was the most fascinated by self-development. His leadership and influence on his team was profound in the 2009 World Rugby 7s Championships. New Zealand had never beaten at home. England, down by 20 points at halftime with a capacity crowd watching in Wellington, rose to the occasion led by Ben’s confidence went on to win.
I asked some of the other players about what was said at halftime. By their accounts, Ben Gollings was SO sure they were going to win the game that every player was persuaded to his conviction. They told me they never doubted him, it was as if it was a given.
Your sense of self and your emotional balance can have a profound effect on others. Considerable amounts of time are given to skills and fitness training, how much of your time is allocated to mental conditioning?
Go to my blog post for a full account of using Hypnosis, Imagery, and Autogenic Training to Enhance Gymnastic Performance
A number of years ago I worked with a Gymnastics club that has turned out numerous Olympiads. I was asked to work with the women's team on their most difficult apparatus, the balance beam. Using a process of hypnosis and visualization, I had them perform an inward imagined exercise of their performance. Highly trained athletes are typically very motivated to participate. They love the feeling of letting go, but still being in control! The faces of the gymnasts displayed emotional expressions during the hypnosis. Only one face remained relaxed, and her expression was one of serenity. Afterward, reviewing the first part of the exercise, they were asked to describe their performance. Every gymnast, except one, stated they fell off the beam. Our "lady of serenity" had performed her routine perfectly. I was unsurprised to learn that, of all the girls, she was slated for the Olympics. When I led them in the same exercise again, I told the athletes that there would be no mistakes in their routine. Now I observed many more peaceful expressions with the new instruction. In the discussion after, only one athlete stated that she could not complete her exercise without falling off the beam.
The Gymnastic Mind Game---Facebook Site
I was always told that "Practice Makes Perfect" - we have to be careful when we throw around these words of wisdom. Because we can also practice something incorrectly; then our practice becomes perfectly incorrect! If those athletes continued to see themselves falling off the beam in their routine, then in all likelihood, this would have a realistic transfer to their physical performance. Hypnosis is such a remarkably powerful self-help technique. It allows us to create an emotional and physical experience as though we are actually physically experiencing it. When carefully instructed in utilizing all senses during the inner exercise, our minds experience the imagery as though it occurred in live-time.
Using Self Hypnosis to Improve Stroke Technique
Correct streamlined body position for freestyle
Do you remember the idiom, ‘Practice makes perfect?’ Like many athletes, I recognised that I had been taught/coached incorrectly. My incorrect motor patterns became entrenched in my memory banks. I am not saying that you cannot change them… but the longer you spend practicing anything incorrectly, the harder it is going to be for you to undo those mistakes.
One of my many problems was a flat body position and nothing like the picture above! Technically this was due to lack of rotation around my central axis, which led to a myriad of other mechanical problems. I powered my way through the water to make up for it.
Without realising the inefficiency of my stroke, I opted for ‘practice makes perfect’ by putting in many perfectly incorrect miles. I developed great muscular and cardiovascular endurance. Unfortunately, the incorrect technique was counterproductive; contributing to further muscle imbalance.
Counting how many strokes it took for me to swim one length, was one of my coach’s earliest lessons. The number wasn’t impressive! After just one coaching session, that included exhausting drills, I reduced that number by a third. Quite a dramatic change but I could only do it for one length. The signals from my brain to my muscle were getting confused. “Wait a minute now. We spent hours and hours doing it this way and now you want us to CHANGE?” my unhappy motor nerves complained.Making them happy meant changing deeply embedded motor signals. Now, this is where self-hypnosis/visualisation comes into play.
During self-hypnosis, you can replicate the mechanics of the movement BY VISUALIZING THE DRILLS. In turn, this ‘practice’ re-educates the muscles at an accelerated rate …without even getting in the water. Sounds too good to be true, but all hypnosis does is create a point of focus. Imagine how a magnifying glass focuses the sun’s rays to intensify its heat. Your attention is focused on physically intensifying the new behaviour into your neuronal pathways.
For review, or for greater understanding, see the links below.
A Review of the Development of Sport Hypnosis as a Performance Enhancement Method for AthletesImproving Sports Performance using Hypnosis, Mental Imagery and Self-talk
Like any skill development, the process of self-hypnosis receptiveness is a personal journey. Some people must work a little harder than others, but everybody can experience profound accelerated change with practice.
More Sports Performance Hypnosis Research Can Be Located on My Blog
Hypnosis And Imagery To Improve Golf Performance
Using Hypnosis, Imagery, and Autogenic Training to Enhance Gymnastic Performance
Hypnosis and Imagery To Improve Football/Soccer Performance
Hypnosis and Imagery to Enhance Tennis Performance
Gymnastic Injuries. How Hypnosis Can Help on the Road to Recovery
