High School Basketball Coach Uses Hypnotism & 2009 MLB Preview posted by Colin Linneweber
Kansas High School Basketball Coach Hypnotized Team
A high school board in Kansas voted last month to ban hypnotism sessions after their Class 1A boys basketball coach employed the therapy to increase focus and concentration among members of his team.
St. John High School basketball coach Clint Kinnamon had sought the free help of Carl Feril, a Church of Christ minster who is also a clinical family and marriage therapist.
"It won't be going on anymore at school," said Superintendent James, who requested a transcript of the sessions. "If parents want their child to do that, they can contact the licensed therapist on their own."
St. John, a town with a population of 1,200 about 90 miles northwest of Wichita, is traditionally a basketball powerhouse in Kansas. The boys team had won the state basketball championship in 2007 and they finished second last year.
After struggling this season to a record of 7-6, Kinnamon had his players undergo two 45-minute sessions with hope that hypnotherapy would boost his squad's confidence.
"Had I known this would have turned into what it did, I would have re-thought doing it," said Kinnamon after he revealed his players attended the sessions with the notion of envisioning themselves in a game.
"There's the perfect release of the basketball as it leaves your fingertips," said Kinnamon. "It's the perfect shot. It's a shot you've made a million times in your driveway. You hear it swish."
Nevertheless, Superintendent Kenworthy was adamant that hypnotizing students was a practice that was unacceptable and one that Kinnamon would cease to utilize immediately.
