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Editor’s note: A previous version of this story contained incorrect information about a school record. Presley Bruskotter was the first male basketball player to score 1,000 career points at Classical Academy High School and the story has been corrected.

LA JOLLA, Calif. – Anxiety can interfere with athletic achievement, even causing some athletes to quit sports altogether. But a doctor in La Jolla believes he has the solution to keep kids on the field.

Dr. Ran Anbar of Center Point Medicine has spent more than 20 years becoming a leader in clinical hypnosis. He says he’s helped thousands of children, including Classical Academy High School basketball standout Presley Bruskotter.

“Hypnosis can change people’s lives in a short amount of time,” Anbar said.

Bruskotter recently carved out his spot in school history, becoming the first male basketball player to score 1,000 career points. It was a monumental feat for the 18 year old, and an even greater one considering it wasn’t that long ago he was considering walking away from the game.

He’s taken to Anbar’s sessions and feels it’s opened him up on the court to be himself.

“I was thinking about giving up basketball,” Bruskotter said. “There was a lot of pressure on me. I look back now and if I didn’t come to see Dr. Anbar, I wouldn’t know where I’d be at now.”

Anbar, a pediatric pulmonologist, believes 90% of athletic performance is the result of mental processes. He encourages patients to implement deep mediation as a way to alter their individual mindsets. His methodology is laid out in his book that was published last year, “Changing Children’s Lives with Hypnosis: A Journey to the Center.”

“My version is that you learn to change your mindset through thinking perhaps of a pleasant place,” he said, “and learning how to shift your mindset quickly in order to achieve calmness and focus.” 

Bruskotter now encourages other athletes to consider utilizing Anbar’s methods to better themselves.

“I would say just give it a shot no matter what,” Bruskotter said. “Because you never know, it could change yours like it changed mine.”