Peak Performance – Applications

Overview

Peak performance training helps the individual perform to the best of their ability. It comes in many different forms, depending on what you do and what you need:

Trouble recovering before the next round?

Problems maintaining focus on the ball?

Can’t keep calm in what seems like an all-or-nothing moment?

Self-doubt getting in the way?

No sure if you’re being the best you can be?

The BFE has worked with many clinicians that use biofeedback, neurofeedback and reaction time to get their clients to the top of their game, whatever that may be: baseball players, tennis players, golfers, military men/women and even singers. It doesn’t matter who you are – the only thing that matters is that your body and mind are ready when it counts. The more you feel you can control in an uncontrollable situation, the more confident you will be and the better you will do.

This section of the BFE website focuses on peak performance related to specific sports/athletes or types of people. We also have a section of the website devoted to general peak performance based on Dr. Wilson’s method. Feel free to visit both sections to get an idea of what we have to offer in terms of education and software.

Team Leaders

The BFE is privileged to have worked with a wide number of clinicians with a variety of sport or population focuses when it comes to peak performance training.
Jane Arave – MA, LPC, BCB, BCN has a Master’s Degree in Counseling and is in private practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Columbia, South Carolina. She incorporates biofeedback and neurofeedback in her practice to meet the needs of her varied clientele. Ms Arave is also the creator of the “Mental Game of Golf” method, and is the co-creator of the ProGolf and ProBaseball Suites.

Adam Kirkpatrick, Ph.D. Dr. Adam Kirkpatrick is an associate professor of music at Kennesaw State University, where he is head of the voice department. He has sung operatic roles and concerts professionally in many theaters and operas throughout the United States. Dr. Kirkpatrick is the creator of the Voice Suite, using the patented new method for teaching the lower laryngeal position for singing performance.

Henk Kraaijenhof, PT, B.A. Mr. Kraaijenhof is a performance consultant to international elite athletes in athletics and the Dutch special forces, and has coached individuals and teams to national success in Olympic and world level competition. He has published work in performance, training systems and protocols for elite athletes. He lectures internationally and has chaired and presented at international congresses in several European countries. He has conducted research in the development and application of scientific training systems for elite athletes and has been involved in scientific research projects in human sports performance in Norway, Estonia, Italy and the Netherlands. He is currently technical director of Nemesis BV, a company that develops and sells hi-tech training and measuring systems for sports in the Netherlands

Harry van der Lei, Ph.D. Originally from Groningen, Holland, Harry now heads up Pro-Formance Consulting in Tallahassee, Florida. His research focuses on the influences of emotions on golf performance, which includes psychophysiological measures during competitive golf situations. Mr. van der Lei has worked as a sport psychology consultant for the US speed skating athletes during the Winter Olympics 2002 and 2006 and has been consulting the Florida State University Men’s Golf Program since 2003. He is the co-creator of the ProGolf Suite.

Stephanie Nihon, MSc, BCIA, BCN. A former varsity and national athlete herself in the USA and Australia, Ms. Nihon has been working with elite athletes for over 7 years. The Tennis suite is based on her training style and experience with tennis players, as well as the guidance imparted from working closely for several years with Dr. Vietta (Sue) Wilson and Dr. Michael Thompson. An important goal of her software creation was to include exercises that are out-of-the-ordinary and that really help to instill the training goals.

Yuval Oded, (??) Mr. Oded is a clinical psychophysiologist specializing in treatment of extreme stress. Retired from a decade in the military, he is the founder and director of several clinics throughout Israel that integrate biofeedback to treat a wide array of conditions, including anxiety disorders, behavioral disorders, chronic illnesses, neurological problems, psychosomatic problems, head trauma and post traumatic stress disorder. Mr. Oded is also the founder of Psy-Phi, a company that uses a “Mental Gym” to train elite defense units and combat pilots to achieve and maintain optimal performance under stress. He is an adviser in biofeedback and peak performance training to the French Ministry of Defense, athletes, psychologists, physicians, social workers and tech companies.

Wes Sime, Ph.D., MPH, BCB, BCN A pioneer in the field of Applied Sport Psychophysiology, Dr. Sime has helped to develop the technology to measure the over effort and “muscling up tension” that occurs in the batters box while baseball players face tough pitching. A former Sport Psychologist for the Omaha Royals AAA team, Wes has worked with major league players as well as several Olympic Teams. He has worked with PGA golfers including Payne Stewart, Corey Pavin, Troy Matteson and numerous others striving to help make sport psychology come to life in professional golf. Currently, Wes is a health psychologist and sport psychologist at First Step Wellness in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is the co-creator of the ProGolf and ProBaseball Suites.

Ben Strack, Ph.D. is Co-Owner of Proball Inc. and senior hitting and mental game instructor. He is a sport psychology consultant and part-time professor/lecturer at California State University Long Beach and Argosy University where he teaches sport psychology classes. In his clinical/sports practice (Irvine/San Juan Capistrano) he consults with various professional, Olympic, amateur, and youth athletes in the area of sports psychology and performance enhancement. He is also the chief editor of the new sport psychology book “Applications of biofeedback and neurofeedback in sport psychology” (In press). He is a former division I college baseball player and NCAA Scholar-Athlete, and is the co-creator of the ProBaseball Suite.

Education

The BFE offers a variety of educational content, including different types of live online or recorded presentations related to each peak performance application. Below is a brief selection of that material. For more complete listing, feel free to click on the links for each application: Tennis, Golf, Baseball, Voice, and Military, Security & Law Enforcement.

Tennis – Optimizing Performance Webinar Recording: Learn about the key aspects of optimal performance training for tennis athletes from Stephanie Nihon’s webinar recording.

Intro to the Tennis Suite Webinar Recording: This webinar recording gives an introduction to all aspects of the Tennis Suite software.

Intro to the Tennis Suite Webinar Recording: This 1-hour recording demonstrates Dr. Kirkpatrick’s technique in action as two singers learn better signing quality when hooked-up to the equipment.

Mental Conditioning for Intense Focus in Baseball Webinar Recording: learn about Dr. Sime and Dr. Strack’s experiences with biofeedback, neurofeedback and reaction time into peak performance training with pro ball players. Sean Casey, former MLB player, weighs in as well.

Intro to ProBaseball Suite Webinar Recording: get a brief introduction to all aspects of the ProBaseball software suite with this webinar recording, presented by Jon Bale

Software

Tennis Performance Suite by Stephanie Nihon

Designed for optimal performance training with tennis athletes using a combination of biofeedback, neurofeedback and additional exercises, this software suite is based on the Ms. Nihon’s training style and experience with tennis players, as well as the guidance imparted from working closely for several years with Dr. Vietta (Sue) Wilson and the Dr. Michael Thompson. This package includes screens arranged by training goal, 1 Hz bins EEG Assessment with automated excel report, exercise guide and full clinical guide for guiding therapists and trainers.