|
Light, powerful wireless systems allow
highly flexible neurovideofeedback™! |
Now featuring Neurovideofeedback--monitoring both the body and the brain!
Twelve types of training
with the Peak Achievement Trainer
|
Peak Achievement Trainer®
Customers Include:
*The Resilience
Institute for Performance Improvement, Pricewaterhouse
Coopers
*David Leadbetter
Golf Academy
* United States
Army's Centers for Enhanced Performance
* United States Olympic Training
Center
* U.S. Office of
Personnel
Management
*
Norwegian Olympic Training Center
* U.S. Army
National Marksmanship Team
* Taiwanese
Olympic Team
*
Top Executives of a Fortune 500 Healthcare Company
* A recent Super Bowl championship
team
* Major League Baseball
star
pitcher
* PGA Tour
Golfers
* Olympic Silver
Medalist
Swimmer
*Professional Strength
and Conditioning Coach
* Boston
University
* Canadian National Olympic Sport
Center, Toronto
* Ernest &Young,
LLP
*Australian
Special Forces
* LGE Performance
Systems
* Penn State
University
* St.
Lawrence University
* Singapore Olympic Sports
Council
* Swing Solutions,
Inc.
* University College, Dublin,
Ireland
* University of
Hawaii
* University of
Madrid
* University of
Nebraska
* University Of North
Texas
* University of
Pittsburgh
* University of Western
Sydney - Australia
* Virginia Tech
* Washington
University,
St. Louis, Missouri
* Wingate Institute of Sports
& Physical Education, Israel
* Numerous
other individual athletes, sport psychologists, schools, companies,
therapists, and the general public
|
| NeuroTek welcomes the IMG Academies in Bradenton, FL to the family of Peak Achievement users:
David Leadbetter Golf Academy
Bollettieri Tennis Academy
IMG Academies Sport Psychology
The Baseball Academy
The Basketball Academy
The Soccer Academy
The Hockey Academy
International Performance Institute(IPI)
|
|
|
How Athletes Can Consistently Find Their
"Zone of Excellence" |
by Wes Sime, Thomas W. Allen, and Catalina Fazzano
As sport psychologists, we are always seeking new methods of developing concentration, confidence and composure among performers who need graceful, efficient (yet powerful) movement patterns. One of the newest technological advances, neurofeedback, could be a very important training tool, comparable to weight training and aerobic conditioning for the body. In essence, neurofeedback is like taking the brain to the weight room to strengthen its resilience to distraction and the endurance of the athlete's concentration on a given performance task.Our experience with neurofeedback has created a remarkable opportunity to measure and display objective indicators of intense visualization that an athlete may be doing in preparation for competition. Many competitors have great difficulty maintaining high levels of confidence in themselves, partly because they have such fragmented visual images of their performance. Multiple distractions before competition can break down attentional focus and leave the athlete vulnerable to negative self-talk and funky thinking.
There are very few user-friendly neurofeedback systems available for use with athletes in the competitive environment. Similarly, the protocols for challenging an athlete's ability to handle the pressure of competition are not usually accessible to coaches, athletes and sport psychologists. We have discovered that it is possible to have portable equipment with simplistic training techniques on a laptop computer for use in a field setting near practice and competition. Our case examples feature performance training in diving, golf, equestrian (jumping) and music, with a minor focus on ADD/HD.
Neurofeedback with an Elite Diver Recovering from Injury
Eli is a college senior who had missed his opening a dive from the platform and landed hard on the surface of the water. The result was a crack in one of his thoracic vertebra figuratively known as a "broken back". As the months of recovery went by he became increasingly frustrated that he was getting behind his teammates while unable to practice in the pool. Since he used imagery in his diving routinely, he jumped at the chance to work on the quality and intensity of his visualization process. In weekly sessions, Eli alternated between watching video of his previous healthy diving with several 10 minute sessions of neurofeedback. To our great surprise, in the first opportunity to compete following his injury, Eli won a major competition.While this could be a spurious outcome, the coach's critique was most meaningful. He said, "I don't know what you were doing with all that brain stuff, but it is literally unheard of in the world of diving to have an athlete come off a major injury with minimal preparation time in the water and win a meet like this. Before his injury, this kid could do well in 8 out of 10 dives, but now he is a 'diver', i.e., he makes something positive out of all 10 opportunities."Later in the season with minimal follow-up training, Eli won the Big Twelve Championship. Unfortunately during the critical preparation for the NCAA Championships, Eli was not able to get the booster sessions in neurofeedback that he wanted as he faced more intense competition and anxiety. His performance faltered and he missed the cuts for the Olympic trials by a small margin. After the meet, Eli said, "I just was not able to get the same intense imagery" that had accounted for his previous success.It appeared that initiation of neurofeedback training followed by its withdrawal was related to the patterns of success and failure for Eli as he was returning to competition from a very serious injury and rehabilitation. Furthermore the coach's report that the diver's performance after neurofeedback training superseded that which the diver had ever achieved pre-injury give us great enthusiasm for this application of neurofeedback, Peak Achievement Training.Getting into "The Zone" in GolfIt would be wonderful if we had a way to see into a window in the golfers minds as they perform. Having observed that when skilled readers read or experienced meditators meditated, the concentration line in peak achievement training drops and stays flat, a number of recreational golfers and local pros were monitored on neurofeedback while they each took some 33 putts of 6, 10, and 20-feet.In virtually every case, the time course of concentration was ordered in such a way that it was meaningfully related to the degree of accuracy of the putts. Sometimes concentration was more crucial during the planning of a shot; sometimes during the visualization of the shot; and sometimes concentration was most important at the point of action. That is, players usually concentrate intensely for a moment just before the backswing.For one experienced instructor, the "preparation phase" was critical. How close his 20-ft. putts were to the target was well-predicted by the low level of concentration he achieved. However for another veteran 2-handicap player, it was the first stage or "planning phase" that was most telling. The greater the level of concentration during pre-shot routine and the lower it was as he struck the ball, the better outcome of the putt. The criteria for good or poor shots was "putting error", that is, the number of inches the ball ends up from the cup after the putt. In most cases performance slipped dramatically when concentration was disturbed by some negative contemplation in thinking.Ironically, performance for one novice golfer actually improved under the "thinking" conditions described above, i.e., the better he concentrated, the worse he putted. However prior to one of his last putts, it was suggested that he focus only on the stroke. Giving up his usual concern with a host of other variables and attending only to "the feel of the stroke" this inexperienced golfer produced his best putt and his highest level of concentration.In golfing, it appears that optimal level of concentration at various phases of performance may differ dramatically among participants, and across different cognitive strategies. Being aware of the individual differences and training toward higher levels of concentration appears to be helpful in improving performance.Neurofeedback Training in Equestrian SportsJane is a 13-year-old female rider with six years of riding experience, who had been experiencing difficulty completing multiple jumps over barriers in a timed event. She had experienced several falls and was feeling pressure from a parent who was impatient and quite verbally abusive. She was trained in concentration skills with Peak Achievement Training followed by visualization of the course. Emphasis was placed on planning for appropriate spots where to narrow the focus of her concentration during her time in the show ring.
It was remarkable that Jane performed much better in this event--she was awarded a third place ribbon, the first time she placed all season. One week later, she maintained her improved performance level (i.e., a ribbon) in spite of the fact that the competition took place in a ring where she had experienced a bad fall the previous year.
Following the brief, but intense training sessions, she was able to ride without fear and with continued success for the rest of the season, undeterred by the trauma of previous falls.
Neurofeedback for ADD/HD in Academic and Music PerformanceCarlos is a 9-year-old male with a history of academic and behavioral difficulties and a diagnosis of AD/HD. He was failing academically and had been lying to his parents about it. The mother had been told by a neurologist that she should resign herself to the fact that her son would never be a brain surgeon.His parents were opposed to the use of Ritalin and were seeking an alternative treatment. Carlos had extensive clinical training in neurofeedback over several months to deal with the academic issues in his ADD/HD. The results were very positive. Not long after beginning the training, his teacher reported that he was finishing all his schoolwork, and had much more ability to concentrate in the classroom. At an 8 week follow up beyond his clinical training, Carlos continued to do well, his grades were mostly A's and B's.Ironically, while Carlos' parents provided the training for academic reasons only, he had simultaneously learned to read music and to play several tunes on the piano while he was undergoing the neurofeedback training. Previously, at least three music teachers had given up on trying to teach him to play the piano. It is interesting to note that while clients may be seen primarily for either performance or for academic (ADD/HD) symptoms they have reported independently that their training effects spill over to the one or another outcome not specifically addressed in treatment.In conclusion, we have found in our respective experience that the essential contribution of neurofeedback, as demonstrated with the Peak Achievement Trainer*, is to give the client the opportunity to become more aware of the internal processes associated with success versus failure. In effect, this training enriches the discovery process for novice as well as experienced performers. It may, in fact, be the closest one can get to seeing through the window into the mind during practice or competition, while also shaping the thought processes to allow for unimpeded performance excellence. In essence, we want to zoom in the athlete's focus on their efforts, while eliminating intrusion from distractions, to allow the client to carry out a complex competitive task flawlessly.
___________________________________________________________
* The Peak Achievement Trainer is a neurofeedback training device which can detect and train the user's degree of concentration by analyzing the brainwaves from the brain's Executive Attention Network.
___________________________________________________________
Dr. Wes Sime is a Health Psychologist and a Sport Psychologist who works as Professor of Health and Human Performance at the University of Nebraska. He consults with numerous teams and individual athletes using the Peak Achievement Trainer while also exploring its' application in executive coaching.
Dr. Thomas W. Allen is an Associate Professor of Education and a Licensed Psychologist at Washington University in St. Louis. In recent years he has become very interested in neurofeedback as it relates to performance enhancement with various sports including golf and basketball. His research interest lies in finding the optimum level of concentration associated with success in any performance.
Dr. Catalina Fazzano is a Licensed Psychologist who has been in private practice for 20 years. She received her Ph.D. degree in clinical psychology from the University of Vermont, where she attended on a Fulbright fellowship. She currently practices in Coral Springs, Florida. Dr. Fazzano specializes in the treatment of children and families and uses several different forms of biofeedback and neurofeedback in her practice with athletes and other elite performers.
|
|
