Ben Strack, Ph.D.
Hitting Instructor Sport Psychology Consultant Mental skills Training
(949) 722-7805 Email: BenStrack@hotmail.com

Dr. Ben Strack 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.

During the 1999 and 2000 MLB seasons, he was the batting practice pitcher for the Anaheim Angels. From 1999 to 2004, he was hand-selected to pitch in the MLB Players’ Association and ESPN’s Big League Challenge Home Run Contests where he was the personal pitcher for superstars Shawn Green, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Raphael Palmeiro, Jose Canseco, Magglio Ordonez, Andrew Jones, and Troy Glaus.

Dr. Strack is a frequent speaker at workshops and conferences throughout the country. His work with athletes has appeared in various media including ESPN, The New York Times, and on local television shows in Southern California.

Dr. Strack is an active member in several professional associations including the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), and the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB).

Coaching Experience:  12 years of private instruction

TESTIMONIALS FROM PROFESSIONALS:

“The newest technological advancement in professional sport is shaping levels of attention and concentration for competition.  Now you can take your "Brain" to the weight room (on a computer) for Thinking Faster and Getting into the Zone. Nearly every competitive athlete can benefit from the speed training and mental endurance conditioning provided by Dr. Ben Strack.”

- Wes Sime, Ph.D., MPH, Ph.D. Professor University of Nebraska, Sport/Health Psychologist Former Sport Psychologist, Kansan City Royals

“I have worked with Dr. Ben a number of times. His biofeedback technique has helped me learn how to relax on the golf course. It is very important to learn how to control your emotions when you are in a tournament. Dr. Strack has taught me how proper breathing can improve your performance. I have been a touring pro since 1988 and have played in 3 U.S. Opens and I have learned that relaxation and breathing are the most important components to performing well under pressure.”

- Perry Parker, Professional Golfer Asian, Australian, Canadian, Nike & PGA Tours

“You must be in control of yourself before you can control your performance. Biofeedback is an excellent strategy for gaining awareness and control of the body’s natural stress signals. Dr. Strack’s awareness training techniques are instrumental to improving mental toughness and reaching one’s full potential”

- Ken Ravizza, Ph.D. Sport Psychology Consultant (Los Angeles Dodgers, Anaheim Angels Baseball Clubs) Author of “Heads-Up Baseball: Playing the game one pitch at a time”

“Dr. Strack’s training program is a great way to raise the bar on your performance accomplishments. He teaches self-discipline techniques that will increase your focus and concentration and help you gain a mental edge on your competition.”

- Shawn Green Professional Baseball Player, New York Mets

Lesson Fees (Hitting): One 1/2hr lesson $65, Package of four 1/2hr Lessons $240

Sport Psychology services, $135-185/hr

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

In a preliminary research study using biofeedback, we found a 21% improvement with just batting practice for the control group. However, subjects who received the biofeedback training, in addition to batting practice, had a 60% improvement in batting performance (Strack, 2003). Baseball players’ self-reports from this study showed that the biofeedback training helped them “relax at the plate, see the ball better in games, improve their pitch selection, avoid ‘jumping’ at the ball as much, clear their mind of distracting thoughts and take pitchers ‘deeper’ into the count. Other participants claimed that the biofeedback helped them become less “forgetful” at school via improved concentration.

Studies using similar biofeedback training modalities with other sports provide additional confirmation of the utility of this approach for improving performance (Garet, et al., 2004; Lagos et al, 2008; Raymond, et al., 2005)

REFERENCES:

Garet, M., Tournaire, N., Roche, F., Laurent, R., Lacour JR., Barthélémy, J.C., Pichot, V. (2004). Individual Interdependence between nocturnal ANS activity and performance in swimmers. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. 2004 Dec; 36(12): 2112-8

Lagos, L.M., Vaschillo, E.G., Vaschillo, B., Bates, M.E., Lehrer, P.M., Pandina, R.J. (in press). Virtual Reality Assisted Biofeedback for Enhancing Golf Performance. 

Raymond, J., Sajid, I., Parkinson, L.A., and Gruzelier, J. (2005). Biofeedback and Dance Performance: A Preliminary Investigation. Biofeedback. 30(1), 65-73.

Strack, B. (2003). The Effect of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback on Batting Performance in Baseball. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 64, 1540.