Endorsement
“When it comes to identifying the root cause of any movement dysfunction or painful pattern, there is no one better than Gray Cook. His Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) is the most thorough but simple method to help you pinpoint your clients primary dysfunctions. We have been using the SFMA at Titleist with all our players for the past year and the results are unbelievable.
Dr. Greg Rose,
Co-Founder of the Titleist Performance Institute
FMS Instructors
Brett Jones
Brett is a Pittsburgh, PA. based Fitness Professional and International Presenter with almost 20 years experience.
His professional accreditation's include:
- Bachelor of Science in Sports medicine from High Point University, NC.
- Master of Science in Rehabilitative Science from Clarion University of PA, PA.
- Certified Strength and conditioning Specialist through the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association).
- Master instructor in the RKC program (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) with Pavel (www.dragondoor.com)
- National and International presenter for the Functional Movement Screen
- Co-Creator of the CK-FMS program - blending the RKC and FMS philosophies.
- National and International Lecturer and Presenter of the RKC an other Fitness organizations and professionals
- Author and Co-Author of multiple DVDs and fitness products.
Carla B. Sottovia, PhD
IDEA, Personal Trainer of the Year, 05’
Fitness Director
Sr. Personal Trainer & Pilates Trainer
With more than 20 years of experience, Dr. Carla Sottovia has helped individuals achieve a path of personal wellness, improved fitness, and overall quality of life – “My goal is to instill the importance of Fitness/Wellness in client’s lives much like brushing one’s teeth, eating, and sleeping. It is also to educate clients that an individual does not need to be an athlete in order to achieve their inner strength or personal best, and ultimately they can improve their quality of life through an active life-style”.
Dr. Sottovia is a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She received a B.S. in Physical Education from the State University of Brockport, NY (1985); followed by an M.A. in Exercise Physiology from San Jose State University, CA (1990), and her Doctorate in Exercise Physiology from Texas Woman’s University, TX (2002). She holds several Advance personal training certifications in the areas of Functional Movement training & Assessments, Pilates Training, Optimal Flexibility, Vibration Training, Post-injury/Preventive exercise intervention; youth training; sports specific coaching (Running, Swimming & Triathlon). She is also a licensed Wellness Coach and Adjunct instructor (The Cooper Institute).
Dr. Sottovia is an avid triathlete/runner having completed more than 50 triathlons including 3 Ironman Distance Triathlons (Hawaii, Germany, Brazil). She holds a PR of 3hrs. 26 min (Boston Marathon). She is also a published author – Energy Substrate: Truths and Misconceptions, 06”
Mark Cheng, L.Ac., Ph.D.
Mark is the Chief Instructor of Kettlebells Los Angeles, having been trained personally by RKC founder Pavel Tsatsouline. As an RKC Team Leader level instructor and doctorate in Chinese medicine and acupuncture, he has made extensive use of kettlebells with Gray Cook’s Functional Movement technologies for rehabilitation in his Chinese orthopedics clinic in Santa Monica, California. Mark’s extensive background in martial arts has helped him understand the importance of and the need for effective, safe training methods early on.
Having lectured and presented on 5 continents, Mark is a well-seasoned professional instructor, known to seamlessly tie in athletic performance, technical execution, and medical logic. Along with Gray Cook and Brett Jones, he co-authored the Kettlebells from the Ground-Up manual. Mark’s areas of interest are in the applications of the Functional Movement Systems, Chinese manual medicine, and Russian kettlebell training to post-partum rehab, elite athlete / tactical operator prehabilitation, and injury rehabilitation.
Kyle Kiesel PT, PhD, ATC, CSCS
Dr. Kiesel is an Associate Professor of Physical Therapy at the University of Evansville. He conducts research related to core function and functional movement testing related to athletic performance and injury prediction. He also conducts research in the use of ultrasound imaging for patients with low back pain. He serves as a consultant for professional, college, and high school sports teams. He has extensive experience teaching lecture and lab courses emphasizing core training and functional movement assessment and intervention including both the FMS and the SFMA. He has authored several articles and a book chapter on these topics. He has 12 peer-reviewed publications and presented numerous abstracts and invited speaking engagements nationally and internationally. He serves as a manuscript reviewer for 6 different peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Kiesel is engaged in patient care in orthopedics and sports at ProRehab in Evansville, Indiana where he serves as Director of Evidence-Based Practice.
Michael A Contreras
Michael Contreras is a Fire Captain and former Wellness and Fitness Coordinator for the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) in Irvine California. Michael has worked for the OCFA for 20 years and held the rank of firefighter, firefighter paramedic and Fire Captain. Michael has been a Training Officer, Recruit Academy Instructor, Academy Fitness Coordinator, Academy Coordinator, Department Safety Officer, Hazardous Material Specialist, Assistant Public Information Officer and is member of the departments USAR team.
Michael is a faculty member for American Council on Exercise and is CE provider for a variety of fitness topic. Michael has been a presenter at many Fire service conferences lecturing on a variety of topics including The FMS. Michael has used the FMS extensively within the fire service to identify firefighters and recruit firefighter who are at an increase risk of injury in doing he has reduced the number of injuries, severity and ultimately the cost of injuries within the fire department.
Michael is a National Strength and Conditioning Association Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist CSCS, an ACE Certified Peer Fitness Trainer, a Crossfit Level 2 instructor, a USA Weight lifting Performance Coach, Crossfit Certified Olympic lifting Coach, a Russian Kettlebell Certified instructor and a Functional Movement Screen Instructor, a Concept II certified instructor.
Dr. Phil Plisky
Dr. Plisky is the Vice President of Clinical Excellence and the Residency Program Director at ProRehab, PC and Assistant Professor at the University of Evansville in Evansville, IN. He specializes in sports and orthopedic rehabilitation, with emphasis on injury prevention in athletes. He received his Master of Physical Therapy Degree from the University of Evansville and his Doctor of Science Degree in Orthopedic Physical Therapy from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. He is a board certified clinical specialist in orthopedics through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. He is a Certified Athletic Trainer and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
Dr. Plisky has published and lectured internationally on risk factors for injury in athletes and is an adjunct faculty member at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. He currently is conducting epidemiological research on comprehensive movement testing and interventions in athletes and school aged children. Dr. Plisky is a consultant for numerous collegiate and professional teams for injury risk identification and injury prevention. Dr. Plisky has also developed the Y Balance Test - a reliable and efficient device and protocol to measure performance on the Star Excursion Balance Test.
Samuel L. Berry, M.S., C.S.C.S.
Sam is the Director of Personal Training for Fitcorp, a corporate fitness company in the greater Boston area. Sam oversees the training staff of their 12 facilities and also maintains a client base including doctors and professors from Harvard Medical School (HMS) and rugby players preparing for the US national team. In addition to these roles, he has contributed to publications for HMS, The Sports Medicine Encyclopedia published by Sage Publishing, expected in 2010 and to PTontheNet, a training and program design website for personal trainers. He has been teaching with the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) group for more than two years. Sam received his Master’s Degree in Exercise Science in 2005 from Florida International University, and holds strength and conditioning certifications with nationally accredited certifying bodies including NSCA, NASM, and ACSM.
Eric Dagati
Current Position(s):
• Training Consultant to many top sports teams and
organizations, including the New York Football Giants &
New York Islanders
• Owner and Program Director, One Human Performance
Center
o One-on-One and Team exercise training
o Client assessment and program design
o Performance enhancement & injury prevention
o Post-rehabilitative conditioning
Certifications & Education:
• Exercise Physiology, William Paterson University
• CHEK Practitioner, Level II
• Poliquin Performance Coach, Level I
• National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
• National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), Advanced
• Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM)
• Integrated Flexibility Specialist (NASM)
• Functional Movement Screen (FMS)
• Apex Body Composition Specialist
Publications and Speaking:
• Featured SPARQ columnist for Student Sports national magazine
• Lectured at numerous universities and clinics including the Mayo Clinic
• Lecturer at NJSIAA, Frank Glazier & MegaClinics football coaches clinics
• Guest lecturer at dozens of Speed & Conditioning camps
• Guest SAQ Trainer at Nike Football Training Camps
• Regular guest on sports talk radio show The Natural
Special Programs:
• Former Strength & Conditioning Coordinator for NY/NJ Juggernaut
Professional Fastpitch Softball
• Inventor of the Performance Progression Pyramid training system
• Creator of Five Tool Training, Strength Training for Baseball & Softball
• Founder of Strong Kids, an after-school fitness program for children
Behnad Honarbakhsh,
MPT, BHK, CSCS, CAFCI, D.O.(c)
Behnad Honarbakhsh is a practicing physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach having worked at several sports therapy clinics in British Columbia, Canada, and the National Sports Institute in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was a program coordinator and consultant at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) School of Human Kinetics as well as UBC's Varsity Athletics. Behnad continues to consult with various sport teams and individual athletes at all levels, including national and professional level athletes.
Behnad graduated from UBC with a Master of Physical Therapy and a Bachelor of Human Kinetics in Exercise Science. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association, has completed a graduate certificate in Orthopedic Manual Therapy at Curtin University (Perth, Australia), certified through the Acupuncture Foundation of Canada Institute, and trained in Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS) through the Institute for the Study and Treatment of Pain. Behnad is currently pursuing training in the field of traditional Osteopathy at the Canadian College of Osteopathy.
Behnad is passionate about teaching and continues to combine his diverse clinical skills and years of experience with lecturing in the fields of rehabilitation, injury prevention and performance enhancement. Behnad has a special interest in movement assessment and training and has been involved with the Functional Movement Screen system since 2001. He is an instructor for both the FMS and SFMA courses.
Jim Raynor
Jim is currently the Administrative Director of St. John's Health System's Sports Medicine in Springfield, Missouri. He has been with St. John's Health System for the past 13 years establishing their performance enhancement and primary care sports medicine program. His current responsibility is to lead the St. John's Sports Medicine Department in positioning and development within the sports and medical community of southwest Missouri. His experience includes collegiate, high school, Olympic and clinical settings.
His areas of interest include lumbopelvic dysfunction as it relates to stress strain injuries, performance enhancement interventions, functional screening for performance and injury predisposition, tendinopathies, performance enhancement substances, disordered eating practices of athletes, and the integration of sports injury rehabilitation with performance enhancement.>
Formerly of Long Island, New York he calls Springfield, Missouri home. He is married to Brenda and has four children Trey (age 12), Jade (age 11), Josh (age 4) and Jack (age 4). He is an avid New York Yankees and Oklahoma Sooners fan and enjoys all types of sports.
Chris McGrath
Chris is a personal trainer, fitness educator and consultant in New York City who has enjoyed over twenty years of success in the fitness, wellness and athletic industry. As an educator, trainer, manager, and former Director of Education for one of the largest health club chains in the US, Chris has been instrumental in the educational development of thousands of fitness professionals. In addition to teaching the Functional Movement Screen workshops, Chris develops his own continuing education courses and serves as an instructor for Fitness Anywhere (TRX Suspension Training), Star Trac (Human Sport Functional Training) and is an educator/consultant for the American Council on Exercise.
