Cognitive Skills Assessment & Development

Athletic performance is not solely dependent on physical abilities such as speed, strength, and endurance. Cognitive skills – including focus, decision-making, and reaction time – are equally critical to success. These skills enable athletes to read situations, react quickly, and make the right choices under pressure.

Developing cognitive skills can significantly enhance an athlete's performance. By training areas such as visual perception and reaction speed, athletes can gain a competitive edge. This is especially crucial in sports where small margins determine the outcome. Cognitive skills also play a vital role in injury prevention, as better awareness and quicker reactions can help avoid dangerous situations.

Improving Visual & Reaction Time Skills

Visual skills play a crucial role in athletic performance across various sports. From tracking a fast-moving ball to maintaining spatial awareness on the field, an athlete's visual system significantly impacts their reaction time, decision-making, and overall performance. While some aspects of vision are genetically determined, many visual skills can be improved through targeted training. 

For athletes who have already optimized their physical conditioning and technique but still seek to enhance their performance, assessing and training visual skills can provide a competitive edge. 

Whether you're an elite athlete looking to fine-tune your visual performance or an aspiring athlete aiming to identify areas for improvement, visual performance testing and training can offer valuable insights and pathways for enhancement.

Vizual Edge Trainer: Testing, Training & Sensitization

The Vizual Edge is the industry-leading online tool designed for vision and cognitive training specifically tailored to athletes. Backed by nearly 30 years of scientific research, this advanced program is proven to sharpen your reaction time, hand-eye coordination, balance and spatial awareness — all critical skills that can give you a competitive edge in your sport.

About the test: The Vizual Edge test assesses various aspects of visual performance relevant to sports, including depth perception, peripheral awareness, eye-hand coordination and visual reaction time:

• Every athlete has unique needs, which is why the Vizual Edge Trainer customizes a training plan specifically for you. Whether you're working on your visual processing speed or improving your depth perception, your program adapts as you progress, ensuring that your development is always aligned with your personal goals.
• With just 15 minutes, 3 times a week, you can significantly enhance your visual and cognitive skills.
  
• The Vizual Edge Trainer is entirely web-based, allowing you to train anytime, anywhere, as long as you have a internet connection.
  

An athlete can train visual skills through regular practice and also sensitize them for competitive performance so that the athlete reaches his or her maximum level more often. Sensitization increases the amount of neurotransmitters needed for visual skills, so that the level of neurotransmitters is still slightly elevated in the competitive performance itself. This allows the athlete to perform slightly better than they would have without sensitization.

Where the test is done: The test and practice can be done at home, but you will need a computer or tablet and Vizual Edge 3D glasses. Sensitization can be performed without 3D glasses.

How to interpret the test result: Results are typically presented as percentile rankings compared to normative data for each visual skill tested. Scores are often accompanied by recommendations for targeted training exercises.

More information: Available on the Vizual Edge website and in sports vision research literature.

Where to order: