Mental Quickness for Faster Decisions and Play in Soccer

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Mental Quickness in Soccer

Mental Quickness and Perception

According to research studies, a Perceptional Training Program increases the amount of information that can be collected by a player's senses by as much as 433%. A comprehensive program enables coaches, their players and referees to better:

identify what is seen, heard and touched,
understand what is seen, heard and touched (see Knowledge module),
judge the importance of what is seen, heard and touched,
process what is seen, heard and touched in real time,
make significantly faster and higher quality decisions, and
play faster at a higher level (see Physical Quickness module) .

A 25/3 Perceptional Training Program requires 20 to 25 minutes a session, 3 sessions a week in the pre-season and depending on a team's game and rest requirements up to 3 days a week during the season. Perceptional training exercises include:

individual exercises the individual can be assigned to do on their own,
individual online training and tutorials the individual can be assigned to do on their own,
periodic games and exercises done as a group either before practices or on days the team doesn't usually practice together or have a game.

Scheduling can be flexible and players can do the individual exercises on their on during the off season.

Vision in Sports

Overview of vision issues with progressions to assess coaches, players and referees to improve their vision and visual processing in competitive sports.

Color Deficiency Screening - An online interactive 3 minute screening to assess a player's color vision. Depending on ethnic origin up to 10% of males and 1% of females have a color vision deficiency that impacts their ability to play to their potential. While there is currently no cure for a defective color cone, exercises and color filters can improve visual contrast so that color deficient players can play at a higher level.
High Intensity Colors and Success - A growing number of clubs worldwide are wearing high intensity colors in games and practices because of the research. Studies have found players find teammates faster and passes are over 70% more accurate when their teammates wear high intensity colors.
Dominant Eye Screening - A 30 second screening assesses which eye is the eye a player uses for aiming. When a player is cross-dominant they shoot and pass with their limbs on one side of their body and aim with their eye on the other side. And yes there is a solution to improve accuracy.
Faster Scan Rate - The vast majority of athletes in team sports only scan to see their teammates, opponents and open spaces for about 6 seconds a minutes. Research shows some athletes can scan up to 26 seconds a minute. Scan rate progression uses home exercises and in practice games that improve scan rate.
Peripheral Awareness - The vast majority of athletes fixate in the 3 degree angle the ball or player in possession is in and see very little to their sides. Sports vision professionals have documented that athletes can keep their head pointed straight at the target and learn to improve their ability to see motion to their sides.
Near Far Vision - It takes the average person several seconds to adjust their vision when they quickly go from looking at something close like a referee's watch and action far down the field . . . or vice versa. Near Far Vision exercises done at home or before a practice can reduce the time for your vision to adapt to a change in distance.
Dynamic Visual Acuity - Enables a player to see and track moving objects when they are moving or aren't moving; and static objects when they are moving. In contrast an example of Static Visual Acuity is when a player is not moving and is viewing a static object like a vision wall chart with letters.
Depth Perception - The ability of a player to accurately judge the distance an object or person is from them. Players who need Depth Perception training, for example, consistently shoot just above the crossbar in soccer games. Another example, are players who go to head balls which are too low and hit them to low on the body. Depth Perception training can improve a player's ability to judge the distance moving objects (the ball or players) are from them; or the distance a static object like a crossbar is from them.
Visual Memory - Is if and for how long you remember what you have seen. If you scan the field and see an opponent, but don't remember which opponent and where they are, you won't have all information you may need to make the best decisions. Individuals who improve their visual memory become more successful in sports, school, other outside activities and in their careers.

Hearing, Touch and Smell in Sports

Overview of hearing with progressions for improving coaches, players and referees in competitive games.

Hearing Speed - Auditory information travels along a different cranial nerve and is processed in less time than visual information. The mean average time for the brain to process a sound is only .2632 seconds. And the mean average time for the brain to process a light stimulus (vision) is .2895 seconds.
Auditory Reaction Time - According to a study done by Brebner and Welford in 1980, the mean auditory reaction time is .14-.16 seconds and the mean visual reaction time is .18-.2 seconds. Also it takes an auditory stimulus .08-.1 seconds to reach the brain while it takes a visual stimulus .2-.4 seconds to reach the brain. Players with excellent hearing have a slight advantage in the time required to collect information and to make decisions.

Overview of touch with progressions for improving coaches, players and referees in competitive games. Modules published in November, 2015.

Overview of smell with progressions for improving coaches, players and referees in competitive games. Modules published in November, 2015.