This week, we put football players through their paces using Blaze Pod reaction time testing and the results reinforced a truth we’ve seen for decades: elite performance isn’t just about what athletes see… it’s how fast their brain processes visual information and triggers the right response.

In football, milliseconds can be the difference between clearing a ball or conceding, winning a duel or losing position, making the squad or sitting on the bench.

In this episode, we break down the difference between simple reaction time and complex reaction time, why complex decision-making creates a significant delay, and how the best athletes train a skill I call Decision Vision, the ability to integrate perception, cognition, and motor execution under pressure.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:

1. Simple reaction time isn’t the game: Football rarely gives you predictable “go” moments — simple reaction time is useful, but limited.
2. Decision-making is where time disappears: The moment an athlete has to identify, choose, and execute, reaction time slows, often by over 100ms.
3. Decision Vision is the real separator: Top performers process visual information faster, make better choices under pressure, and act sooner, not just quicker.
4. Train it like you play it: The best results come from testing and training vision under real game load (cognitive + physical), not in isolation.

EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:

1. 00:00 - Why milliseconds decide outcomes in football
2. 01:10 - The Blaze Pod testing session overview
3. 02:00 - Simple reaction time: what it measures and why it matters
4. 03:20 - A real-world example: dominant vs non-dominant leg reaction times
5. 04:40 - Why football isn’t simple: introducing complex reaction time
6. 06:10 - The “Decision Vision” gap (and why it’s the real separator)
7. 07:45 - The Sports Vision Pyramid: from basic vision to elite decision-making
8. 09:10 - NeuroTracker + BOSU ball: testing vision under real sport load
9. 10:40 - How deficits at lower levels create delays at the top
10. 12:00 - How we train athletes to close the gap (decision-making & anticipation)
11. 13:30 - Reacting vs anticipating: the elite advantage
12. 14:30 - Watch the full testing setup on YouTube

HELPFUL RESOURCES:

1. Sports Vision NYC
2. Connect with Dr. Laby on Instagram

After decades of working with elite athletes and championship teams, one question keeps coming up again and again:

“Can you scientifically prove that vision training improves performance?”

In this episode, we tackle the reality behind that question and explain why the issue isn’t whether sports vision works… it’s why traditional proof is so hard to produce in elite sport. We break down the statistical and practical barriers that make research in this space incredibly difficult, and what teams should do in the meantime.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:

1. Why it’s so hard to “prove” sports vision works
2. What makes elite performance research tricky
3. What the evidence does suggest about vision and high performance
4. How teams should approach vision training now

EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:

1. 00:27 - Challenges in Proving Vision Training
2. 01:39 - Statistical Hurdles in Vision Training Research
3. 03:30 - Evidence from Existing Studies
4. 04:10 - Sport-Specific Visual Demands
5. 05:28 - The Case for Vision Training
6. 07:06 - The Future of Vision Training

HELPFUL RESOURCES:

1. Sports Vision NYC
2. Connect with Dr. Laby on Instagram
3. Pick Up a Copy of Eye of the Champion
4. Download The Ultimate Sports Vision Guide for Athletes [FREE]

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe to Sports Vision Radio so you never miss an episode on the science of peak performance.

What if the moments we call “choking” aren’t mental failures at all — but predictable physiological breakdowns?

In this episode, we explore The Power of 37, a critical performance threshold that shows up again and again in elite sport, neuroscience, and even mathematics. Drawing from decades of work with world-class athletes and insights from the classic Secretary Problem, this episode reveals why performance collapses under pressure and how champions train to withstand it.

You’ll learn why visual fatigue often precedes mechanical failure, how the eye–brain–body loop breaks down late in games, and why pushing past controlled fatigue in training is the key to sustained championship performance.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:

• Why the 37% threshold marks the point where elite performance systems shift from control to chaos
• How visual fatigue, not mental weakness, causes late-game mistakes under pressure
• What visual fumbles and quiet-eye breakdowns reveal about performance before physical failure
• How elite athletes train beyond game intensity to push their breaking point later and reduce its impact

EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:

• 00:39 - The Power of 37 in Human Performance
• 01:19 - Neuromuscular and Visual System Breakdown
• 02:24 - Visual Fumbles in Sports
• 04:26 - Training Beyond the 37% Threshold
• 04:56 - The Importance of Visual Training
• 06:16 - Applying the Power of 37

HELPFUL RESOURCES:

• Sports Vision NYC
• Connect with Dr. Laby on Instagram
• Pick Up a Copy of Eye of the Champion
• Download The Ultimate Sports Vision Guide for Athletes [FREE]

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe to Sports Vision Radio so you never miss an episode on the science of peak performance.