Athlete Enhancement & Welfare
How Elite Minds cognitive assessment & training can help:
- Core Performance Capability Enhancement
- Greater Mental Toughness
- Accelerated Development
- Better Recruitment
- Enhanced Athlete Welfare - Risk-Mitigation and Post Collision Injury Rehabilitation
Core Performance Capability Enhancement
The faster the sport the faster an athlete needs to be able to absorb, interpret and respond to the situation - they need to be keenly aware of what's happening around them - improving their cognitive abilities will help. Studies into situational awareness with fighter pilots (one of the fastest most competitive pursuits known to mankind) has shown that as a predictor of situation awareness, cognitive ability is second only to experience as a predictor of performance, and if experience is equal, then it is the best predictor of performance (see the Aviation Safety section for more information). So if you want to improve on-field situational awareness - train the brain.
Greater Mental Toughness
Mental toughness; the ability to sustain concentration, ignore distractions and stay composed under pressure. Our cognitive training programs are designed to trigger biochemical reactions within the brain - helping to strengthen existing neural pathways and build new ones. With sufficient training dosage the end result is a more effective and efficient brain – thereby allowing an athlete greater powers of focus as well as enhancing the ability to sustain concentration.
Composure under pressure; research has shown that cognitive training brings about beneficial changes in the number of dopamine receptors in the brain. This means better regulation of dopamine levels in the system (too much or too little both are both detrimental to decision-making), which from an athlete’s perspective enhances their ability to remain composed in pressure situations.
Accelerated Development
Strong attention, perception and memory skills could prove to be the difference between an athlete making it at the elite level, or missing the cut. Comments by a leading AFL coaching and development officer reinforces this point "players chances of being drafted in the near future will increasingly hinge on their capacity to retain information", and "You've got to play your role within that system, and you need to be smart enough to learn that and be able to apply it in a game situation" Source: Structure up, AFL.com.au, 17th June 2011.
Cognitive training builds an athlete's core capacity to learn. Enhancing the core abilities of attention, perception and memory - all of which are necessary for efficient & effective learning to take place.
Better Recruitment
Profiling of athletes cognitive skills can lead to better recruiting. Recent research shows that cognitive skills (in particular "Executive Functions") predict the success of top footballers. Elite Minds can help you use cognitive assessments to develop a cognitive profile of your squad and potential recruits, working towards the end-goal of templating the ideal cognitive profile of athletes within your respective sport.
Enhanced Athlete Welfare - Risk-Mitigation and Post Collision Injury Rehabilitation
Elite Minds is successfully helping Australian athletes in their rehabilitation from acquired brain injuries (notably - former AFL player Daniel Bell) that have occured as a result of concussions and/or multiple collisions. While we're delighted with these outcomes, athlete welfare can be taken a step further. There are neuropsychologists calling for the use of cognitive training as a risk-mitigation tool - proposing that athletes should commence cognitive training from the outset of their career in order to build their "cognitive reserve" - the mind's resistance to damage of the brain.
Not taking preventative measures against concussion / multiple collision injuries could cut an athletes career short by reducing their capabilities in processing speed, situational awareness and capacity to learn and retain team structures. Worse still, research shows that it could leave them at higher risk of developing brain-related disease in the future.
How to get started
To discuss implementing cognitive assessment & training for either yourself or your squad then please feel welcome to contact us or our channel partners in the Athlete Enhancement & Welfare sector: