Head Games

Today's world-class athletes may be approaching the limits of physical potential, suggests an analysis in the journal Sports Medicine, as indicated by a slowing pace of record performances on the track and in the pool. To push athletes further, researchers and coaches look to maximize the power of the brain.

Guess Again (and Again)

Athletes must constantly make judgments and render quick decisions. Batters, for example, have just a fraction of a second to distinguish a curveball from a changeup. Rehearsing these rapid calls and receiving instant feedback may hone players' ability to make them on the field. Peter Fadde, a learning systems researcher at Southern Illinois University, introduced a college baseball team to drills in which players try to identify pitches based on abbreviated snippets of footage and on-field observation. The team's average runs per game jumped by 48 percent during the first season using Fadde's drill and continued climbing the following year.

Train the Gaze

Pros in basketball, soccer, and other sports don't need to be especially big or strong if they can handle the ball more skillfully than their opponents. One less obvious element of this ability is the "quiet eye"—a steady focus on key targets (like the front of a basketball rim) just prior to action. Using eye-tracking sensors, which enable less-expert players to compare their gaze patterns with those of top performers, quiet-eye training has led to improvements in free throws, soccer penalty kicks, and other tasks. "It's a great relief for athletes to know the limitation is not physical," says the University of Calgary's Joan Vickers, a leading researcher of the skill.

Stock the Mental Toolbox

Training programs increasingly promote skills that athletes can use both on and off the field. These include cognitive strategies—such as motivational self-talk, setting concrete goals, and mental imagery—that research suggests can aid strength and endurance. Training can also target hallmarks of emotional intelligence (EI), like recognizing and managing negative feelings; studies have documented better performances by athletes with higher EI. According to psychologist Sylvain Laborde at the German Sport University Cologne, solid emotional coping skills may help athletes handle the stress of training and competition.