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Automatic Vision: The Unconscious Secret To Sports Success

Pro athletes see and react faster than is humanly possible — their secret is revealed here

Dr. Daniel Laby
4 min readFeb 6, 2023

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A spinning tennis ball
Image by bess.hamiti@gmail.com from Pixabay

In order to better understand conscious vs unconscious vision, let’s look at a pair of actual sports examples …

These plays have in common one skill — responses that are only possible following an unconscious decision — simply reaction and success! — We’ll point out ways how this can up your game!

Rapid decision & action in baseball

The first example comes from baseball. Here, imagine baseballs being batted toward the middle infielders and each one makes a diving catch to make the out. Keeping in mind that the average exit velocity of a batted ball is about 89–90 mph, there is no time for the fielder to consciously consider what he is seeing and think about what to do, he must react immediately and begin a movement to intercept the target if he is to make the out and help his team win.

Rapid decision & action in Tennis

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Dr. Daniel Laby

Eye Doc for Pro Athletes | 30+ years of experience | Want to improve your performance? Go here 👉 https://DrDanLaby.com