Last week, I experienced Nike’s new SPARQ Sensory Performance innovations in action. I have no doubt in my mind that this new approach to vision training in conjunction with all other aspects of physical training will give an edge to the athletes who utilize these advancements. What’s most interesting is that vision training can be used by athletes of all levels to increase focus, reaction times & anticipation in any sport. I could rattle off a list of athletes off the top of my head that could use vision training immediately: Ahem… Josh Hamilton… Ahem…

SPARQ Sensory Performance is a system of technologies, products and programs designed to assess, analyze and improve an athlete’s visual and sensory performance. It’s another step in Nike’s nearly 40-year legacy of delivering game-changing innovations to help athletes perform at their peak.

“Sensory training is at the cornerstone of how we can build better athletes,” said Paul Winsper, SPARQ Performance Director. “With SSP we’re able to integrate both sensory and physical training together. This performance philosophy has resonated with some of the top athletes, teams and clubs throughout the world.”

Nike SPARQ Sensory Stations

As the first step in improving an athlete’s performance, the SSP “assess” phase uses the Nike SPARQ Sensory Station, an interactive touch screen device, to evaluate athletes on 10 sport-relevant visual and sensory performance skills. The personalized station then translates that raw data into next steps for the athlete, which can guide a training program. The resulting SPARQ Sensory Performance profile compares an athlete’s results to others in their sport, position and skill level to provide a roadmap for improvement.

I underwent these tests and compared my results to all other professional soccer defenders in Nike’s database and I’ll post my results as soon as I get over my embarrassment at my scores. Welp, it seems that countless hours spent pushing pixels isn’t great for my vision or health.

Once the assessment and analysis are complete, Nike SSP provides two key tools designed to help an athlete improve: The Nike SPARQ Sensory Training Station and Nike SPARQ Vapor Strobe Eyewear. Athletes at any skill level can integrate both into their training programs to hone their sensory skills.

Nike SPARQ Vapor Strobe Eyewear

Following visual testing to evaluate different aspects of the athlete’s visual skills, a crucial tool to improve key areas is the Nike SPARQ Vapor Strobe Eyewear. By blocking or disrupting vision using a strobe or flicker effect that can be varied in speed, an athlete can develop quicker reaction times and motor skills. The strobe effect improves reaction time by switching between clear and blocked vision, which trains the brain to anticipate what‘s coming when the eyes are blocked. Features include an adjustable head strap for a secure fit and liquid-crystal lens technology with variable speeds for different levels of training.

“After years of tireless testing, we’ve discovered an innovative way to help increase athletic performance,” said Dr. Alan Reichow, Global Research Director of Nike SPARQ Sensory Performance and Vision. “The SSP ecosystem of testing and products allows our team to serve the athlete with a clear and actionable plan that helps them see sport better.”

The system is already proving effective. Two recent studies* showed that training with the Nike SPARQ Vapor Strobes improved:
1) The ability to pick up subtle motion cues
2) Visual information processing
3) Timing of motion

When looking at the list of athletes that participate in SPARQ Sensory Performance training, I’m not surprised that they’re at the top of their game. Kevin Durant, Larry Fitzgerald, Greg Jennings, Misty May-Treanor, A.J. Pierzynski all get an edge.

“I catch balls for a living. What I do is eye-hand coordination, so any way that I can improve my eye-hand coordination is going to be pivotal throughout my career. The Nike SPARQ Vapor Strobes are a total game changer, a training game changer. You take vision for granted, you take catching the ball for granted but the Vapor Strobes force you to focus on the fundamentals.” -Greg Jennings

Nike SPARQ Sensory Training Stations use software-based training modules to improve multiple sensory performance skills. The stations can be used regularly as an integrated part of training programs for athletes at all levels. Top collegiate and professional programs have purchased the Nike strobe eyewear and stations, with a full global rollout now in action.

The Nike SPARQ Vapor Strobe Eyewear is $300 USD and available Internationally at NikeStore.com. Both the Nike SPARQ Sensory Station and Nike SPARQ Sensory Training Station are available through the Nike SPARQ Sensory Training Help Desk (1-855-870-6778 or NSSTsupport@nike.com).

* Duke University Study: Appelbaum LG, Schroeder JE, Cain MS and Mitroff SR (2011) Improved visual cognition through stroboscopic training. Front. Psychology 2:276. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00276

* Southern Utah University Study: Smith, T.Q. (2011) Sensory Training: Nike Strobe (Master’s thesis). Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT.

Congrats to Noah Young for winning our Enduro MMXII “Conquest” Bike Giveaway! We met up with him this weekend and delivered the bike to the lucky dude! Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest. Hopefully be able to hold more contests like this in the future. Keep on Growing the Brand! #GrowTheBrand

Congrats to Noah Young of Atlanta, GA for winning our Enduro MMXII “Conquest” Bike Giveaway! We definitely feel the love from everyone who participated in the contest and we want to thank everyone involved. We shipped Enduro MMXII tees to our supporters all over the country. Thank you so much!

Noah, we’ll be in touch to arrange for the bike to be delivered! #FistBump

This past weekend, Jhes and I participated in the 1st Annual Swamp Thing Alleycat Race in Houma, LA. This was my first time participating in an alleycat, and I am happy to report, it won’t be the last! Big thanks go out to Stu Babin and all the hardcore kids in Terrebone Parish for putting on such a great event. Jeremy Toups took home first place, as well as an entry into the We Are the Process “Conquest” Bike Giveaway. There are just two more weeks to reserve a chance to win the custom Brooklyn Machine Works Gangsta designed by We Are the Process. Head on over to WeAreTheProcess.com and purchase an ENDURO shirt while you still can. The winner will be announced Saturday, October 1st.

People always assume, that all we do is work on the brand We Are the Process. Not the case at all! Georgios & Larry work as graphic designers full time under the moniker, EC Design Co., and I help out where I can. I spend my days working as a Marine here in New Orleans and in my off-time, I like to go fast. When I am not on my bike tearing down the streets of New Orleans, I am behind the wheel of a race car making laps around the track. Last week, Team Breast Friends and I, competed in the 24 Hours of LeMons’, Cain’t Get Bayou, at No Problem Raceway in New Orleans. If you don’t know about the 24hrs of LeMons Series, in a nut shell, it’s endurance racing for $500 cars. Now let me stop you right there. Don’t let the price tag fool ya’. Our 1991 Honda Civic VTEC is set-up like a proper race car should be, and after 8 races, it keeps getting faster. Just imagine Mad Max meets Nascar for 24 straight hours… Hairy, scary, and so fun. One day (real soon) We Are the Process is going to have it’s own car and team. What we should name our team? Leave us an answer after the jump.