Evaluation of oculomotor response in relationship to sports performance

This study describes a unique testing method which correlates the speed of oculomotor response with athletic performance, injury, and rehabilitation. The test board is a 6 x 6-foot platform with a central 18-inch square panel and four differently colored 18-inch square panels located right, left, fore, and aft. In response to color cues from the computer monitor, the test subject moves to similarly colored squares on the platform returning to the central square as rapidly as possible. On return to this central panel, a new color is generated from a random series. The test subject again moves to the colored platform corresponding to the color indicated on the monitor until a series of 30 repetitions is completed. The groups tested were high school football and basketball, college football and basketball, and professional football teams. No statistically significant differences were noted between football and basketball. There was a significant difference between professional and amateur response times (P = 0.0001). Fifty percent of 180 amateur athletes had a response time greater than 2 SD slower than professional athletes. The response times may, therefore, be useful in determining athletic potential.