In this Deep Dive episode, the hosts break down the Sports Vision Pyramid — a five-level performance model built from decades of working with elite and professional athletes. Rather than relying solely on strength, speed, or technical skill, this framework prioritizes how athletes take in, process, and act on visual information under high-pressure, real-time conditions. Performance isn’t just about muscles or mechanics — it’s fundamentally about perception and decision-making.

The conversation begins by examining why the pyramid model starts with vision as its foundational layer. If the raw visual input isn’t sharp, fast, and accurate, then every higher-level skill suffers. Athletes cannot execute elite-level actions if they are processing incomplete or delayed visual information. The episode stresses that training the top of the pyramid without first optimizing lower levels is inefficient — and often a waste of coaching time and resources.

From vision clarity and contrast sensitivity, to depth perception, to decision-making, to motor execution, each level builds on the one below it. The hosts highlight that many pros compensate for subtle visual deficits with advanced instincts and mechanics—but once detected and corrected, even small improvements in foundational visual performance can deliver meaningful competitive gains.

The episode concludes with compelling empirical evidence from pro baseball: players with superior Level-1 visual performance (on the AVTS test) demonstrated significantly greater plate discipline and higher on-base rates, not from hitting harder, but from improved selectivity and decision-making. The message is clear — optimizing vision improves cognition, which improves execution, which wins games.

The takeaway? Whether you're an athlete or a business professional, elite performance begins at the foundation. Master the input — and the output takes care of itself.

• Vision is the foundational performance input — clarity + contrast sensitivity are Level 1.
• Testing must simulate real-world demands: brief, time-pressured visual stimuli.
• Each eye must be tested individually to identify asymmetries.
• Level 2: stereo vision — depth perception & spatial judgment.
• Level 3: visual-based decision-making — clarity reduces cognitive load and increases selectivity
• Level 4: motor execution — training here is inefficient if lower levels are weak.
• Level 5: on-field performance — the visible outcome of a strong foundation.
• Pro-level data: better foundational vision correlates with a higher on-base percentage via improved pitch selection.
• Training the top without fixing the base is like building athletic performance on sand.
• The model applies beyond sports — decision quality depends on the quality of input.

• 00:00 — Introduction to optimizing athletic performance
• 00:20 — Why vision matters more than strength/speed alone
• 00:45 — The Sports Vision Pyramid concept explained
• 01:10 — Importance of building from the bottom up
• 01:50 — Level 1: Visual acuity & contrast sensitivity
• 02:49 — Time-pressure visual testing and monocular testing
• 03:40 — AVTS testing: speed, clarity, contrast
• 04:28 — Even pros compensate for hidden visual deficits
• 05:11 — Level 2: Stereo vision & depth judgment
• 06:19 — Level 3: Vision-based decision-making
• 07:44 — Cognitive load and early pitch recognition
• 07:50 — Level 4: Visually-guided motor execution
• 08:48 — Why mechanics alone can’t fix...