New Sports Performance Center Trains Athletes' Eyes

A new sports performance center on Main Street in Madison trains athletes to improve their vision as well as their core strength and speed.

Inception Sports Performance opened in June in a new office building at 345 Main Street, inside Madison Medical & Sports Rehabilitation Center.

While there are weights, medicine balls and a batting and throwing cage, Megan Furstoss, director of sports performance for Inception, also trains athletes with "Vision Coach," a bulletin board-sized screen that flashes lights and records athletes' reaction times as they tap the lights.

Vision Coach runs various programs that could, for instance, call for only hitting lights of a certain color.

Sports vision training can improve depth perception, peripheral vision and reaction times with "awesome results," she said. While it might seem silly, people who train their eyes report finding themselves "zoning in more" come game time, she said.

The technology also can be used to test for concussions and help people retrain their eyes after suffering a concussion, she said.

Inception creates training programs based on an athlete's sport and position, and trains for all sports and any ability level, she said. It also emphasizes injury prevention, proper nutrition and hydration.