{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]],"date-time":"2026-03-28T00:32:00Z","timestamp":1774657920130,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,3]],"date-time":"2022-09-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1662163200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The purpose of the present study was to examine whether a visual stimuli program during soccer training can affect reaction time (RT), cognitive function, and physical fitness in adolescent soccer players. Thirty-eight male soccer players aged 10\u201315 were randomly assigned to either the intervention (Group A) or the control group (Group B). At baseline and at the end of the 6-month study FITLIGHT Trainer, the Cognitive Function Scanner Mobile Test Suite, a Virtual Reality (VR) game, and the ALPHA\u2014Fitness and the Eurofit test batteries were used to measure participants\u2019 abilities. After the baseline assessment, Group A followed their regular soccer training combined with a visual stimuli program, while Group B continued their regular soccer training program alone for 6 months. At the end of the 6-month study, Group A showed statistically significant improvements in simple RT by 11.8% (p = 0.002), repeated sprints by 13.4% (p \u2264 0.001), and Pen-to-Point Cognitive Function by 71.62% (p &lt; 0.001) and 72.51% for dominant and non-dominant hands, respectively. However, a between-groups analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in most of the measurements studied. In conclusion, a visual stimuli training program does not seem to add any value to the traditional soccer training program for adolescents. Nevertheless, this study helps to underline the potential of newly emerging technology as a tool for the assessment of RT.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s22176680","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,8]],"date-time":"2022-09-08T04:18:32Z","timestamp":1662610712000},"page":"6680","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":46,"title":["The Effects of a Visual Stimuli Training Program on Reaction Time, Cognitive Function, and Fitness in Young Soccer Players"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"given":"Georgia","family":"Theofilou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Sports Medicine, Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), P.C. 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3457-1333","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioannis","family":"Ladakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Computing, Medical Informatics and Biomedical\u2014Imaging Technologies, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, P.C. 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]},{"given":"Charikleia","family":"Mavroidi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Sports Medicine, Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), P.C. 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9783-6757","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vasileios","family":"Kilintzis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Computing, Medical Informatics and Biomedical\u2014Imaging Technologies, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, P.C. 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9860-9249","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Theodoros","family":"Mirachtsis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, 424 Military Hospital, P.C. 56429 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8915-6658","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioanna","family":"Chouvarda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Computing, Medical Informatics and Biomedical\u2014Imaging Technologies, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, P.C. 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5023-2542","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Evangelia","family":"Kouidi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Sports Medicine, Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), P.C. 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nascimento, H., Martinez-Perez, C., Alvarez-Peregrina, C., and S\u00e1nchez-Tena, M.A. (2020). 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