How S2 Works | S2 Cognition
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DISCOVER HOW YOU PROCESS THE GAME

Five components make up the complete picture of human performance. While physical attributes such as strength and speed help prospects stand out, it’s their unique cognitive abilities and in-game decision-making – their “instincts” – that truly separates the good from the great.

S2 defines what was once undefinable. 

The S2 Eval uncovers an athlete's invisible skill sets and the "whys" behind their performance.
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MECHANICS
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TACTICAL
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PHYSICAL
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PSYCHOLOGICAL

HOW IT WORKS

S2 Cognition helps athletes better understand why they excel and struggle in certain areas of their game by revealing how their brain is wired to perform. The S2 Eval is the only sports evaluation that scientifically measures an athlete’s game-speed cognitive abilities down to a millisecond level – and provides tailored, on-field drills designed by top-level coaches to measurably improve performance.

STEP ONE:

TAKE THE S2 EVAL

"The next frontier in developing yourself as an athlete." 
- Kirk Cousins

What assets does a player possess? Cognition is one to consider. But understanding an athlete's cognition doesn't just make them valuable - it is also a powerful tool for player development. Once you understand a player's cognitive abilities, you can tailor their training to get the most out of each session.

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STEP TWO:

GET YOUR REPORT

The results of the S2 Eval are delivered in the S2 Score Report. Here, individual sport-specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses are revealed. This report will give you the roadmap for understanding situations, schemes, and areas in which an athlete will excel or struggle. Now you can see exactly what drills will work and why. Save time and BUILD2WIN!

YOUR PERSONALIZED REPORT ALSO UNLOCKS...

+ Relationships between scores and performance

+ Player development strategies and tactics

+ Conceptual frameworks on how to design drills

+ How you stack up against your peers

STEP THREE:

BUILD YOUR SKILLS WITH THE S2 PLAYBOOK

S2 Cognition gives athletes & teams an inside track to reaching the next level – showing them how to put in the work in a more productive way and play to their strengths on the field, court, & ice. 

 

Athletes and coaches will soon have online access to The S2 Playbook for continued education and on-field drill training videos.

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S2 works directly with college and pro coaches to develop the drills used on the field, court, or ice, with multiple levels for player progression. 
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WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT

Throughout the entire history of sports, coaches and athletes have tried to find ways to analyze talent, predict performance, and gain a competitive edge. However, until recently, sports evaluations have been a very loose “science” that lacked precision or the ability to predict on-field results. S2 Cognition changed the game in 2015 by providing coaches and athletes with a scientifically proven roadmap to evaluating and improving performance.

Eliminate the guesswork.

Provide player development strategies based on how your brain is uniquely wired.

Millisecond-level precision.

Using special equipment, S2 Precisely measures game-speed decision-making down to the millisecond level.

No gimmicks.
No devices. 

No problems with transfer effects. The S2 Eval and training is based on validated science, literature, and data. And it's done on the field, court, or ice.

More accurate than the rest.

Predicts in-game performance more accurately than IQ measures, concussion protocols, and iPad-based assessments. 

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Explore how S2’s scientific approach to improvement applies to your sport or skill

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S2 helps athletes, coaches, athletic directors, and scouts from youth to pro with a sport-specific cognitive evaluation used for recruitment and player development training.
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DEDICATED TO EDUCATION

Dive Deeper Into Sports Cognition with S2U

Our product and company are constantly evolving. We continue to learn, test, and study the science and effectiveness behind S2. S2U is an extension of this growth. Hear from industry experts on the S2 Podcast, read the latest blog for hot takes on relevant topics, or check out white papers and peer-reviewed articles that dive deeper into the science behind it all.

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Coincidence that two college programs that use S2 won it all? 

How top coaches & talent evaluators use S2 Cognition.

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Did Brock Purdy really come out of nowhere?

How S2 Scores predicted the rise of sports’ latest “Diamond in the rough.”

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The S2 Podcast: Introducing Cognition in Sports

Learn about how it all began & the impact of cognition in the sports world.

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More than just sports

Find out how S2 is helping police departments create a safe, more responsible force.

FAQS

  • What is the S2 Evaluation?
    S2 Cognition attempts to quantify split-second reaction times to visual stimuli on a computer screen. The cognitive skills measured by the S2 evaluation are the same cognitive skills engaged on the field, court, or ice. Our evaluation is devoid of racial bias, it does not measure IQ, intelligence or classroom type knowledge, and it cannot be studied for. It requires simple reactions to quick moving visual stimuli on the screen.
  • What does my athlete have to do?
    Athletes sit in front of a laptop computer and engage in reaction time based tasks for 35-45 minutes. This time includes general instructions, specific instructions for each task, and a practice to make sure the athlete understands what we are asking him/her to do. Depending on the sport, there will be 5 to 8 game-like tasks that each take about 4-6 minutes.
  • Who gets the results?
    Only the teams we are under contract within each sport will get the results of the athlete evaluation. Please contact us for a list of the teams.
  • How often should I take The S2 Eval?
    The cognitive skills measured in The S2 Evaluation are very stable over time, especially past the age of 18. At younger ages, some of the skills can change incrementally as your brain develops. We generally recommend re-testing every two years. However, some athletes choose to test once a year so that they can see how they stack up to their peers at each age level or against the top high school or collegiate players. Keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to get better on the field, not necessarily better on The S2 Eval. The S2 Eval provides a road map for unlocking your invisible edge and targeted training to improve on the field.
  • Should I only train my weaker areas, or should I also train my stronger areas?
    Simply – train both. Train the weaker areas to minimize any negative impact on your performance, and fine tune your stronger areas so that you take maximum advantage of these skills during performance. Working on weaker areas is always more challenging, but also represents the biggest opportunity to improve performance. We caution against setting expectations too high; these cognitive skills take lots of time to move the needle. Keep reminding yourself that small, incremental changes in cognitive performance can have a big impact on the field. Also, don’t neglect your strongest areas. Make sure to work on them and challenge them as much as you can to keep them sharp and tuned for optimal performance.
  • What's the best way to train these skills?
    There are many brain training gadgets, gimmicks, and shortcuts out there that promise to make someone a better hitter in a short time with minimal effort. Unfortunately, very little work on a computer, tablet, or phone screen will “transfer” to better performance on the field. Lots of science shows that the best way to train and improve performance is to practice a particular skill more intentionally in a very similar context as you expect to perform. In other words, the best way to train these cognitive systems is by working them on the field or in the cage in ways that are similar to how they are used during a game. The training context doesn’t have to be perfectly identical to an actual game, but should have a lot of similar features, and drill progressions should always be designed so that you are moving from a context with some similarities to a context that is highly similar to an actual game. At S2, we are big proponents of designing smarter drills for the cage and field that isolate and train split-second decisions. We are also proponents of designing drills that link what you see and decide to what you actually do – that is, train your brain with a bat in your hand rather than with an ipad in your hand. If you want to make faster, better decisions in the batter’s box, you need to approach your hitting drills differently by challenging your decision skills. If you only take batting practice off a machine that throws a constant speed in the same location, don’t expect to become a more selective, disciplined hitter at the plate. In your report and report package are drills and drill concepts to get the ball rolling
  • How often should I train these skills?
    Simply – train both. Train the weaker areas to minimize any negative impact on your performance, and fine tune your stronger areas so that you take maximum advantage of these skills during performance. Working on weaker areas is always more challenging, but also represents the biggest opportunity to improve performance. We caution against setting expectations too high; these cognitive skills take lots of time to move the needle. Keep reminding yourself that small, incremental changes in cognitive performance can have a big impact on the field. Also, don’t neglect your strongest areas. Make sure to work on them and challenge them as much as you can to keep them sharp and tuned for optimal performance.
  • How does S2 compare to other player evaluation tests like the Wonderlic?
    Tests like the Wonderlic measure player IQ. S2 measures how player’s brains function in real-time – how players react and process information in ways that are relevant to their sport. S2 testing data has far more significant correlation to on-field results. Furthermore, S2 Cognition leverages its data to create training programs specific to an athlete’s sport and natural abilities. Evidence of the success of S2’s approach continues to build daily.
  • How are other athletes, teams, and coaches using S2?
    S2 Cognition is currently used by many top professional and collegiate sports organizations to aid in talent evaluation, player development, and improving their schemes around the skillsets of individual athletes. Individual athletes at all levels – from youth to pro – leverage their S2 data to improve their training. Many recent championship-winning players and coaches have attributed S2 as a significant contributor to their program’s success.
  • How are professional and college programs using S2 with their players?
    S2 is being used by top NCAA, MLB, NFL, and MLS teams and programs around the country. The teams not only use S2 in the selection and recruitment decisions, but perhaps more importantly, in how they develop their players. It gives teams the insight they need about why and how each player excels and struggles at the plate and in the field so that they can develop customized training and development plans for each athlete. Teams are using drills developed by S2 and top-level coaches to help their players improve their performance.
  • What is the S2 Evaluation?
    S2 Cognition attempts to quantify split-second reaction times to visual stimuli on a computer screen. The cognitive skills measured by the S2 evaluation are the same cognitive skills engaged on the field, court, or ice. Our evaluation is devoid of racial bias, it does not measure IQ, intelligence or classroom type knowledge, and it cannot be studied for. It requires simple reactions to quick moving visual stimuli on the screen.
  • What does my athlete have to do?
    Athletes sit in front of a laptop computer and engage in reaction time based tasks for 35-45 minutes. This time includes general instructions, specific instructions for each task, and a practice to make sure the athlete understands what we are asking him/her to do. Depending on the sport, there will be 5 to 8 game-like tasks that each take about 4-6 minutes.
  • Who gets the results?
    Only the teams we are under contract within each sport will get the results of the athlete evaluation. Please contact us for a list of the teams.
  • How often should I take The S2 Eval?
    The cognitive skills measured in The S2 Evaluation are very stable over time, especially past the age of 18. At younger ages, some of the skills can change incrementally as your brain develops. We generally recommend re-testing every two years. However, some athletes choose to test once a year so that they can see how they stack up to their peers at each age level or against the top high school or collegiate players. Keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to get better on the field, not necessarily better on The S2 Eval. The S2 Eval provides a road map for unlocking your invisible edge and targeted training to improve on the field.
  • Should I only train my weaker areas, or should I also train my stronger areas?
    Simply – train both. Train the weaker areas to minimize any negative impact on your performance, and fine tune your stronger areas so that you take maximum advantage of these skills during performance. Working on weaker areas is always more challenging, but also represents the biggest opportunity to improve performance. We caution against setting expectations too high; these cognitive skills take lots of time to move the needle. Keep reminding yourself that small, incremental changes in cognitive performance can have a big impact on the field. Also, don’t neglect your strongest areas. Make sure to work on them and challenge them as much as you can to keep them sharp and tuned for optimal performance.
  • What's the best way to train these skills?
    There are many brain training gadgets, gimmicks, and shortcuts out there that promise to make someone a better hitter in a short time with minimal effort. Unfortunately, very little work on a computer, tablet, or phone screen will “transfer” to better performance on the field. Lots of science shows that the best way to train and improve performance is to practice a particular skill more intentionally in a very similar context as you expect to perform. In other words, the best way to train these cognitive systems is by working them on the field or in the cage in ways that are similar to how they are used during a game. The training context doesn’t have to be perfectly identical to an actual game, but should have a lot of similar features, and drill progressions should always be designed so that you are moving from a context with some similarities to a context that is highly similar to an actual game. At S2, we are big proponents of designing smarter drills for the cage and field that isolate and train split-second decisions. We are also proponents of designing drills that link what you see and decide to what you actually do – that is, train your brain with a bat in your hand rather than with an ipad in your hand. If you want to make faster, better decisions in the batter’s box, you need to approach your hitting drills differently by challenging your decision skills. If you only take batting practice off a machine that throws a constant speed in the same location, don’t expect to become a more selective, disciplined hitter at the plate. In your report and report package are drills and drill concepts to get the ball rolling
  • How often should I train these skills?
    Simply – train both. Train the weaker areas to minimize any negative impact on your performance, and fine tune your stronger areas so that you take maximum advantage of these skills during performance. Working on weaker areas is always more challenging, but also represents the biggest opportunity to improve performance. We caution against setting expectations too high; these cognitive skills take lots of time to move the needle. Keep reminding yourself that small, incremental changes in cognitive performance can have a big impact on the field. Also, don’t neglect your strongest areas. Make sure to work on them and challenge them as much as you can to keep them sharp and tuned for optimal performance.
  • How does S2 compare to other player evaluation tests like the Wonderlic?
    Tests like the Wonderlic measure player IQ. S2 measures how player’s brains function in real-time – how players react and process information in ways that are relevant to their sport. S2 testing data has far more significant correlation to on-field results. Furthermore, S2 Cognition leverages its data to create training programs specific to an athlete’s sport and natural abilities. Evidence of the success of S2’s approach continues to build daily.
  • How are other athletes, teams, and coaches using S2?
    S2 Cognition is currently used by many top professional and collegiate sports organizations to aid in talent evaluation, player development, and improving their schemes around the skillsets of individual athletes. Individual athletes at all levels – from youth to pro – leverage their S2 data to improve their training. Many recent championship-winning players and coaches have attributed S2 as a significant contributor to their program’s success.
  • How are professional and college programs using S2 with their players?
    S2 is being used by top NCAA, MLB, NFL, and MLS teams and programs around the country. The teams not only use S2 in the selection and recruitment decisions, but perhaps more importantly, in how they develop their players. It gives teams the insight they need about why and how each player excels and struggles at the plate and in the field so that they can develop customized training and development plans for each athlete. Teams are using drills developed by S2 and top-level coaches to help their players improve their performance.
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