The research behind E1™ and CLEAR®.

Seeing information is not the same as learning it.

Learning is not the same as retaining it.

Retaining it is not the same as retrieving it under pressure.

Knowing it is not the same as executing it.

This is not an argument against the report. It is an argument for using the report well. A cognitive score can offer valuable insight into an athlete's abilities; it cannot, by itself, capture the entire person or prescribe every step of development.

The goal is straightforward: preserve the standards that make great athletes, and improve how we teach each individual to meet them.

The Standard Remains

Discipline. Commitment. Pride. Effort. Attitude. Ownership. These are not old ideas to discard. They are the foundation. The opportunity is to make instruction more responsive to the individual without lowering expectations.

01 / The Football Problem

One play. Multiple demands.

Consider a quarterback preparing for third and six. He must recognize a defensive presentation, recall the protection, communicate the adjustment, make a decision as the picture changes, and coordinate his feet, eyes, and throw. The play may also unfold amid noise, uncertainty, and pressure.

A missed protection does not necessarily mean the quarterback lacks intelligence, discipline, or effort. It may reflect a gap in knowledge, recall, communication, timing, recognition, execution, or several interacting factors. Those possibilities require different coaching responses.

The Development Sequence

A play's outcome alone cannot identify which stage needs attention. The athlete's response over time gives us a clearer picture.

02 / What The Science Supports

Measure. Teach. Revisit. Test.

The cognitive report

Tools such as S2 Cognition measure selected cognitive capabilities relevant to fast moving sports situations. S2 positions its results as inputs for personalized on field development. That makes it a report in the truest sense: it exists to help an athlete develop. No single test is a complete measure of an athlete's football knowledge, character, learning history, or future potential. [1]

Learning and memory

Retrieval practice (having learners actively recall information rather than only review it) and distributed practice have substantial research support. Explaining a concept aloud can be useful when it requires active recall and elaboration. It does not establish that a person has one fixed "auditory learning style." [2, 3]

Pressure and state

Pressure can change attention, appraisal, and performance. A 2025 review of 62 studies found a modest average performance advantage associated with challenge versus threat states across multiple domains. That does not mean a coach can diagnose an athlete's internal state from a single facial expression or that a breathing technique guarantees a result. [4]

Sensory and physical systems

Everything the brain learns arrives through the senses. The brain does not create it. It organizes it.

The ear comes first. Its balance nerve is the first cranial nerve to finish developing in the womb, and it sits inside one of the densest bones in the body. [6] Balance feeds memory. Lose it, and the hippocampus shrinks and spatial memory fails. [5]

The Ear is first.

Shh… hear it.

The Important Distinction

Established research can justify testing an intervention. It does not automatically validate a proprietary scoring system, a precise prescription, or a claim that one method caused an athlete's improvement. That proof requires its own outcome data.

03 / The Development Opportunity

The person first. The pathway individualized.

A report should begin a better conversation, not end one. It can help identify questions for coaches and athletes to test together: What does the athlete already own? What breaks down? Which instruction helps? What survives a week later? What transfers from a quiet meeting to a moving, noisy game?

E1 / Stanfield OS

E1 and Stanfield OS connect cognitive information with observed behavior, sport specific knowledge, individualized learning tools, physical preparation, communication, and ongoing feedback. This is a development framework and an applied coaching approach.

In Practice, That Can Include

• Film and recognition: Identify the relevant picture, then explain the evidence for the call.
• Active retrieval: Name fronts, protections, or decisions from memory before seeing the answer.
• Progressive conditions: Revisit skills after delays, change the defensive look, shorten the window, and add realistic distractions when appropriate.
• Field transfer: Link recognition to feet, eyes, communication, timing, and execution.
• State and response: Train controllable routines for refocusing after errors and preparing for the next action.
• Feedback: Track accuracy, speed, consistency, and durability instead of relying only on a single game outcome.

The athlete should increasingly own the skill without depending on the tool. Technology can support development; it should not replace the athlete's ability to recognize, decide, and act.

04 / Credit, Scope & Responsibility

Build on what works.

A Note of Appreciation

Thank you to Brandon Ally and the team at S2 Cognition for their support and the valuable perspective their reports bring to athlete development. Their work helped inform important questions about visual processing and performance. We respect that contribution and the good hearts behind S2's commitment to player development. [1]

The question we continue asking is: What do we do next with what we learn?

Football First. Every Sport in View.

Football offers a concrete setting for examining recognition, retention, communication, decision making, and execution. Comparable questions arise in basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, and other sports. But each sport has its own perceptual demands and technical requirements. Transferable principles should be tested in each setting rather than assumed.

Disclaimer

This paper advocates an evidence informed, athlete centered approach to individualized development. No single cognitive test determines potential, and no one learning technique works best for every person.

The Invitation

To athletes, coaches, researchers, and developers: examine the evidence, improve the questions, measure what changes, and share what helps people grow. Great standards and better methods can coexist.

The person first. The standard never lowered. Development never finished.

Research & Context

Sources and transparency

Selected research and public context are provided so readers can independently evaluate the foundation. This is an educational position paper.

1. [1] S2 Cognition. "How S2 Works" and official website. Describes evaluation and individualized on field training. https://www.s2cognition.com/how-s2-works
2. [2] Dunlosky, J., et al. (2013). Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266
3. [3] Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-Enhanced Learning: Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
4. [4] Hase, A., et al. (2025). The effects of challenge and threat states on performance outcomes: An updated review and meta-analysis of recent findings. EXCLI Journal, 24, 151–176. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2024-7995
5. [5] Brandt, T., et al. (2005). Vestibular loss causes hippocampal atrophy and impaired spatial memory in humans. Brain, 128(11), 2732–2741. https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/1601652
6. [6] Božanić Urbančič, N., Battelino, S., & Vozel, D. (2024). Appropriate Vestibular Stimulation in Children and Adolescents: A Prerequisite for Normal Cognitive, Motor Development and Bodily Homeostasis: A Review. Children, 11(1), 2. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/1/2

Publication Notes

No individual athlete's confidential report, private conversations, or identifiable training record is included. No endorsement of E1 or Stanfield OS by S2 Cognition is implied. All third party marks belong to their respective owners.

About the Work

Developed through Stanfield OS, informed by quarterback coaching, human performance, classroom education, and athlete centered development. The purpose is not to replace coaches or assessments; it is to improve how information becomes durable, transferable skill.