'Corner taken quickly…' not many players would have seen it, but Trent Alexander-Arnold spotted the pass, and the rest is history.
Two years on from that iconic night in Europe, the full-back – who is one of the brightest stars in football – has been taking his game to the next level by working with Red Bull on his vision ahead of a huge summer of sport.
Created by Red Bull, a full-length feature follows Trent's journey as he has his eyes fully opened to the power of vision and the huge impact it can have on on-field performance. From neuro-tracker testing to picking out passes in virtual reality, viewers will be able to get an unrivalled insight into the body and mind of one of the world's best young players as he continues to hone his craft.
Reflecting on the opportunity, Trent commented: “I'm always looking for new ways to train and improve my game, so when Red Bull came to me with this opportunity I said yes immediately. Marginal gains are huge in any sport, especially football, and when you're competing against the world's best players, even a one percent improvement can make a huge difference."
To help guide Trent, Red Bull enlisted the support of Dr. Laby, who is the Director of Sports and Performance Vision at SportsVisionNY. The New York-based doctor started his work in sports vision more than three decades ago and has since gathered a database of several thousand professional and Olympic-level athletes. Alongside his work at SportsVision, Dr. Laby lectures at the Harvard Medical School – with his methods being described as the equivalent of 'Moneyball' for vision.
Trent began testing earlier this year, with Dr. Laby assessing areas such as depth perception, basic visual function, hand-eye co-ordination, reaction time and target tracking. Following initial testing, Trent then underwent a bespoke six-week training programme devised by Dr. Laby which included AVTS Vision Tests, work with a neurotrainer and even juggling. The programme was completely tailored to Trent and designed to give him a fresh perspective on how he uses his eyes on the pitch.
The improvements in his eyesight have been tangible – noticeably he now has sharper vision (up by 44%), has increased his visual concentration and multiple-object tracking ability (up by 241%), and has quicker reaction and processing time (36% increase). It was also found that as a direct result of the training, Trent's vision is now as good as humanly possible – 20:10 vision. However, building on these already impressive improvements, the defender is determined to continue the vision work during the seasons to come.
Looking back at the success of the programme, Trent said: “In football, it's so important to be two steps ahead of your competition, and the training that I've been doing has made me value that even more. Working with Red Bull on this experiment has shown me that vision is such an important part of the game, and that your eyes can be trained and improved on as much as anything else. I'm really grateful to have had this opportunity to learn from the best in Dr. Laby, and I've promised him I'm definitely going to keep up the training!"
Speaking of his work with Trent, Dr. Laby said: “When I first spoke to him, he hadn't had an eye exam for over a decade! As expected, Trent had good basic vision results but when we challenged him, we found limitations in some areas to which we directed our training programme. He is a unique athlete in that he is young and relatively new to elite football but has the drive and dedication of a seasoned veteran. I've worked with many professional athletes and only rarely have come across someone so dedicated to his sport as Trent."
Q & A WITH LIVERPOOL STAR TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
Q: How valuable has it been to work with someone as proven in their field as Dr. Laby?
It's been amazing to work with Dr. Laby. [He is] someone who's so experienced in his field, someone who's worked with world-class athletes and talent all over the world. I'm extremely privileged to be able to work with him and Red Bull on this project.
Q: What is it that you made you want to work with Dr. Laby on your vision?
I was really interested when I started to talk to Red Bull about the project as my vision isn't an aspect I've worked on before. I don't think anyone in football has fully, so it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.
Q: What's been your biggest take-away from the experience?
I've been doing training on things like multiple target tracking, timing, multitasking, and contrast sensitivity [as well]. I'm sure everything has had a positive impact on my game but the biggest thing I would say is the multiple target tracking. It makes the most sense, focusing on one point and being able to see things that are going on around you and kind of spotting the red dots, which will be my teammates on the pitch.
Q: Why are marginal gains so important in football?
Marginal gains are huge in any sport, especially football. In a field that's so tight and so heavily contested with amazing athletes and brains, it's important to find the little 'one percenters' that other people aren't doing, and I think we've definitely found one here.
Q: Has this made you appreciate the need to be two steps ahead of your opponents? And has it made you look at your game differently?
In football, it's so important to be two steps ahead and I think the sports vision training that I've been doing has really helped me value that even more. The experience has made me realise that your eyes can be trained and improved on as much as any other aspect of the body.I think working with Red Bull on this sports vision project has really made me realise how important vision is throughout the world of sport - especially football.
Q: What do you think makes the perfect pass and what's your favourite assist to date?
For me, it would be vision, execution, timing, weight of pass, distance, strength, technique. [I'd say] at home against Bournemouth, 17/18 season.
Q: Who are your favourite passers in the game?
I look up to Messi and De Bruyne in terms of passing in football.
Q: Is there anyone in the Liverpool or England squad who you most admire for their overall vision?
I admire Thiago's vision. In the England team, a great passer would be Phil Foden. Harry Kane is a very good passer of the ball.
Q: Who is the best player to pass to in Liverpool and England?
The best player to pass to is [Roberto] Bobby Firmino. He's got a touch like an angel so doesn't matter how you give it to him! Again, I'd probably say Phil Foden is the best at England to pass to. Amazing, delicate touch.
Q: Could you pick your dream five-a-side team based solely on vision?
Ah that's tough … well me especially after this project!! And then I'd say Gerrard, Alonso, Messi, De Bruyne. Actually, it's between De Bruyne or Beckham! I need a six-man team!
Q: You've mentioned before that Steven Gerrard was an idol. Can you pick out what made him so good?
I think what made Steven Gerrard so good was decisiveness, if that makes sense. He never did anything just for the sake of it. He did it with a purpose and did it with intensity. So, I would say decisiveness.
Q:Are there any sports people outside of football that you admire?
Top three would be Usain Bolt, Michael Jordan and Tom Brady.
Q: Do you think that more players will look into sports vision in order to gain advantages?
After people see the experiment and how it's happened, I would definitely say more players will be interested in sports vision.
Do you think VAR has meant that everyone has to be a better passer?
Yeah, I would say since VAR there's definitely been a need to make the pass a little bit more perfect in terms of weight and timing. It's more timing than anything – it puts an emphasis on timing.
To watch 'Trent's Vision' in full head to Red Bull TV: www.redbull.co.uk/trentsvision
