Neuro-Athletics Brain Training Drills
Train the brain like a muscle with contralateral, hand-eye and balance drills
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 75%
Nicola built Neuro Athletics on the insight that reaction training rewires the brain, not just the body. The core drill is throwing a tennis ball at a wall and catching it, which trains hand-eye coordination — the eye perceiving a target, the brain interpreting it, and the hand executing. Difficulty is layered on: standing on one leg forces constant readjustment, and contralateral setups (standing on the right leg while throwing with the right hand) make one hemisphere think and see while the opposite side moves, because the brain wires cross. Balance is trained on a board or slack block to strengthen the cerebellum, the 'mini brain' governing posture. An eye patch applies progressive overload to the uncovered eye, forcing it to scan and strengthen. The aim is to push the brain toward fatigue like a muscle.
Origin
Louisa Nicola founded Neuro Athletics in 2016 after noticing everyone trained athletes' speed and agility but no one trained their brains; she started with a tennis ball and a couple of lights.
Core principles
- 01The brain can be trained toward fatigue like any other system
- 02Left brain controls the right body and vice versa — contralateral drills work both at once
- 03You cannot have proper brain health without good balance
- 04Progressive overload applies to the eyes and the balance system, not just muscles
- 05Simple tools (a tennis ball, a wall, an eye patch) beat expensive gear
How to run it
- 1
Throw and catch a tennis ball off a wall
Throw a tennis ball at a wall and catch it repeatedly to train the see-interpret-execute loop of hand-eye coordination.
Pro tip This is the base drill everything else layers onto — you only need a ball and a wall.
- 2
Add a single-leg stance
Stand on one leg while throwing so you must constantly readjust balance between each catch, engaging the balance system as you train coordination.
- 3
Go contralateral
Stand on your right leg and throw with your right hand so the left brain has to think and see while the right side of the body produces the movement, working both hemispheres.
Pro tip Contralateral drills train the thinking side and the moving side simultaneously.
- 4
Progressively overload the eyes with an eye patch
Wear a pharmacy eye patch to block one eye so the uncovered eye must scan everything and gets stronger — progressive overload for vision.
Pro tip Strobe or quadrant goggles can black out sections of the visual field to strengthen the remaining quadrants.
- 5
Train balance to work the cerebellum
Stand on a balance board or slack block, removing supports over time to make it harder, training the cerebellum that governs posture and balance.
Pro tip Remove foam columns from a slack block progressively so there is less structure and more balance demand.
Watch out Do not combine an unstable board with sharp tasks like chopping food — it is a recipe for injury.
In the wild
Chris Williamson describes rehabbing a ruptured Achilles by standing on one leg while throwing a tennis ball at a wall, forcing constant readjustment. He progressed onto a slack block, pulling out foam columns so the deck grew less stable over time, and reports his balance and judgment improved dramatically.
→ Marked improvement in balance and judgment through progressively harder single-leg throwing drills.
Common mistakes
Only training skills and ball work
Coaches drill sport skills but ignore the underlying brain systems for reaction, vision and balance that actually cap performance.
Neglecting balance training
Skipping balance work leaves the cerebellum untrained, and you cannot have proper brain health without good balance.
Reaching for expensive gadgets first
People assume they need special equipment when a tennis ball, a wall and a pharmacy eye patch deliver the core stimulus.
Is it for you?
Best for
Athletes and anyone rehabbing coordination who wants measurable gains in reaction time and balance.
Not ideal for
People seeking a passive, effortless cognitive fix with no daily practice.
From the transcript
“if you want to do any anything for your brain in terms of exercise and train it towards fatigue you want to be doing you…”
“you can't have proper brain health without having good balance”
“if you're going to block out the right eye means the left eye is going to get stronger... so it's progressive overload for your eye”
From the episode
How To Maximise Your Brain's Performance - Louisa Nicola - #425
Louisa Nicola