Sports technology has been advancing rapidly, with new innovations pushing the boundaries of performance. One of the most exciting developments is light manipulation, a groundbreaking approach that enhances athletes’ perception and reaction times.
OKKULO is at the forefront of this innovation. The company has worked with elite teams and athletes, achieving impressive results across sports like football and cricket. Recently, it published a research paper showcasing the measurable impact of their light-based training on performance.
To find out more, Insider Sport spoke with Mel O’Connor, Founder and CEO of OKKULO, to discuss the technology’s potential and its role in the future of sports.
Insider Sport: What inspired you to explore light manipulation as a tool for enhancing athletic performance?
Mel O’Connor: It was while researching how light worked through the lens of a camera that I stumbled on a science paper titled ‘Seeing movement in the dark’ by Professor Lyndsey T. Sharpe.
The paper highlighted how human perception was altered under certain light levels. This got me thinking, and my hypothesis was: if this is the case and we could create a space that provides the correct light levels, could we manipulate the perception of athletes? And when they go back to normal light levels, would they be much improved?
It just so happened quite serendipitously that Prof Lyndsey T. Sharpe was on a sabbatical in Newcastle (my home City) at Newcastle University and when I called the University, Prof Sharpe answered the phone. Within four weeks or so we had received a grant from Durham University and began a study with elite cricketers and our first rudimentary OKKULO environment.
We really didn’t know what would happen, but after only eight weeks – amounting to a combined training time of four-and-a-half hours – we managed to get almost all of the cricketers hitting the ball consistently at 99 mph. The only thing stopping us from going further was the ball machine limit of 99 mph; the cricketers could have far exceeded this speed.
All of the cricketers said they felt they could pick up the ball much earlier, felt much more reactive and felt they were moving much more fluidly. Little did we know the impact OKKULO could have on human performance in the future. It has become far more than we imagined, but this was an amazing first step.
Insider Sport: What are the next steps for OKKULO in integrating its technology into elite teams’ training programmes?
Mel O’Connor In the UK, we have developed a system that can be transported from club to club. It’s our OKKULO Performance LAB. It’s a way to highlight the OKKULO effect, and the clubs, coaches and players get to see the impact on performance first-hand.
We also test the players across six key visual pillars that have a direct impact on sports performance (the same key pillars that form the core of our latest research) and then re-test six weeks later.
Over this period, the club gets to see the significant changes in performance, understand the ease at which we integrate into a club without taking away time on the pitch, and then show them the improvement with clear, objective data. It’s the perfect scenario.
We have recently spent time with Leeds United and presented the data to the coaching staff, which has been incredibly positive. Leeds United can see the value we bring to the table and more.
In the US, we have set up the first OKKULO system dedicated to baseball and soccer at the MVP Cages in Mesa, Arizona. We have also partnered with Eric Chavez, the current NY Mets MLB hitting coach and former player for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, and Arizona Diamondbacks. It is a match made in heaven, and we have just had a blast out in Arizona.
This system will form the base for our US strategy and will see us invite teams, coaches, practitioners and players in the US to the facility. In January 2025, we are going to host an open day with a Q&A to present our latest research and also demo the system live. It’s a great way to kick-start the year.
We want the coaches to do exactly what they do on a day-to-day basis, but want them to do that in OKKULO. We ask that the teams get at least 30 minutes per week in OKKULO with the ideal being one hour per week, split into 4 x 15 minutes or 2 x 30 minutes.
You get far more from OKKULO and we do not take any time from the day-to-day training. This is why testing OKKULO is vital. Once they train under the lights it all becomes very clear.
Insider Sport: How do you anticipate teams will welcome this technology? Are teams less sceptical of modern training methods like these compared to the past?
Mel O’Connor: We have seen a change over the last five years for sure. When we first started, we really didn’t realise how hard it was going to be. We knew the technology worked, but we were not just selling OKKULO as a technology; we also had to sell vision training as a whole, which was really in its infancy.
We have seen clubs, sports scientists, coaches and players change their opinions and view the landscape as very different from when we first started. Vision, five years ago, was where data and analytics were 10 to 15 years ago.
Now, everyone sees the value in vision training, and we are very much helping to drive that. We have created a vision board of the best vision experts, whether they are sports optometrists, vision scientists, or vision analysis experts. It has really helped make the shift.
When speaking to clubs now, we can see them being much more receptive to OKKULO, and it’s only going to get easier in the future.
Insider Sport: How important is education in helping teams and coaching staff understand and implement OKKULO’s technology effectively?
Mel O’Connor: It is really important that our target clubs understand the impact we can make. We talk about vision, but really, OKKULO is a cerebral tool. OKKULO is far more than we thought it was many moons ago when we did the first tests in cricket.
OKKULO is an incredibly powerful tool for the coaching staff and the players. What we thought was a reaction tool is far more than that. OKKULO empowers the athletes and, post-training, provides the user with the ability to see their game much more efficiently.
We have improved the six key pillars that allow the user to see their game quicker, with more clarity, which in turn slows their game down when back on the pitch in normal light levels, measurably.
Knowing that means that OKKULO is a blank canvas for the coaches and players, and they treat it as a key part of their training. OKKULO is simple to use. We create an environment that allows us to control the light levels. This can be a retrofit of an existing space, or we can create an entirely new one. All the coaches have to do is replicate what they do on the pitch in OKKULO. The rest will happen.
Having the portable OKKULO system really does help to educate, and our board of vision experts are at hand to answer any questions and provide clear insights.
Insider Sport: Beyond expansion into the US and partnerships with academic institutions, what’s next for OKKULO in terms of research and global reach?
Mel O’Connor: We have so much more to research and have seen some incredible improvements in the wellbeing of athletes. For example, we have seen many cases where athletes with ADHD, cerebral trauma, and even dyspraxia have seen an improvement in their symptoms post-OKKULO.
We have put significant resources into delving deep into the brain of the athlete, with some exciting research programmes already planned for the coming year. It is our aim to show how OKKULO is a human performance tool and not just an athletic performance tool. Academia will play a significant role in the coming years. The future is incredibly exciting.
Insider Sport: Can you share any feedback or success stories from athletes or teams who’ve worked with OKKULO and noticed a tangible difference in their performance?
Mel O’Connor: Our first case study saw us work with goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky, then at Salford City FC. After we had worked with Vaclav, he was the second-best-performing goalkeeper in Europe.
He was a golden glove winner, with 23 clean sheets over the season, and his save percentage improved to 80% from 73%, and his clean sheet percentage from 38% up to 50%! His goals against went down to 24 in 34 games as opposed to 27 in 21 games. He was so much more reactive and could see the ball so much earlier.
We did the same with the Sunderland FC women’s number one, Claudia Moan. She also won the golden glove with 10 clean sheets out of 22 games, and her save percentage went to 81% (up from 70%) and her clean sheets rose to 45% (up from 14%) prior to the OKKULO intervention. These stats were strikingly similar to those of Vaclav Hladky.
In fact, the entire Sunderland Women’s team trained in OKKULO for the 23/24 season and finished the season third, having been second bottom the previous season.
We also worked with Luke O’Nien, the Sunderland men’s first team captain, and the club asked us to get him back quicker and sharper for the run into their promotion season in 23/24. In six days, and as soon as Luke could hit a ball, he returned to action and scored within 10 minutes or so.
The local press called it “Luke O’Nien’s stunning return” and really highlighted the impact we can have on rehab and bringing the players back to be much more effective.
In the US, we have our first OKKULO baseball system and our aforementioned new baseball ambassador, Eric Chavez. We plan to host many local pro MLB players in OKKULO prior to the upcoming season and do the same in baseball with what we have seen so far in soccer.
