GOALKEEPERS have faster brains than the rest of us, according to a study.
Shot-stoppers process sights and sounds quicker than outfield players and the public in general.
GettyGoalkeepers like Mary Earps have faster brains than the rest of us, a study has found[/caption]
The so-called “temporal binding window” for professional ’keepers averaged 115 milliseconds (ms) compared to 150ms for their team-mates and 192ms for untrained people, tests showed.
Lioness Mary Earps showed her rapid reactions in the penalty save that kept England in August’s Women’s World Cup Final.
Dublin City University scientists used flashing images and beeping sounds to test 60 volunteers.
Goalies were best at combining signals from eyes and ears, and acting on them.
They were also better at using only partial information from a sense.
It means they can listen to save a shot when their view is blocked and calculate which way to dive for a penalty in a split second.
Study author Dr David McGovern said: “Football players and fans will be familiar with the idea that goalkeepers are just ‘different’ from the rest of us.
This study may actually be the first time that we have proven scientific evidence to back that up.
“Unlike other football players, they have to make thousands of very fast decisions based on limited or incomplete sensory information.”
He said more research was needed to determine whether children born with this ability end up as keepers or if it is honed through years of training.