## 4 Discussion
The athletes in this study achieved a mean response time of 0.6 \(\pm\) 0.1 s, placing them closer to elite performance levels, and being significantly faster than non-athletes. The descriptive analysis presented in this study provides valuable baseline data for future research on visual skills in athletes, laying the groundwork for the further exploration of sport-specific visual demands. The findings emphasize the necessity of developing tailored visual training programs to address the unique requirements of each sport, optimizing athletes' abilities to perform under varying conditions. Furthermore, the study highlights the critical role of intrinsic motivation in influencing athletic performance. Insights into this relationship can inform coaching strategies aimed at enhancing both athlete satisfaction and performance outcomes. These results underscore the importance of integrating advanced technologies and individualized training programs to optimize visual and oculomotor skills, aligning seamlessly with the special issue's focus on innovative trends in sports science. A notable strength of this study is its comprehensive assessment of a wide range of visual and oculomotor skills, facilitated by the use of standardized and reliable tests. The application of the digital COI-Sport Vision system ensured precise and consistent measurements, bolstering the validity of the findings. Moreover, the study's focus on federated university athletes offers novel insights into a specific population that has not been extensively studied, bridging a gap in the existing literature. However, the profile of this population lies between that of high-performance athletes and non-athletes, offering a degree of interest, albeit with limitations. No sample power calculation was conducted, which restricts the potential conclusions that can be drawn from the results. On the other hand, the sample size was relatively small and consisted exclusively of athletes from a single university, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to broader athletic populations. Furthermore, the cross-sectional design provides a snapshot of visual and oculomotor skills at a specific point in time, making it unsuitable for establishing causal relationships. The lack of longitudinal data also prevents an analysis of how visual skills evolve over time or how they may be influenced by consistent training and competition. Additionally, while logMAR charts are widely accepted as the standard for visual acuity assessment, this study employed the Tumbling E test due to its integration within the COI-Sport Vision system. This method ensured consistency across all evaluations and was well suited to the sports-focused context of the study, although future research could consider incorporating logMAR charts for broader comparability with clinical research. Finally, the psychological assessment used in this study was not a validated questionnaire, which limits the reliability of the self-reported data on performance perception. Future studies should consider using standardized and validated instruments to better explore the relationship between intrinsic motivation and athletic performance. These limitations highlight the need for cautious interpretation of the results and underline the importance of addressing these gaps in future research. To strengthen the evidence base, future studies should replicate this research with larger and more diverse samples, including athletes from various universities, sports disciplines, and levels of expertise. Expanding the sample size and diversity would enhance the generalizability and applicability of the findings. The decision to focus on federated athletes was based on their unique characteristics as a population. Federated athletes are typically engaged in structured training routines and regular competitive events, which place significant demands on their visual and oculomotor skills. These factors make them an ideal group for studying the relationship between these skills and athletic performance.