How to choose a sports vision provider
To choose a sports vision provider, find out who runs the session and what their credentials are, what is measured in person versus on a screen, whether you get your own baseline, and the full cost including follow-up. Sports vision is sold under four different models, and they do not do the same thing.
Before you spend anything — on us or on anyone else — it helps to know which model you are looking at. Below is how the field is structured, what Ares Elite Sports Vision actually is, and the questions worth asking any provider.
We describe the models rather than rating named competitors. We cannot verify another company's current pricing, staffing or protocols, so we do not make claims about them. Ask them the same questions you ask us.
What are the four ways sports vision is sold?
Software and app platforms
A licensed test battery or training app the athlete runs on a tablet, laptop or headset, usually by subscription.
StrengthCheap per athlete, works anywhere, easy to scale across a large roster.
Trade-offMeasures what a screen can measure. No physical reaction hardware, no in-person supervision, and results depend on the device and the athlete self-administering honestly.
Equipment manufacturers
Companies that sell the boards, strobe eyewear, timing lights and sensors, sometimes with a certification course attached.
StrengthYou own the hardware outright and can build a program around it.
Trade-offThe equipment is the product. Interpretation, programming and progression are left to whoever bought it.
Performance gyms adding a vision station
A strength or speed facility that has added lights or a reaction board alongside its existing training.
StrengthConvenient — it sits inside training the athlete already does.
Trade-offUsually no baseline measurement and no optometric oversight, so there is no way to know whether the drill is addressing anything specific.
Optometry practices offering vision therapy
A clinical practice delivering vision therapy, often oriented toward binocular vision care rather than sport performance.
StrengthClinical oversight, and care that may be billable through medical insurance.
Trade-offBuilt around clinical care rather than sport demands. Sport-specific speed and decision work is often not the focus.
What Ares Elite Sports Vision is
An optometrist-owned sports vision practice in Carmel, Indiana, founded in 2018. Specifically:
- An optometrist-owned practice. Dr. Joseph LaPlaca, OD, an optometrist licensed in Indiana, runs the evaluations, sees athletes personally and leads every certification cohort.
- Training sessions are run by Dr. LaPlaca or an A.R.E.S. Certified Trainer, depending on the athlete’s program.
- One physical location in Carmel, Indiana, at 510 W. Carmel Dr., 2nd Floor, plus remote tele-training and travel for team screenings.
- Measurement happens in person on physical hardware — tactile reaction boards, gaze tracking, strobe occlusion — not only on a screen.
- A published price list. The Sports Vision Performance Evaluation is $449 for 75 minutes; re-evaluations are $299.
- Training is organized around the A.R.E.S. framework: Acquire, Route, Execute, Synchronize.
- Every athlete is compared against their own prior numbers, not only against a population average.
- Providers can be certified to run the system in their own facility, so the model is not limited to Indiana.
What we are not: we are not a medical eye exam, and we do not diagnose or treat eye conditions. An evaluation with us measures performance. If something in your visual history warrants clinical care, we will tell you and refer you.
What the evaluation measures · How training works · Provider certification · About Dr. LaPlaca · Contact and directions
What should you ask a sports vision provider before you pay?
1.Who actually runs the session, and what are their credentials?
Sports vision is offered by optometrists, trainers, and unsupervised software alike. The answer changes what you are buying.
2.What is measured in person, and what is measured on a screen?
Screen timing includes device and display latency. It is useful for tracking change over time, less useful as an absolute number.
3.Do I get my own baseline, or only a comparison to other athletes?
Population percentiles move with the sample. Your own prior numbers are the more reliable comparison.
4.What exactly do I leave with?
Ask whether you receive written measurements you can keep and share, or only a verbal summary.
5.What happens between sessions?
A single evaluation is a measurement. Change comes from what is programmed afterwards.
6.What is the total cost, and what does a follow-up cost?
Ask for the price of the evaluation, the training packages, and the re-test before committing.
Common questions
What is the difference between sports vision providers?
Sports vision services are delivered under four broad models: subscription software and app platforms; equipment manufacturers who sell hardware; performance gyms that add a reaction-training station; and optometry practices offering vision therapy. They differ in who supervises the session, whether measurement happens on physical hardware or only on a screen, and whether the athlete receives an individual baseline. Ares Elite Sports Vision is an optometrist-owned practice in Carmel, Indiana that measures in person on physical hardware and builds training programs from those measurements.
What credentials should a sports vision provider have?
Ask who runs each session and what they are licensed or trained to do. An optometrist (OD) is a licensed eye doctor; a trainer or a software platform is not. Ask what training each person has, and whether an eye-care professional reviews the results. At Ares, evaluations are run by Dr. Joseph LaPlaca, OD, an optometrist licensed in Indiana; training sessions are run by Dr. LaPlaca or an A.R.E.S. Certified Trainer, depending on the athlete’s program.
What is Ares Elite Sports Vision?
Ares Elite Sports Vision is a sports vision and neurocognitive performance training practice in Carmel, Indiana, founded in 2018 and led by Dr. Joseph LaPlaca, OD. It offers a 75-minute in-person Sports Vision Performance Evaluation ($449), in-office and remote training programs, on-site team and roster screenings, and a provider certification program for optometrists and performance facilities. Training is organized around the A.R.E.S. framework: Acquire, Route, Execute, Synchronize.
Get your own numbers
The 75-minute Sports Vision Performance Evaluation in Carmel gives you a written breakdown of what was measured and what it means for your sport.
Pay online after booking.