The IntelliGym trains the underlying skills that contribute to soccer intelligence, which includes anticipation, divided & peripheral attention, working memory, task switching, situational & spatial awareness, pattern recognition, among others.

These skills are improved through emphasis change training, which means that different levels emphasize a different blend of cognitive skills. Every training level trains a combination of all the skills, but the emphasis changes from level to level along with the secondary objective of the level, while the overall objective remains the same. Another key is repetition, which is important because it reinforces the neural connections that are formed during training and continues to strengthen the connections over time.

Most importantly, however, is that improving these skills translates to improvements on the field, because of what is called cognitive fidelity. This means that the cognitive skills that are trained within the IntelliGym program match the cognitive skills that are required on the field. The mental demands within the training program are the same mental demands that athletes are subjected to when playing soccer.

The athlete subconsciously improves their cognitive processing skills to the point where the desired behaviours become second-nature on the field, resulting in improved performance due to the ability to think faster under pressure.