Athletic performance is dependent upon many factors, not the least of which are raw talent and motivation. Vision is often ignored once good visual acuity and/or protective eyewear is obtained. Our 24 years of experience with professional football and hockey players has shown us, however, that for maximum performance three vision factors should be optimized:
- Visual Judgments: This area deals with the questions of “Where is the ball in space and where will it be when I need to catch it?” Examples include judging the speed and direction of baseballs or footballs, the spin of a tennis ball, the projected flight of a golf ball, or the final location of a hockey puck.
- Vision-Directed Movement: The athlete must position oneself in the correct location to reach or hit a ball. Vision directs the decision in baseball whether to charge a ball in the outfield or to back up to catch it on the bounce, in basketball when to jump for a rebound off the rim or backboard, in football in moving appropriately to make a tackle, and in tennis to coordinate the toss of the ball with the movement and extension of the arm in serving.
- Visuospatial Knowledge: Coaches covet players who are continuously in the right place at the right time, even if they are not the fastest or strongest athlete on the team. Anticipation, being able to “know” where the ball or the opponent is going to be, is enhanced with visuospatial knowledge. Those who have developed this to a high degree understand the angle at which a baseball will carom off a wall, judge the angle of attack when trying to make a tackle, determine the roll of a ball on the green in golf, choose the best part of the net in which to shoot a hockey puck, or determine the most likely shot from a tennis opponent during a particular part of a match.
Sports vision therapy makes use of basic and developmental vision therapy to improve one’s speed and accuracy of visual judgments, better understand one’s movement capacity and direct one’s movement accordingly, and develop visualspatial knowledge to a high degree. Enhancements in these areas provides one with the best opportunity to make the most of one’s talent and achieve a higher level of success in sports.