Sports Vision Training

“The Eyes Lead the Body” - Blanton Collier, legendary football coach

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Visual Processing Is How Sport Is Played

The visual skills of athletes, especially those in visually demanding sports, are essential. Focusing, tracking fast-moving objects, and reacting quickly can make a difference between winning and losing.

Often when we think of vision, we solely focus on 20/20 clarity of vision which is extremely important, however there are many more aspects to our visual system which are essential in maximizing athletic performance.

Great Athletes require better than 20/20 vision, in fact over 70% of Major League Baseball players have better than 20/15 vision. While every athlete can improve their vision, it is especially important if you notice any of the following signs in your sports performance.

Inconsistent performance
Successful performance only when body is stationary, but not when in motion
Successful performance only in specific aspects of the sport
Decrease in performance as pressure increases
Discomfort during or after performance which is not related to the muscles being used

If you have noticed any of the above phenomena, there could be an underlying challenge related to a visual skill which could successfully be strengthened with the aid of a sports vision optometrist.

Which visual skills are essential for an athlete’s success?

Depth perception
Eye - hand coordination
Eye tracking
Eye focus at various distances
Reaction time
Peripheral vision
Visualization
Visual processing
Visual memory

In addition, it’s important to mention that achieving effective visual skills can help with the self-confidence of athletes of all ages and stages.

Which visual skills are essential for an athlete’s success?

Professional and amateur athletes have been using sports vision training to improve core visual skills. For example the University of Cincinnati Baseball team showed improvements of 10% or more across all tracked batting parameters after sports vision training.

Some examples include:

Baseball: batters are required to hit pitches thrown at speeds as fast as 100mph, leaving them less time than it takes to blink to decide whether and how to swing
Tennis: the entire aim is to keep track of a small, fast-moving ball, so you can hit it back onto your opponent’s side of the field, making eye tracking a vital skill
Hockey or cycling: the athlete must clearly see and track moving objects, such as a puck and other athletes, while they are also in motion
Basketball: the athlete must know where teammates and opponents are positioned, and use that information to move up the court at speed while avoiding the opponents
Archery: heightened visual concentration allows a professional to tune out everything except the target so they can make the perfect shot

The examples are endless, as all sports and physical activity are completely tied to the athlete’s visual abilities.In sports, nearly 80% of perceptual input is visual.

Sports Vision Team

Dr. McBryar, leads the sports vision program at Amplify EyeCare Chattanooga, providing sport specific neuro-visual training to athletes from beginners to elite. As part of the Sports Vision program, a sports vision doctor can prescribe a wide variety of training and activities that help boost every athletes' performance.

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Testimonials

Vision therapy is well worth the response, time and effort. Our Son had a hard time focusing and writing neatly. After vision therapy Seth could complete a task in half the time if previously took. His abilities to focus improved greatly and so did his handwriting.

Also, he was better at listening. As a parent, we wanted learning to be fun for our Son, and vision therapy made this possible.

Amanda T.

Vision Therapy is well worth the expense, time and effort. Our son had a hard time focusing handwriting neatly. After vision therapy Seth could complete a task in half the time it previously took his abilities to focus and improved greatly and so did his handwriting.

Also, he was better at listening. As a parent you wanted learning to be fun for our son and vision therapy made this possible.

Alexa H.

Vision Therapy has given or son the tools he needs to be able to scan and read the written word more effectively and efficiently.

He love working with John and these working sessions give him the motivation to gladly work on his homework assignments.

It amazed us to see the difference in the tracking of his eyes and along a line of it's from the beginning to the end of the treatment.

Dr. McBryar , Kristen and John are all marvelous and we would recommend them to anyone I only wish that we would have found them sooner!

Charlotte M.

Prior to coming to the institute for vision development my son complained of daily headaches. Therapy has eliminated his headaches completely. I love knowing my son is able to learn pain-free for the rest of his life because of the work that has been done over just a few weeks in this office. He he absolutely loved coming that didn't even feel like going to a doctor or therapy. We are grateful for the relief he was able to find by coming here.

Thank you!

Olivia C.

Seems much less frustrated with life

Reads non-stop and fast

Spelling abilities have been hugely improved

Seems much more confident

Thank You!!!

Kelly O.

When we first came to the practice, my son did not have huge issues, but lots of small ones- trouble with reading, sports (hitting the baseball consistently), coordination, etc- that were not easily detectable,but when put together presented issues. The staff here were all very professional and loving towards him. While I was concerned in the reading, my son was concerned with the athletic side. Seeing improvement night off the bat gave him confidence that i have nor seen in him and made him want to not only Come to therapy, but also made him want to work hard. He has surpassed his grade level and above in reading and hit his first home run this year! Thank you!!!