If you love participating in athletics and want to gain an edge, try focusing on your sports-related vision!
Whether you play competitively or in a rec league, good sports-related vision is essential. You’ll get the best results when you can see well! There are 6 types of sports-related vision skills that you—or athletes of any age—will find important to test for and keep in tip-top shape.
Depth Perception
One of the most important sports-related vision skills is to be able to judge the distance to an object and how fast it is moving, also known as depth perception. For example, golfers must be able to decide how far away from the hole they are and navigate obstacles like greens, shadows and slopes.
Dynamic Vision
Dynamic vision is having the ability to see moving objects clearly. To be a great goalkeeper in soccer, you have to be able to see the ball coming at a high speed in order to catch it.
Focusing Regulation
You’re running fast around the track and the pressure is on to win. Keeping eye coordination during these high-speed, high-pressure situations is a vital sports-related vision skill. Focusing regulation makes you a better athlete and helps avoid injury.
Peripheral Vision
Peripheral vision is what you can see without moving your head but not right in front of you. Basketball players need to detect motion on all sides to react and respond quickly. Using their peripheral vision, they can watch the ball and their opponents better.
Vision Focusing
Can you change your focus quickly between objects at different distances? If so, you have great vision focusing skills! For example, a hurdler needs to see all 11 hurdles in front of them to be able to clear each quickly and accurately.
Vision Tracking
While vision focusing allows you to see non-moving objects, vision tracking allows you to see a moving object no matter the speed. A baseball player who is batting will need to see the ball coming at high speed toward them and then be able to hit the ball right as it crosses into their hitting zone.
Improve Sports-Related Vision
A key part of training for any sport is to have an eye exam once a year and the right vision correction prescribed by your doctor. Schedule an appointment with an in-network vision provider and be sure to talk to them about your sports-related vision skills.
