I think everyone has figured out by now that I’m an Optometrist, and I think most people know what Optometrists do.  If you don’t, let me know and I’ll be glad to explain that to you later.

I also specialize in something called Sports Vision Performance, and I don’t think too many people completely understand what that is.  So today I am going to explain a bit more about Sports Vision Performance so you can have a better understanding of what it actually is.  If you prefer to watch the video on my Youtube channel follow this link.

The short definition of Sports Vision Performance is this.  I help athletes see better, so they can play better.  When I say see better, I don’t just mean helping them read from the eye chart, even though that’s very important, it’s just a part of what I do.

When someone comes in for what I call a Sports Vision Evaluation, I put them through a series of sport-specific vision tests. Some of these tests include reaction time, eye-hand coordination, peripheral awareness, eye muscle, object tracking, and many more.  We then take those results and compare them to a database of local and national players that play the same sport and position.  We identify any deficiencies that need to be corrected and start implementing a plan to correct them.  If a player does not perform well in certain areas we generally put them on a 6-8 week program aimed at bringing their visual skills up to the level that they should be for their sport.

Even players that perform well on the evaluation can benefit from our programs.  For instance, improving eye-hand coordination and reaction time can have huge impacts on performance in any sport.  Many pro and college-level athletes are already using some of these same drills and activities that we are using with our athletes.  You don’t hear about it very much, because most athletes don’t want other athletes knowing what is giving them that extra competitive edge.

Most of our drills and activities are done at a practice field, gym, or office.  I participate directly in the evaluation and first few sessions, then most training sessions are turned over to our trainer who ensures each athlete is performing the drills correctly and reports back to me after each session.  As mentioned before, we customize each athlete’s program based on the individual needs of the sport they are in.  For instance, soccer players must have great peripheral awareness, so we tend to focus on that and eye-foot coordination.  Baseball players must have VERY good visual acuity and contrast sensitivity.

If you are interested in learning more about this send me an email at colliervillevision@gmail.com

Dr. Walley