While we typically focus our blog posts on examining functional vision’s impact on academics, it also influences our performance in sports. Here are examples of how it affects three of the most popular sports in America: Baseball, football and basketball.

Baseball: How great vision replaces great speed

Functional vision skills such as depth perception figure prominently into a variety of baseball skills, such as hitting a baseball, catching a pop-up, and throwing to another player. In each of these cases, you’re using your ability to see an object in space to play, and it can actually make up for a lack of speed or other physical shortcomings.

Baseball skills are learned, and visual skills are a big part of it. For example, an outfielder becomes adept at using figure-ground skills to judge a pop-up. Over time, they can immediately judge how far a ball is hit, and whether or not they have a chance to catch it.

These functional vision skills are much more developed than that of a fan.  Think about how fans react to any ball hit high in the air: They cheer, because they think it will be a home run.

But an outfielder, who has shagged countless fly balls and has superior figure-ground skills, knows immediately if the ball has a chance of going over the fence.

Over time, fielders will become very good at visual skills relative to their position. It’s why it’s so difficult for players to move around to different defensive positions. They’re used to judging balls based on where they’re located in the field. 

That’s why great functional vision is so important to players. It gives them an edge and can actually overcome a lack of speed. 

For example, you may be a fielder who has great speed and can run down a ball. But a player with great visual skills can get a faster jump on the ball, and may make the catch sooner.

Basketball: Shooting into the void

The Flying Knueppel Brothers

Have you ever heard of “home-court advantage?” It’s the edge a basketball team has when they play on their home court. Typically this advantage is attributed to crowd noise, but it has as much to do with functional vision as it does with raucous fans.

A basketball player’s vision is influenced by the objects that surround the basket.  Players grow accustomed to their surroundings, and much like the baseball player, their visual skills become fine-tuned to the home court. That’s why they tend to shoot better.

On the other hand, players who typically play in a small gym or at home struggle when they play on a court in a big field house.  It’s much more difficult to shoot when the walls are further away.

Dr. Kellye Knueppel of The Vision Therapy Center relates this to her brothers, who were legends of 3-on-3 basketball tournaments. The Knueppel brothers used to practice on the tournament court the day before the game so they could acclimate themselves to the surroundings.

(By the way, the Flying Knueppel Brothers won numerous tournament titles. It helps to have a developmental optometrist in your corner!) 

Football: The dilemma of the defensive back

Photo source: US News.com

To see the impact of functional vision on football, look no further than the recent game between the Green Bay Packers and the San Diego Chargers.

The game came down to the last play.  On fourth and goal from the five-yard line, quarterback Phillip Rivers of the Chargers threw a short-pass toward the end zone. Fortunately for us in Cheesehead land, the throw was batted down by cornerback Damarious Randall.

The play, in which Randall appeared to be beaten, required use of all of his functional visual skills.

First, he had to employ his peripheral vision, so he could see where he was on the field in relation to other players. Randall had to see the quarterback and the player he was guarding at the same time, so he could jump the pass at the ideal moment.

Second, he had to use his depth perception to see the ball flying through space. Rivers has a good arm, and the ball was moving with decent velocity.  The DB only had a second or two to focus on the ball and bat it down.

Third, Randall had to suppress the impact of stress on a visual system (this holds true for any athlete). Dr. Knueppel notes that when we’re stressed, we shut down our peripheral vision. The cornerback in this case was a rookie who knew that if he missed the deflection, the Chargers would score and perhaps end the Packers’ unbeaten streak.

Yet, as QB Aaron Rodgers of the Packers noted, Randall is a supremely confident player. Instead of being anxious, he was relaxed, calm, and actually baited Rivers into making the throw. His visual system - eyes and brain - was working at an optimal level.

All of the functional vision skills mentioned above can be improved with vision therapy. Through a series of activities, vision therapy trains your visual system (the eyes, the brain and the visual pathways) to work more effectively together.

The only way to see if vision therapy can help improve your sports vision is through a sports vision evaluation. For a personal evaluation, contact us at 262-784-9201 or fill in the form on this page and add “Sports vision evaluation” in the message field.

We can perform the evaluations in either of our two offices, located in Brookfield and Madison, Wisconsin.