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Sports Vision |
Athletes of all skill levels and
sports are seen at Agape Optometry Center. Treatment varies with
protective eyewear, sport specific sunglasses, specialized contact lenses and
sports vision enhancement therapy.
Click here for information about Sports
Vision and the 2008 Summer Olympics.
In the past, it was assumed that athletes had good visual skills. Again it was assumed that nothing could be done to improve on their natural ability. However, in the last decade, studies have shown that superior visual skills correlate with superior performance, and poor visual skills appear to hinder performance. If visual information is inaccurate, It can throw off the body's timing and cause the performance level to drop. As a result of those findings, researchers developed a battery of tests and training procedures that are used to evaluate and improve the athletes' visual skill levels. Since each sport requires a different skill set, training procedures are customized to address the athlete's specific needs. Check out Baseball, Basketball, Football, Golf, Soccer, Tennis and Volleyball.
"Keep your eye on the ball" is a phrase heard
frequently from coaches of many sports. Nothing
happens in sports until the eyes instruct your hands what to do.
Since approximately eighty percent of the cues
for playing most sports are sensed through vision, accurate vision and strong
visual skills are paramount. 20/20 acuity means
only that an athlete can see an object clearly. ‘20/20 Vision’ does not tell an
athlete where the object is in space, how fast it is
traveling or whether it is changing direction.
Visual processing gives that information.
Our unique Sports Vision Enhancement Program includes a comprehensive evaluation and an individually designed protocol to improve sports vision skills. (Routine eye exams rarely evaluate even ten percent of what a comprehensive sports evaluation does). We measure and successfully improve eye-hand coordination, visual reaction time, peripheral awareness, eye teaming, focusing, tracking and visualization skills (to mention just a few). A sports vision program is designed to evaluate, train and enhance each athlete's unique visual skills.
Progress is reassessed at regular intervals, and training continues as long as progress is being made. When progress slows, we usually discontinue office-based therapy, and prescribe maintenance exercises for the athlete to do on his own. However, periodic evaluations are recommended to ensure that the athletes visual condition is stable and that the skill improvements are sustained.
A Sports
Vision Enhancement program can include the following:
--Protective eyewear is for athletes that wear glasses. These goggles are unique for each patient. Sports include racquetball, handball, basketball, football, hockey, swimming and baseball.
--Sport specific sunglasses are an exciting new development. Specific sunglasses are now available for golf, mountain biking, volleyball and baseball. Please click here for more information of tint colors for sports.
--Specialized contact lenses are another new development. With fast moving sports it is vitally important that contact lenses are stable and provide excellent vision. Larger designs which drape over the eye are now available for this purpose. Specific tints can also enhance the action. A sunglass contact lens is the SportSight GP and a lens specifically designed for tennis players is the Ciba ProSoft.
--Sports vision enhancement therapy is used to improve visual function. Examples include depth perception, speed of reaction and visualization ability. These areas can be tested and improved if deficits are found. Click here for more information.
Links: Visual Fitness Institute
The Windsor Star: Vision Exercises in a Blink of an Eye
100 North Rancho Road, Suite #1
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
Phone (805)495-3937 Fax (805)373-9843
E-Mail