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Athletes
The Better You See, the Better You Play
Whether you’re in high school, a professional athlete, or an enthusiast, poor vision can significantly impede your performance and safety. If you can’t see the ball or other players, you will have a much more difficult time catching, passing, and safely maneuvering through obstacles.
More practically, if a competitor sees better or reacts more quickly, you are at a significant disadvantage. If you watch almost any sport, the player that truly stands out is not necessarily the fastest or strongest player, but the one that seems to see things just a little bit earlier and react just a little bit more quickly.
Unfortunately, many athletes don't realize they suffer from undiagnosed vision impairments and spend significant time and resources compensating for poor vision or slower recognition without ever addressing their unknown vision impairments. Addressing these vision issues can save you time as well as improve your performance and safety.
Signs of Poor Vision
It is important that you know the signs of vision impairments and ensure that you visit an eye doctor for an in-person examination. If you experience any of the following warning signs, make sure you see an eye doctor right away:
Remember, it is important that you regularly see an eye doctor even if don’t have signs of vision impairments or have passed a school screening. Not all vision impairments have obvious warning signs, and not all impairments immediately impact performance. It's better to be treated by an eye doctor before an impairment becomes obvious and begins to impact your performance and safety. Furthermore, your vision may be “good enough” to pass a school screening, but still not be good enough for your sport. Even if you pass a school screening, you should still regularly see an eye doctor.
Visual Performance Evaluations
All good athletes are in tune with their bodies. Being conscious of any potential visual component deficiencies should lead to a desire for a visual performance evaluation. Identifying areas of visual deficiency can have a dramatic effect on improving overall visual performance in sports.
Visual performance evaluations will address specific visual needs based on sports and positions that may vary greatly. For example, a sport like soccer has great need for depth perception and peripheral vision testing without defined acuity goals. Baseball, on the other hand, has a defined study (kirchen/laby) that defines acuity goals necessary to perform well in that sport.
More practically, if a competitor sees better or reacts more quickly, you are at a significant disadvantage. If you watch almost any sport, the player that truly stands out is not necessarily the fastest or strongest player, but the one that seems to see things just a little bit earlier and react just a little bit more quickly.
Unfortunately, many athletes don't realize they suffer from undiagnosed vision impairments and spend significant time and resources compensating for poor vision or slower recognition without ever addressing their unknown vision impairments. Addressing these vision issues can save you time as well as improve your performance and safety.
Signs of Poor Vision
It is important that you know the signs of vision impairments and ensure that you visit an eye doctor for an in-person examination. If you experience any of the following warning signs, make sure you see an eye doctor right away:
- Vision strain/headaches from performance or reading
- Difficulty tracking a target/ball
- Poor aim
- Lack of peripheral awareness
- Slower reaction time
- Misjudging depth (i.e., trouble catching or throwing accurately)
- Difficulty with varying light levels
Remember, it is important that you regularly see an eye doctor even if don’t have signs of vision impairments or have passed a school screening. Not all vision impairments have obvious warning signs, and not all impairments immediately impact performance. It's better to be treated by an eye doctor before an impairment becomes obvious and begins to impact your performance and safety. Furthermore, your vision may be “good enough” to pass a school screening, but still not be good enough for your sport. Even if you pass a school screening, you should still regularly see an eye doctor.
Visual Performance Evaluations
All good athletes are in tune with their bodies. Being conscious of any potential visual component deficiencies should lead to a desire for a visual performance evaluation. Identifying areas of visual deficiency can have a dramatic effect on improving overall visual performance in sports.
Visual performance evaluations will address specific visual needs based on sports and positions that may vary greatly. For example, a sport like soccer has great need for depth perception and peripheral vision testing without defined acuity goals. Baseball, on the other hand, has a defined study (kirchen/laby) that defines acuity goals necessary to perform well in that sport.
- Processing multiple visual inputs from multiple sources more quickly (such as the ball, other players, and obstacles) can set yourself up for success and allow you to catch, maneuver, and pass more efficiently. If you can train to see the ball and other players more quickly, you may be able to react to the plays more quickly.
Incorporating some basic vision exercises can make your overall training program more efficient. Prior to incorporating vision training, make sure you receive a comprehensive sports eye exam. This will help in maximizing the possible return from your training.
Add Vision Skills to What You're Already Doing
It's usually best to incorporate aspects of visual performance into drills that are already being performed. Adding visual skills enhancement concepts into established training routines that you're comfortable with can substantially improve performance without adding additional time to the overall training session.
Basic Tips:
Here are some basic exercises and training tips you may want to incorporate in your training:
- Dynamic tracking - Each one of your eyes has 6 muscles that help control its movement. Just like training your skeletal muscles helps in physical performance, so too can training your eye muscles.
- To make sure you focus properly on the object/ball, we often put numbers, letters or colors on the ball or objects we are training with. In this scenario, not only do you have to accept or catch the ball, but also identify the character/color before you do.
- Postural vision training - It's important that you train your visual system in the position that you perform. For example:
- A baseball player should practice vision skill in their stance with head turned.
- A luge athlete needs to practice vision skill while looking down to their cheeks.
- A defensive lineman needs to practice reaction time while looking up.
- Multiple object/skill tracking - This drill mimics the demands of your vision system in a game situation. By making you focus on more than one thing at once, it makes each simpler individual task more difficult and prone to confusion. For example:
- Catching is simple. Balance can be easy. Catching while balancing can break down both systems. Training these together can greatly improve performance.
See our Basic Training Page for videos and instructions on incorporating vision skills into your training.
Work With Local Sports Vision Eye Doctors
Remember, these tips are simple tools to help improve basic vision performance. They will not replace an in-person comprehensive eye examination, assessment, or training with an eye doctor or vision trainer. For more information about working with SV doctors and trainers in your area, visit
- SVP's Find an SV Provider
- AOA's Doctor Locator
No matter how much you train, accidents will inevitably happen. Accidents that lead to eye injuries can have a long-lasting impact on your vision and lead to permanent blindness. Loss of vision can not only impact performance, but can negatively impact your physical and mental health, as well as your academics and work. Therefore, it's important that all athletes wear appropriate sports-safe eyewear.
Visit a local eye doctor to learn what eyewear is appropriate for your sports and how you should properly use their eyewear. The wrong eyewear or eyewear used incorrectly will not only be ineffective, but can negatively impact your vision, performance and safety. Be sure you discuss each sport you play with your eye doctor.
Below are a few tips and resources to help you understand sports-safe eyewear:
For more detailed information, please see:
Visit a local eye doctor to learn what eyewear is appropriate for your sports and how you should properly use their eyewear. The wrong eyewear or eyewear used incorrectly will not only be ineffective, but can negatively impact your vision, performance and safety. Be sure you discuss each sport you play with your eye doctor.
Below are a few tips and resources to help you understand sports-safe eyewear:
- As a general rule, fashion eyewear is never acceptable to play any sport in.
- All eyewear should be certified for impact resistance.
- In some cases, eyewear can be a detriment, and contact lenses may be a better option.
For more detailed information, please see:
The best way to maximize your sports performance through vision training is to utilize the community of eye and vision professionals. Eye doctors with sports vision expertise can provide comprehensive eye examinations, sports-specific visual assessments, and training. They can work with you as well as your trainers, coaches, and parents to ensure you're fully utilizing your vision to maximize your performance.
Below are some tips on how to find and develop a relationship with sports vision providers and trainers.
Below are some tips on how to find and develop a relationship with sports vision providers and trainers.
- Look for a doctor that lists their experience with vision performance on their website.
- Check doctor locators on Sports Vision Pros.
- Ask trainers of local elite teams if they work with anyone in the area.
- Find a SV provider at https://www.sportsvisionpros.com/find-a-sv-provider.html.
- SVP Academy: Beginners Guide to Sports Vision
- Tips & Updates Blog for Athletes
- SVP Community: Athletes Forum