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Parents
Improving your child’s vision health improves their performance and safety.
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Vision Health
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Basic Training
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Eyewear
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Assessment & Training
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Sports can help improve your child’s health, combat obesity, and boost their self-esteem. For many, sports can be an integral part of childhood, help with college admission and tuition, and instill values that will help them stay active throughout adulthood. However, as with any physical activity, there is always a risk of accidents and injury.
Ensuring your child has healthy vision can significantly lower those risks. If your child has a hard time seeing the ball or other players, they will have a difficult time catching, passing, and safely maneuvering through obstacles and other players. Vision problems can be subtle and often your child may not realize that they have visual concerns.
Unfortunately, many parents do not realize their child suffers from undiagnosed vision impairments that raise the risk of injury. Therefore, it is important that you know the signs that your child may be suffering from a vision impairment and have them regularly visit an eye doctor.
If your child exhibits the following warning signs, make sure they see an eye doctor right away:
Remember, it is important that your children regularly see an eye doctor even if they pass a school screening or do not exhibit signs of vision problems. Not all vision impairments have obvious warning signs, and not all impairments immediately impact performance. It is better for your child to be treated by an eye doctor before their poor vision becomes obvious and begins to impact their sports or school performance. Furthermore, your child’s vision may be “good enough” to pass a school screening, but their vision may still not be good enough to safely play their sport. Even if they pass a school screening, they should still regularly see an eye doctor.
How to find a SV provider: https://www.sportsvisionpros.com/find-a-sv-provider.html
Ensuring your child has healthy vision can significantly lower those risks. If your child has a hard time seeing the ball or other players, they will have a difficult time catching, passing, and safely maneuvering through obstacles and other players. Vision problems can be subtle and often your child may not realize that they have visual concerns.
Unfortunately, many parents do not realize their child suffers from undiagnosed vision impairments that raise the risk of injury. Therefore, it is important that you know the signs that your child may be suffering from a vision impairment and have them regularly visit an eye doctor.
If your child exhibits the following warning signs, make sure they see an eye doctor right away:
- Blurred vision
- Difficulties at night ( indoors) vs daytime sport environments
- Headaches
- Double vision
- Difficulty tracking targets
- Depth perception concerns, missing catches, shooting balls high or low of targets
- Poor timing
- Slowed decision making on the field
- Consistent difficulties effectively running plays designed by the coach
- Irritated eyes during sport
- Light sensitivity
- Inconsistency with performance
Remember, it is important that your children regularly see an eye doctor even if they pass a school screening or do not exhibit signs of vision problems. Not all vision impairments have obvious warning signs, and not all impairments immediately impact performance. It is better for your child to be treated by an eye doctor before their poor vision becomes obvious and begins to impact their sports or school performance. Furthermore, your child’s vision may be “good enough” to pass a school screening, but their vision may still not be good enough to safely play their sport. Even if they pass a school screening, they should still regularly see an eye doctor.
How to find a SV provider: https://www.sportsvisionpros.com/find-a-sv-provider.html
Athletes who can process multiple visual inputs from multiple sources more quickly (such as the ball, other players, and obstacles) may be able to set themselves up for success by improving their ability to catch, maneuver, and pass more efficiently. If you can train your child to see the ball and other players more quickly, they can react to the plays more quickly.
Incorporating some basic vision exercises can make your child's overall training program more efficient. Prior to incorporating vision training, make sure your child receives a comprehensive sports eye exam. This will help in maximizing the possible return from their 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 the athlete is 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 into your child's training:
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:
Incorporating some basic vision exercises can make your child's overall training program more efficient. Prior to incorporating vision training, make sure your child receives a comprehensive sports eye exam. This will help in maximizing the possible return from their 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 the athlete is 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 into your child's training:
- Perform a warm up or work with your child off the field by doing drills with the SVP Vision Ring to work eye tracking and eye hand coordination.
- Simple drills, such as holding up fingers during an on-field soccer drill, can encourage athletes to keep their head up to identify how many fingers are up to keep their on-field awareness and avoid injury.
- Adding strobe training glasses to any safe on-field skill adds complexity to the task and increases the visual processing demand of the athlete to improve their on-field decision making.
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
Although improving vision will significantly lower safety risks in sports, accidents will inevitably happen. Accidents that lead to eye injuries can have a long-lasting impact on your child’s vision and may lead to permanent blindness. Loss of vision can not only impact their performance, but can negatively impact their physical and mental health, as well as their academics and work well into adulthood. Therefore, it is important that your child wear appropriate sports-safe eyewear.
According to Prevent Blindness America, more than 90% of eye injuries can be prevented with proper protective eyewear. Visit a local eye doctor to learn what sport-safe eyewear is appropriate for your child’s sports and learn how your child should properly use their eyewear. Remember, not all sports use the same protective eyewear. The wrong eyewear used incorrectly will not only be ineffective, but can negatively impact vision, performance and safety. Be sure you discuss each sport your child plays with your eye doctor.
"Dress" or "Normal" Glasses Are Not Safe!
Unfortunately, many times, eye injuries in sports can be caused by the use of non-sport safe frames. Therefore, it is important that all your athletes wear appropriate sport safe eyewear.
Learn What Eyewear is Right For Your Sports
Work with a local eye doctor to learn what eyewear is appropriate for your sports and how your athletes should properly use their eyewear. The wrong eyewear or eyewear used incorrectly will not only be ineffective, but can negatively impact vision, performance, and safety.
Standards For Eyewear
There are standards of impact resistance established to quantify the safety of eyewear in regards to impact.
More information:
According to Prevent Blindness America, more than 90% of eye injuries can be prevented with proper protective eyewear. Visit a local eye doctor to learn what sport-safe eyewear is appropriate for your child’s sports and learn how your child should properly use their eyewear. Remember, not all sports use the same protective eyewear. The wrong eyewear used incorrectly will not only be ineffective, but can negatively impact vision, performance and safety. Be sure you discuss each sport your child plays with your eye doctor.
"Dress" or "Normal" Glasses Are Not Safe!
Unfortunately, many times, eye injuries in sports can be caused by the use of non-sport safe frames. Therefore, it is important that all your athletes wear appropriate sport safe eyewear.
Learn What Eyewear is Right For Your Sports
Work with a local eye doctor to learn what eyewear is appropriate for your sports and how your athletes should properly use their eyewear. The wrong eyewear or eyewear used incorrectly will not only be ineffective, but can negatively impact vision, performance, and safety.
Standards For Eyewear
There are standards of impact resistance established to quantify the safety of eyewear in regards to impact.
- Dress frames are eyewear designed for school, work or social settings and should never be used for sports. These frames are not made from sport safe materials, and their hinges are not designed to survive an impact. If you encounter an athlete using these frames, please refer them back to their eye doctor to discuss a more sport appropriate option to protect their eyes and maximize their performance.
- Impact resistant frames are required for certain sports with small projectiles, such as racquetball and squash. These frames are generally referred to as “sports goggles.”
- Sport safe frames are a step down in impact resistance quality, yet are readily used in sports due to the impact resistance of the frame and lens materials. These frames can be rimless or full frame options. There is some risk associated with these, as they may not meet ASTM standards.
- Sport active frames, used in sports such as running and cycling, have sport performance qualities, such as improved peripheral vision optics and lack of fogging, yet these are not expected to have objects impact the frame.
More information:
- National Eye Institute:
- Prevent Blindness: Sports Eye Safety
- Protective Eyewear for Young Athletes: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/113/3/619.full.pdf
Addressing vision impairments is key to ensuring safety. However, many athletes can perform better because they see “better” than 20/20. Your child’s sports performance and safety can improve with proper vision assessments and training even if they have no vision impairments.
Vision is an integral component to reaction times, balance, agility, and overall performance. If your child can see the ball and other players sooner, they can react more quickly. If your child can process multiple visual inputs more quickly, such as the ball, other players, and obstacles, then they can catch, maneuver, and pass more efficiently. Connecting your child with an eye doctor and trainers who know how to improve performance through vision is key to elevating their overall safety and performance.
There is a community of eye and vision professionals that can work with your child to improve their performance and safety. Eye doctors with sports vision training can provide comprehensive eye examinations, as well as sports-specific visual assessments and training.
Below are some resources on how to find sports vision providers and trainers:
Vision is an integral component to reaction times, balance, agility, and overall performance. If your child can see the ball and other players sooner, they can react more quickly. If your child can process multiple visual inputs more quickly, such as the ball, other players, and obstacles, then they can catch, maneuver, and pass more efficiently. Connecting your child with an eye doctor and trainers who know how to improve performance through vision is key to elevating their overall safety and performance.
There is a community of eye and vision professionals that can work with your child to improve their performance and safety. Eye doctors with sports vision training can provide comprehensive eye examinations, as well as sports-specific visual assessments and training.
Below are some resources on how to find sports vision providers and trainers:
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