Effects Of Sports Vision Training On Visual Skill Performance

Abstract

The primary sensory input in sport is through the vision system. Recently, many elite athletes have begun sports vision training in an effort to enhance visual skills to ultimately improve athletic performance. There is, however, limited research examining the effect of vision training on visual and athletic performance. PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of sports vision training on visual performance. METHODS: This study is a retrospective effort to evaluate existing sports vision data from a ten year period collected as part of the United State Air Force Academy's sports vision training program. 1,118 athletes (905 males, 213 females), all intercollegiate athletes of various sports that rely heavily on visual inputs, participated in a sports vision training program. To track athlete progress, skills such as eye movements, accommodation, vergence and eye-hand speed and accuracy of movements were tested before and after a series of training sessions. Athletes trained for approximately 20 minutes per session, 2 to 3 times per week, for up to four years. RESULTS: Performance on each visual skill improved significantly (p < 0.05) as a result of the training. The increase in visual performance occurred in a step wise fashion meaning the more the athlete trained, the better their performance. After 31 + training sessions, eye movement speed increased up to 24%, vergence up to 55%, accommodation up to 36%, and eye-hand speed and accuracy up to 150%. CONCLUSION: Sports vision training can improve an athlete's visual system skills. The next step in this line of research is to evaluate the effects of visual skill improvement on actual athletic performance. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the US Government.