Sports Vision Exercises

 

Certain visual exercises can help improve your game.

 

BASEBALL

Baseball: Hitting Drills

Colored Horseshoe of Baseball

  • This drill is used to warm up the eyes for live pitching.
  • Color the ball between the inside seams and have the pitcher throw a variety of pitches from the mound or 60 feet 6 inches.
  • In this drill, the batter picks up the spin as quickly as possible, calls out the pitch, and watches the ball into the catcher's mitt.
  • If the batter has trouble identifying the pitch before he throws it, this helps the batter pick up the type of pitch if they don't recognize it at the release point. (Don't hit the ball, just call it in flight.)

Colored Baseballs

  • Use 2-3 colored baseballs:
    • Red=Take
    • White=Hit Away
    • Green=Drag
  • The batter must react to the color of the ball as soon as he/she recognizes the color.
  • The drill can be used with live pitching or soft toss.

Strobe Hitting

  • The batter uses the strobe light while soft tossing or self-tossing sock balls.
  • The slower the strobe flashes, the more difficult it is to hit the ball.
  • CAUTION - THE STROBE CAN CAUSE SEIZURES FOR EPILEPTICS

Soft Toss/Self Toss

  • Use sock balls or small wiffle balls taped smaller than a regular ball.
  • The following drills or wrinkles to these drills can be added to make the task of hitting much more difficult and force better concentration by the batter.
    • Use a thunder stick instead of your regular bat.
    • The tosser calls the field (right, left, center) he/she wants the ball hit as soon as the ball is about to be tossed. If the batter hits the ball to the wrong field or pops the ball up, the players switch positions. The batter can take pitches or the tosser can call for the batter to take a pitch. It the batter swings on a take call, he's out and the players switch.
    • The batter closes his/her eyes and opens them when the tosser calls "open." The batter can take pitches or the tosser can hold the ball. If the player swings and no ball is thrown or pops the ball up the players switch.

Release Drill

  • This drill teaches the player to pick up the pitch at the release and to keep his/her head down on the swing.
    1. The batter calls out the number of fingers, 1-5, that the pitcher throws at the batter, swings and again calls out the number of fingers that a coach has flashed after the bat passes the plate.
    2. The coach flashing the numbers stands 5-6 feet in front of the outside corner of the plate.
  • The drill can be made more difficult by having the pitcher use a ball and show pitches to the hitter without releasing the ball.
  • The hitter would make the visual shift to the plate and hit a sock ball, wiffle ball, or tennis ball of a tee after calling out the pitch.
  • To make the drill even harder, replace the single tee with a double tee, placing the inside tee (higher) about 3-4 feet in front of the inside corner and the second tee (lower) equal to the front point of the outside corner.
  • The batter is now forced to see the ball at the release and react to the pitch (FB, Curve, etc.) If the pitcher show fastball, the batter must turn and pull the ball off the inside tee. If the batter reads off speed pitch, the batter must drive the ball to right field off the outside tee. (Reverse the tees for a left-handed batter.)

Baseball: Fielding Drills

Numbered/Lettered Baseballs

  • The player or coach can take 5 or 6 balls, number or letter them one letter or number per ball. The coach or player hits the fielder grounders and the player calls the letter or number on the ball as he/she fields it and comes up to throw.
  • Fielder attempts to catch batted ball (grounders or fly balls)
  • Fielder closes his/her eyes, opens and finds the ball as soon as he/she hears contact.
  • Fielder turns back to hitter, as soon as he/she hears contact, he/she turns and looks for the ball.
  • Fielder lies on back and has to get up as soon as the hear contact.

Shade drill

  • Runner interferes with batted ground ball by crossing the path of the ball and the fielder

Fixation drill for outfielders

  • The drill is designed to keep the fielders head steady and teach the player to run on his/her toes while fixating on the top of a flagpole, foulpole…or anything stationary and high. The coach calls out the direction the player should turn or run.

Feel Drill

  1. The player assumes his/her position in the field with a bucket of balls.
  2. The coach rolls the player routine grounders or fly balls and as the player is about to throw the ball, they close their eyes and make the throw.
  • The coach can change the situation (DP throws, plays at the plate, cutoffs…) or the type of grounder/flyball (backhand, gloveside, slow roller), to make the drill more difficult.
  • The player should know before fielding the ball, where the play is to be made.
  • This same drill can be used with pitchers to develop better control.

We have used the strobe light to create visual noise and improve concentration and reaction time with athletes for the past 13 years. While we have no scientific data to verify these claims, athletes (pro, college, high school, and amateur) have told us that the strobe helps a moving object (ball) look slower and bigger and helps raise the concentration level of the athlete. The periods of light and dark force the athlete to pick up more information in a shorter period of time and the longer the period of dark the harder the task is for the athlete.

We have used the strobe to test and to train hockey and soccer goalies to react quicker; baseball players to pick up the ball sooner when hitting and fielding; basketball players to concentrate while shooting fouls; skill players (QB's, DB's, RB's, etc.) in football picking up the ball, the defenses, the plays, etc. more quickly; tennis players to pick up the ball and react to the returned ball sooner; shooters and archers to pick up the target and hold it longer; and the list goes on.

Like most training techniques, some adjustments and modifications may be need to adapt this procedure to a specific skill in a specific sport. A good example of this is the substitution of tennis or wiffle balls for hardballs while practicing hitting. It is also important to note that this procedure cannot be used with epileptics.

Drills That Involve Visual Noise: Hitting

Soft toss

  1. (Using tennis, wiffle, or sock balls) Player A stands 8-10 feet to the side of the front shoulder of player B (hitter) and tosses the ball underhand out in front of the hitting zone.
  2. Player B tries to hit the ball with the strobe flashing. This drill can be done with the lights on or with the lights off.
  • (STROBE) Wrinkle - (W/O Strobe) Player A closes eyes and opens them and tries to hit the ball when Player B tosses the ball and says "ball."

Self Toss

  • Player A tosses the ball (sock, tennis, or wiffle) up with front hand 5 times and 5 times with the back and tries to hit the ball on the ground or on a line, not in the air. (STROBE)

Colored Ball Toss

  • (Use 2 or 3 different colored balls to teach discipline while hitting) Using any of the hitting drills; self or soft toss, live…etc., have the hitter react to the thrown colored balls.
  • If the ball is white, the hitter is to swing away; if the ball is black, the hitter brags a bunt; and if the thrown ball is red, the player takes the pitch.

Dry Hitting

  • Each player has a bat and a partner (sits 4-5 feet in front of the front shoulder) and stands facing the coach.
  • The coach, using the wind up or the stretch and no ball, throws 1-5 fingers at the hitters and the hitters call out the number of fingers up.
  • The player then swings and calls out the number of fingers his partner has put down on the swing.
  • The drill teaches the players to pick up the ball at the release point and to keep their heads down on the swing.

Drills That Involve Visual Noise: Fielding

Pick ups

  • Player A rolls grounders at, left, and right of Player B and Player B tries to field as many as possible.

Short Hops

  • Same a s pick ups, except the ball is thrown on one bounce. Wrinkle - Short hop with a tag.

Numbered Baseballs

  • Number baseballs 1-5 and take regular infield. Have the fielder call out the number on the ball as its fielded and thrown (forces the fielder to keep his head down while fielding)

Feel Drill

  • Place the players at their positions and have them complete their throw with their eyes closed (task has become engrained when the player can complete it with their eyes closed.)

 

SOFTBALL

Softball: Fielding Drills

  • Fielder attempt to catch batted ball (grounders or fly balls)
  • Fielder closes his/her eyes, opens and finds the ball as soon as he/she hears contact.
  • Fielder turns back to hitter, as soon as he/she hears contact, they turn and look for the ball.
  • Fielder lies on back and has to get up as soon as he/she hears contact.

 

LACROSSE

  • Take a pair of goggles and put tape around the periphery of the lenses or eyepieces.
  • Have the players run some plays with them on.
  • This cuts out their peripheral vision and it forces them to exaggerate their head movements to see.
  • This forces the players to concentrate extremely hard.
  • When they remove the goggles, it appears that their peripheral vision is enhanced and they are more aware visually of the activity on the field.

 

SOCCER

  • Take a pair of goggles and put tape around the periphery of the lenses or eyepieces.
  • Have the players run some plays with them on.
  • This cuts out their peripheral vision and it forces them to exaggerate their head movements to see.
  • This forces the players to concentrate extremely hard.
  • When they remove the goggles, it appears that their peripheral vision is enhanced and they are more aware visually of the activity on the field.

 

TRACK

  • Have the athlete walk into a room and close their eyes.
  • The coach calls out objects in the room and has them point to them with their eyes closed.
  • The athlete must visualize the object and its location.

 

SWIMMING

During practice make the lens smaller, but not too narrow that their stroke is hindered.

  • This forces them to concentrate harder.
  • An option is to place different colored markers at different intervals along the lane and have them kick hard once, or signal that they perceived the colored marker.

 

GYMNASTICS

  • Have the gymnast walk into the room and close their eyes.
  • The coach calls out the objects in the room and has them point to that object.
  • The gymnast must visualize the object and its location.

 

GOLFING

  • While at the tee, have the golfer close his eyes.
  • The coach then asks questions about the hole.
  • The golfer answers the questions with his eyes shut and then is told to visualize the ball in flight.
  • The golfer is then instructed to open his eyes and without thinking about anything else, hit the golf ball.

 

TENNIS

On The Court Drills: Eye on the ball

Color Call

  • Take a standard tennis ball and put four circles of the same color on different parts of the ball.
  • Player must call out the color of the ball at any time before or upon contact with the racket.
  • Goal - Teach players to follow the ball all the way into the racquet. (Helps players stay closed on the backhand.)
  • Wrinkle - Make colored circles smaller and smaller

Rotation Call

  • Use a standard two colored ball when rallying and serving.
  • Goal - Allow the player to identify the spin, call it out loud (top spin) and react appropriately.
  • Wrinkle - Increase the speed

On The Court Drills: Identification of Serve

Serve

  • Coach show the player the two types of serves that he must identify.
  • The coach then attempts to serve and the player identifies the serve as quickly as possible. (Can be done without a ball)
  • Goal - Teach players to look at the contact point of the serve and be able to identify and react to the speed, location, and type of serve offered.
  • Wrinkle - Add more serves

On The Court Drills: Reaction

Eyes Closed

  • The player receiving the ball closes his or her eyes until they hear the ball contact the racquet, and then they open their eyes and try to locate the ball and return the volley.
  • Goal - help player improve their reaction time-visual and physical.
  • Wrinkle - Keep eyes closed longer

Turn Back to Server

  • Same as above except you turn your back to the server and react to the sound of the ball hitting the racquet.

Lie on Back

  • Same as above except the receiver lays on his back facing the server.
  • Wrinkle - Lie on back facing away from server

On The Court Drills: Concentration

Strobe Serve

  • The player practices his or her serve in a dark room with a net while a strobe light is flashing.
  • Goal - To enhance the players concentration through visual noise.
  • Wrinkle - Slow the strobe down
  • Use two different colored balls and ask the player to react differently to each ball, i.e. the player is to drop shot the green ball and lob the white ball.
  • Goal - To force the player to think and react on their feet.
  • Wrinkle - Add different colored balls and more commands i.e. add a red ball for a passing shot.

 

FOOTBALL

On The Field Drills

Eyes Closed Drill

  • The quarterback and the receiver both have their eyes closed.
  • The ball is snapped and the quarterback drops back to pass and the receiver runs the play (both with their eyes closed).
  • The quarterback releases the pass where he thinks the receiver should be; the receiver runs to the spot where he thinks the ball should be for that play; the coach then yells "ball" when the ball is up in the air and on the downward location.
  • The Receiver opens up his eyes and must react to where the ball really is and try to catch it.
  • This is almost like a tach effect, but you must physically react to what you see in a very short period of time.

Yoked Prisms

  • Have two players throw the ball back and forth with them on.
  • See how long it takes them to recover and compensate for the prismatic effect.
  • Put the prism base in all different directions.
  • The prism effect shakes up the visual system - the player must compensate for it and overcome it.
  • It's almost similar to the player getting tackled - is all shook up - and then must shake it off and get back into the game.

Strobe Light

  • See the other sections for this technique.
  • The "visual noise" is very distracting and forces the player to concentrate extremely hard.
  • When they then go back into a normal lighting situation, the ball looks larger and appears to travel slower.
  • Improves visual concentration.

Peripheral Vision

  • Take a pair of goggles or glasses and put tape around the periphery of the lenses or eyepieces.
  • Have them run some plays with them on.
  • This cuts out their peripheral vision and it forces them to exaggerate their head movements to see.
  • Again it forces them to concentrate harder.
  • When they remove the glasses, it appears that their peripheral vision is enhanced and they are more aware visually of things happening on the field.

Tach Slides

  • In a meeting, have tach slides shown of various defenses.
  • Flash then on the screen and have the players identify the type of defense and how they would react to it or what play they would run.
  • On the field, have the receivers line up to run a play, but not knowing which one.
  • They should have their eyes closed.
  • When the ball is snapped, the coach yells out the type of defense that is opposing them and they should open their eyes and run (i.e. button hook, fly, post, etc.) based on the type of defense that is yelled out.
  • It forces them to think on their feet.
  • An option is to not have the coach yell it out, but that they should just open their eyes and based on what type of defense that they see, run the play.

 

BASKETBALL

  • This exercise cuts out their peripheral vision and it forces them to exaggerate their head movements to see.
  1. Take a pair of goggles or glasses and put tape around the periphery of the lenses or eyepieces.
  2. Have them run some plays with them on.
  • This forces the players to concentrate extremely hard.
  • When they remove the glasses, it appears that their peripheral vision is enhanced and they are more aware visually of the action on the court.
  • On the court, have the players line up to run a play, but not knowing which one.
  • They should have their eyes closed.
  • The point guard has the ball, the coach yells out the type of defense that is opposing then and they should open their eyes and run the play based on the type of defense that is yelled out.
  • This forces them to think on their feet.
  • An option is to not have the coach yell the defense out, but they should just open their eyes and based on the type of defense type see, run the play.
  • Have the point guard bring the ball up the court and close his/her eyes.
  • The coach calls out the other players' names and the guard points to them.
  • The player must visualize all the players and their positions.

Players attempt to rebound

  • Players close his/her eyes, opens them, and finds the ball as soon as they hear the ball hit the rim.
  • Players turn back to the rim, as soon as he/she hears contact, they turn and look for the ball.
  • Strobe light (Do NOT use with epileptics)
  • Dim the lights in the gym and have players shoot foul shots with strobe light flickering.
  • They must ignore the visual noise.
  • Dim lights and have players pass the ball with the strobe light flickering.
  • This forces the players to take in more information in a short period of time.

Reaction

Eyes Closed

  • The player receiving the ball closes his/her eyes until they hear the ball contact the court and then they open their eyes and try to locate the ball and catch it.

Turn Back to Passer

  • Same as above except you turn your back to the passer and react to the sound of the ball contacting the court.

Services

Vision Info