Visual Skills and Volleyball
Oct. 29, 2004
Barry L. Seiller, M.D.
It has long been taken for granted that an athlete's visual skills will directly (positively or negatively) impact his or her athletic performance. Great athletes are said to possess superior visual skills. Basketball players have said that when they are in the zone, they can "see" everything that happens on the court. Exceptional baseball hitters can pick up the seams on the baseball as it leaves the pitchers hand. Football quarterbacks can pick out their receivers and accurately deliver the ball downfield. However, while many athletes will try to improve their performance through strength training and conditioning, they will often do little to improve their visual performance. Caring for or improving their visual skills often begins and ends with a trip to their team or local eye care professional to be fit with glasses or contact lenses. They ignore an aspect of their athletic skills which can be trained and improved like any other. The same holds true in the sport of volleyball.
Like other athletes, volleyball players are often unaware that visual skills can be evaluated, trained, practiced, and improved: These visual skills include:
At The Homer Rice Center and The Visual Fitness Institute, we have demonstrated that these visual skills like all physical skills can be taught, trained, practiced and improved. We're not talking just 20/20 eyesight, which is essential, but how athletes use the information transferred from their eyes to actions on the court. Most players are similar in size, speed, and conditioning and all have learned the basic techniques, but we have found one of the critical differences between athletes is their visual skills and visual abilities. Chances are that every athlete can improve in one or more of these visual skill areas, i.e. visual acuity, visual recognition skills, depth perception, tracking or focusing abilities or even eyesight. These skills are interrelated and when utilized together, refine hand eye-body coordination and help a player "see and process everything that is occurring on the court". Good visual skills are important in all aspects of volleyball, but are especially crucial in the following volleyball skills:
Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Volleyball players, along with other student athletes, have the opportunity to improve their athletic skills at Georgia Tech's Homer Rice Center. There they can take advantage of the first of its kind Visual Performance Center to sharpen their visual skills with the expectation of improvement on the court or on the field. The visual performance program is one of the most utilized voluntary programs at the Homer Rice. This program, which is directed by the Visual Fitness Institute, has now become an integral part of each student athlete's testing and training program. Athletes using the program have noticed an improvement, not only in their visual and athletic performance, but also in their academic performance as well.
A recent improvement to the vision program has been the development of the Vizual Edge Performance TrainerTM (VEPT). This CD-Rom, is cutting edge technology currently used by individual athletes, as well as by Olympic and professional teams. One of its advantages is that it can be utilized by athletes on personal computers from the comfort of their home, dorm room, or on the road. It is designed to evaluate and train visual skills, creates scoring profiles, is user friendly and interactive. Additional information about the Vizual Edge Performance Trainer can be found at www.vizualedge.com.
Additional information about visual skills or information in this article contact Dr. Seiller through www.vizualfitness.com.