The Eyes Have It

By Vince Papale

Welcomat

October 27, 1982

Vince Papale as a Eagle player

The edge. It’s what makes the winner out of the loser, the great one better than the good one, or whatever it takes to enhance a person’s performance notches above the ordinary—in sports or anywhere else.

All pro jocks long for the edge, as do their coaches. With competition so fierce in the pro sports arena, and millions of dollars at stake, they seek the edge not merely as a means to victory but also as a matter of survival within one’s profession.

I was down at the Vet the other day, nosing around for some information for my radio show, when I came across the Sports Vision Center. There I found what may be the sports edge of the future.
Sports coaching is so specialized these days that it’s hard to believe the concept of the eye coach has been overlooked, because the basis of all sports is timing and eye-hand coordination—all skills that an eye coach can improve.

“After doing an evaluation,” explains Dr. Arthur Seiderman, who runs the place, “I would then set up a training program to teach the athlete how to use his vision system more effectively on the field.” If you’re a person who takes his sports seriously, and you have a timing problem, maybe even you can use an eye coach.

For example, I play in a summer slow-pitch softball league and have trouble because of my tendency to hit the ball too early, which makes me a dead pull hitter. Dr. Seiderman doesn’t know this as he administers one of his tests to see if my eyes work as a team and If they’re able to judge position In space. After the test, he asks if I play softball. I tell him I do. With great confidence, he replies, “You are a dead pull hitter.”

Okay, Doc, who leaked it out? My problem, it turns out, is that I perceive a target to be in front of its actual location, and so I swing at the ball too early. My teammates think I’m impatient, but now I realize that I always swung early merely because I thought ball was where it wasn’t.

How often have you been told you have a great swing in golf, tennis, racquetball or whatever, but the ball doesn’t react as it should with such a classic swing? Probably your timing was off. And If your timing always seems to be a little off, maybe your problem’s in your vision.

Good hands for a football receiver may mean good eye-hand coordination; being able to see spin on a pitched ball is called visual acuity; my problem, I am told, is eye teaming and spacial localization. These are all eye skills that can be refined with coaching: once an athlete is aware of his problem, he can be trained to compensate for his deficiency.

It’s a concept worth keeping an eye on – no pun intended – especially considering what some of the top pros have said about eye skills. Bjorn Borg, Pete Rose, Ted Williams, Bob Griese, George Brett and Virginia Wade have all given credit to visual training. Billy Smith, the goalie for the hockey New York Islanders, went so far as to say, “I was razor sharp during the playoffs because of eye training. If I had my way, the eye doctor’s name would be inscribed on the Stanley Cup along with all the Islanders.