A record is taken of the athletes individual and interrelated visual skills including:

  • Visual acuity - How well each eye can see in the distance.
  • Eye Dominance - Which eye is the aiming eye.
  • 3D vision - How well the eyes work together to provide 3D vision - This is directly related to timing and accuracy, striking a ball or aiming at a goal.
  • Peripheral awareness - The ability to be able process information in a wider field of view.
  • Eye speed - The ability to follow a moving target.
  • Ability to cope with poor lighting conditions incl. floodlights, sun glare, overcast conditions.
  • Focus refocus ability.
  • Colour Vision.
  • Accuracy of anticipation and timing.
  • Hand eye co-ordination.

Tracking

Tracking is the ability to clearly and accurately follow a moving object as it flies through the air or moves on the ground. In hurling, for example, it is the ability of a goalkeeper to sharply see the sliotar as it is shot towards the net from inside the 20 metre line at up to 70 mph. It is also the ability of a hurler to clearly see an open teammate while both are in motion.

Depth perception

Depth perception skills allow an athlete to accurately judge distances and to react quickly. In competitive swimming, for example, swimmers with better depth perception skills may be better able to time their turns and their finishes at the wall, thereby giving them a slight competitive advantage.

Visual alignment

Visual alignment is the ability of the eyes to work together as they focus on different points at varying distances, and to keep the two eyes working together without strain or double vision. In golf, for example, a player who continually misses putts to the right or left may have a problem related to alignment.

Eye-Body Coordination

Eye-hand, eye-foot and eye-body coordination skills involve the input of visual information to the brain and the interpretation of that information by the brain to coordinate movement. It is evident that all sports involving a ball require excellent hand-eye and/or hand-foot coordination in order to catch, hit or kick the object.