EYE-HAND COORDINATION and it's utmost importance

Eye-hand or hand-eye coordination, the order of the words are often interchanged in general conversation. However, in reality, the “hand” does not lead the “eye.” The hand is “blind” and cannot guide itself. Whichever the order of the words, people generally understand the concept, but the point here is that eyes lead the hand.

Vision (eye) sends the signal that directs the muscles (hand) when and where to respond. In baseball/softball, if the eyes do not tell the batter where the ball is, it’s difficult to determine when to swing or not. If they do swing, without vision, it’s impossible to hit the ball no matter how perfect the swing. The same applies to volleyball and many other sports; the eyes tell the athlete where he or she needs to be to get in position and make a play. 

Nearly all sports today require the athlete to react accurately with rapid hand movements and a rapidly changing visual environment. The goal of improving eye-hand coordination is to better develop response time and accuracy. With guided practice, the goal is for the athlete to coordinate his or her hands accurately with as minimal effort as possible. This eye-hand efficiency allows for more cognitive reserve and better stamina. 

Vision is one of the more dominant senses, most often an athlete will believe what he or she sees whether it’s true or not. Vision training provides an opportunity for the athlete to ensure their vision is giving them accurate information. Each vision training activity should contain feedback. Feedback is important because the athlete can then understand if they are performing the activity accurately. If the training activity is not performed accurately, the athlete’s visual system can relearn and adjust accordingly. With proper guidance and practice, accurate and consistent eye-hand coordination can be achieved resulting in more consistent and improved athletic performance.

Author: Dr. Ryan Edwards