The theory seems simple enough: A moving baseball or tennis ballmust be seen before it can be hit.
In other sports such as basketball, soccer or football, playershave to envision the entire field or court to be fully effective.
'Seeing is believing' makes sense in sports. That's why a newfitness program is coming into vogue - vision training.
Harvey Ratner of Silver Spring, Md., is one of its leadingteachers. He says having 20-20 vision - with or without glasses -is not enough.
'My background is in tennis, but I've found that what I teach isapplicable to other sports,' Ratner said.
'Vision is the ability to process and react to what one sees.Proper training and equipment are two keys to a good visual system.Like the muscles in our bodies, our eyes can be strengthened toperform better with vision training exercises.'
Better vision makes for better athletic performance.
The major vision factor that affects athletic performance isdynamic visual acuity, the ability of an individual to track a movingobject while he or she is moving.
Depth perception, focus, fixation and binocularity (the scienceof how the eyes work together) are all factors in dynamic visualacuity.
American University (D.C.) basketball coach Ed Tapscott put histeam through vision training in the offseason and claimed it helpedreduce turnovers.
'It paid off with greater team concentration, recognition,hand-eye coordination and quickness,' he said.
Nick Giaquinto, baseball coach at George Mason University inFairfax, Va., calls eye training 'a new frontier in performanceenhancement.'
'Eye stretching exercises have helped combat eye fatigue, andour concentration and awareness levels have improved dramatically,'he said.
Ratner's main teaching tool is the jugglestick, his owninvention. It's a two-foot plastic pole with three plastic balls -one red, one blue and one yellow - spaced one foot apart.
The jugglestick can be used to test peripheral vision. Theathlete brings the jugglestick to the side of his head, looksstraight ahead and moves the stick. As soon as he sees a ball, hecalls out the color.
To test fixation, the athlete focuses on one ball while he spinsthe stick.
An athlete can improve fusion by holding the jugglestick up tohis nose and staring at two holes on a ball. Both holes should fuseinto one.
'I had one pupil call it a toothbrush for the eyes,' Ratnersaid. 'It could be used for everything - including driving skills -and by everyone from 3 1/2-year-olds to pro athletes. Sugar RayLeonard used it when I gave him tennis lessons.'
Ratner believes the jugglestick and other similar teachingtools improve tennis instruction. He has taught that sport for 22years.
'I believe that when you first get on the court, you can getconfused by too much instruction,' he said. 'If you learn to focus ona spot, watch the path of the ball - just as you try to catch thejugglestick - you automatically move around the ball and set yourselfup for shots.'
Ratner examined 274 umpires and linesmen at the 1986 U.S. Opentennis tournament and found that more than one-third needed tosharpen their visual skills when it came to following a moving ball.After the testing, many of the umpires and linesmen took up visiontraining.
A jugglestick costs $12.95. It can be ordered by calling301-495-0777 or 301-572-5114.
In addition to exercising with the jugglestick and similardevices, Ratner urges use of sunglasses in competition.
'When you think about it, it's common sense,' he said. 'You'regoing to see better without glare. I can't understand why moregolfers don't wear them when they play. Sunglasses can enhancevisual acuity, so better vision with sunglasses can be a viablecompetitive edge.'
Ratner, who holds no degrees in vision work, doesn't feel he'sin competition with optometrists such as Leon Revien, who have theirown methods for improving athletic vision. 'Dr. Revien's work is doneoff TV screens with glasses,' Ratner said. 'Mine is all done inspace, using the hands to achieve balance. Both programs work. Mineis more dynamic.'
