Today pre-season football training isn’t just limited to weight lifting, running sprints and hitting the tackling dummies. Elite athletes are looking for that special edge to become faster, smarter and stronger, because this edge can truly mean the difference between winning and losing. Now it looks like many NCAA athletic programs and other performance institutions around the country are casting an eye on sports vision training equipment. Who knew that eye-hand coordination could be something you could actually use as part of your training, but that’s exactly what Dynavision D2 can bring to the field or court.
This equipment is being credited with helping improve athletic reaction time, peripheral acuity and hand-eye coordination. The training regimens can be used with athletic high performance training, visual reaction, mental conditioning and as part of a traditional physical workout.
“Vision training has been around for years,” says David Da Silva, head vision trainer at IMG Performance Institute. “But what started as rudimentary exercises are now becoming more technological and specific to the sport.”
The IMG program using this vision technology began in August 2009, and according to Da Silva, it is now in the process of upgrading their training by adding the Dynavision D2. This system consists of a four-by-four stand alone variable height system, equipped with fast-moving lights that track reaction time, and a sphere of 64 buttons that test peripheral vision and hand-eye coordination. The D2 was released this past spring by Tulsa-based Dynavision, a company that has been developing vision training units for rehabilitation facilities around the world.
“We are in the age of measurement,” Phil Jones, creator of the D2 said. “We’ve known for years how important vision training is, but athletes need to know their baseline stats and be able to track their improvement as they interact with the equipment.”
Great blog. I have been wearing glasses for most of my life and have just recently discovered the eye exercise program by dr. Bates. The results are great!