Science-backed

Abstract

Visual skills are critical for peak performance in many sports, including baseball. Oculometrics provides quantitative assessment of athletes' visual skills and allows targeted training to strengthen visual abilities. This paper reviews research on oculometrics in sport, with a focus on applications for elite baseball players. Evidence suggests oculometric training can improve skills like visual reaction time, anticipation timing, eye-hand coordination and dynamic visual acuity to enhance on-field performance

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Introduction

Vision is an integral part of human motor control and plays a critical role in sport performance (Hitzeman & Beckerman, 1993). Adequate visual abilities allow athletes to accurately perceive and integrate visual information to guide motor responses (Abernethy, 1996). Advances in oculometric technologies now enable quantitative assessment and training of visual skills to optimize sports performance.

Oculometrics refers to the measurement and analysis of eye movements and functions to assess visual skills and abilities (Stone& Liston 2014)). Modern video-based eye trackers precisely record gaze patterns and visual scanning strategies during functional dynamic tasks. This allows detailed examination of visual search strategies, target tracking, gaze stability and other oculomotor functions (Vickers, 2007).

Oculometrics has shown unique benefits for evaluation and training of vision in sports like baseball where dynamic visual demands are high. This paper reviews existing research on oculometric assessment and training for sport, with a focus on potential applications to enhance performance in elite baseball players.

Oculomterics in baseball

Expert baseball batters exhibit superior oculomotor abilities, including enhanced dynamic visual acuity, eye-hand coordination and change detection (Klemish et al, 2018). Studies employing oculometrics have identified differences in gaze strategies between baseball players of varying skill levels.

Compared to less skilled batters, elite hitters demonstrate more efficient visual search patterns, anticipatory saccades directed toward predicted ball locations, increased fixation on the pitcher's release point, and improved smooth pursuit tracking of the ball (Bahill & LaRitz, 1984; Shank & Haywood, 1987).

Chen and Stone (2021) used oculometrics to assess key vision skills for baseball The findings show that fundamental visuomotor capabilities can predict the complex, learned skill of baseball batting. This suggests that superior oculomotor abilities can contribute to better performance in sports that require high levels of visual acuity and coordination, such as baseball.

The authors proposed oculometrics as an effective tool to evaluate visual skills and identify areas needing improvement through targeted training. Superior dynamic visual processing measured oculometrically differentiates elite from sub-elite batters and may represent a form of perceptual-cognitive expertise underlying enhanced hitting performance. 

Oculometric Training Protocols

Research indicates visual abilities are trainable and can be enhanced through appropriate oculomotor training (Appelbaum et al, 2011). Modern oculometric systems like the NEUROFIT One provide automated assessments and highlight individualized deficits that can be improved on.

Evidence shows sensorimotor abilities are signifcant predictors of onbase percentage, walk rate and strikeout rate, accounting for age, position, and league. The pattern of results suggests performance contributions from both visual-sensory and visual-motor abilities and indicates that sensorimotor screenings may be useful for player scouting (Burris Etal, 2018)

Oculometric tests can identify athlete’s visual strengths and weaknesses to guide effective training. For example, a batter struggling with strike zone judgement may benefit from training to improve dynamic accommodation. Custom vision training interventions based on oculometric data could target fundamental skills involved in key baseball tasks like hitting, fielding and base running.

Conclusion

In summary, a growing body of research highlights the utility of oculometrics for visual assessment and training in sport. Evidence suggests oculometric testing and training can enhance visual skills to boost on-field performance in elite baseball players. Oculometrics allows coaches and trainers to develop data-driven, individualized visual training programs to maximize each athlete's potential. More research is still needed on ideal oculomotor training protocols and predictive validity. However, preliminary findings indicate oculometrics may represent an impactful innovation for vision optimization in baseball and sport performance.

References

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Appelbaum, L. G., Schroeder, J. E., Cain, M. S., & Mitroff, S. R. (2011). Improved visual cognition through stroboscopic training. Frontiers in psychology, 2, 276.

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Burris K, Vittetoe K, Ramger B, Suresh S, Tokdar ST, Reiter JP, Appelbaum LG. Sensorimotor abilities predict on-field performance in professional baseball. Sci Rep. 2018 Jan 8;8(1):116. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18565-7. PMID: 29311675; PMCID: PMC5758703.

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Dynamic Vision Training Transfers Positively to Batting Performance Among Collegiate Baseball Batters

Sicong Liu, Lyndsey M. Ferris, Susan Hilbig, Edem Asamoa, John L. LaRue, Don Lyon, Katie Connolly, Nicholas Port, L. Gregory Appelbaum

bioRxiv 2020.02.12.945824; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.12.945824

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Clark, J. F., Ellis, J. K., Bench, J., Khoury, J., & Graman, P. (2012). High-performance vision training improves batting statistics for University of Cincinnati baseball players. PloS one, 7(1), e29109.

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Klemish, D., Ramger, B., Vittetoe, K., Reiter, J. P., Tokdar, S. T., & Appelbaum, L. G. (2018). Visual abilities distinguish pitchers from hitters in professional baseball. Journal of sports sciences, 36(17), 1972-1979.

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Vickers, J. N. (2007). Perception, cognition, and decision training: The quiet eye in action. Human Kinetics.

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Rongrong Chen, Leland S. Stone, Li Li; Visuomotor predictors of batting performance in baseball players. Journal of Vision 2021;21(3):3. https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.21.3.3.