In a field that’s ever-expanding, sports neurologists are excited about emerging scientific evidence helping us understand how and why training an athlete’s vision and brain are as important as musculoskeletal strengthening, cardiovascular fitness and flexibility when it comes to peak athletic performance. For example, baseball is one of the most visually intensive sports, and with the 2018 season underway, it’s a great time to explore how the eyes and the brain work together to enhance a player’s performance. We’ll also touch upon the ways that brain and visual training can help baseball players of all ages reach their fullest potential.
Visually tracking a ball and contacting it with a bat, as well as tracking a ball and catching it with a glove, are abilities that require extraordinary visual-motor skill and coordination. Typically, when a baseball player’s capabilities in this regard are discussed, the focus is placed on the concepts of depth perception — the ability to perceive the relative distance of an object in a person’s visual field and on hand-eye coordination — the way a person’s hands and sight work in tandem to perform actions that require speed and precision. While these skills are incredibly important, when it comes to baseball, there are even more visual demands that affect performance. These include: static and dynamic visual acuity (sharpness and accuracy of vision at rest and with motion), contrast sensitivity (ability to distinguish between light and dark in fine increments), visual attention, focus flexibility and anticipation skills.
[See: The 10 Most Underrated Exercises, According to Top Trainers.]
Indeed, there are quite a few brain and vision factors that contribute to a successful baseball career. And think about this: It takes about 300 to 400 milliseconds to blink. A baseball batter will have only 125 to 225 milliseconds to decide to swing the bat once a pitch is thrown. So, it stands to reason that the best hitters (and fielders) must have great vision, but they must also have a keen ability to predict or project where a ball is going to end up (rather than simply reacting to the ball when it’s in flight).
The good news is that the brain’s design already has areas within the visual cortex (the part of our cerebral cortex that accepts and routes sensory nerve impulses from the eyes) that function to compensate for the delay between when our eyes see something and when the signal reaches the brain. This is referred to as a “prediction” mechanism and, in the case of baseball players, allows a hitter to “track” pitches and unconsciously predict where the ball will be a moment later. Excellent vision works in combination with the brain’s recognition of subtle cues, such as the pitcher’s body movement and position to predict ball movement and location, rather than just “reacting” to what is actually being seen in real time.
[See: 7 Signs You Should Stop Exercising Immediately.]
Even better news is that the brain and the visual system can be trained to improve function and performance, resulting in optimal visual function, hand-eye and eye-body coordination, and prediction/anticipation abilities. Specific, targeted instruction and practice to train the visual system is helpful in optimizing performance. And specific, targeted instruction and practice with visualization of live action (even recorded versions of live action) is the best way to train the brain. For these reasons, we often recommend devoting specific time in an athlete’s training and practice regimen to these tasks.
Especially in a time when overuse injuries in youth baseball are on the rise, finding ways to train for better performance, while preserving the bodies of young — and in many cases still growing and developing — athletes is significant. Through visual and brain training, batters can learn to assess and predict the quality of a pitch before it leaves the pitchers hand, helping them decide whether or not and where to swing, well before they swing their bat at it. And we know that no matter how much a body can be physically trained through repetition, for true success the brain and vision cannot be ignored.
[See: 10 Questions Doctors Wish Their Patients Would Ask.]
His questionable mathematical calculations aside, perhaps baseball legend Yogi Berra was on to something when he said: “Baseball is 90 percent mental, and the other half is physical.”
More from U.S. News
7 Alternatives to Toxic Cleaning Products
10 Ways Poor Posture Can Harm Your Health
How the Brain Responds to What the Eyes See originally appeared on usnews.com
