TRAINING GEAR

• Eyesight Trainer - shields #1, #2, R, L

• 1 pole or other target (i.e. point on a wall, center of a bounce net)

SET UP

• Prepare your target point for the last drill in this session

• No set-up needed for other drills

This is a largely versatile drill that engages both eyes, develops eye-body coordination, and (depending on a shield) also trains peripheral vision

• Stand straight with your Trainer on and a training/juggling ball in your hand, your arm close to your body

• With your Trainer on, look forward into the shield, your head high. DO NOT PEEK THROUGH THE SIDE OF THE LENS!

• Find an angle that allows you to see the ball in your periphery

• Toss the ball into the air and catch it with the same hand 10-times, then switch hands

As you progress

• Increase the height of the throw as your ability increases

Practice time: at least 10 throws with each hand

Keep your spirit light, breathe and laugh at yourself if you star to feel clumsy. We have all been there!

Practice Lenses: #1 and #2

Watchouts:

• This practice may be difficult at first. You may find yourself dropping the ball a lot! So put a few balls in your pocket, then pick them all up once you run out

Tips:

• If you have difficulty, change the practice and use mono lenses R and L, leaving the eye closer to the ball unobstructed. Start with your Dominant Eye. Give yourself time to progress

• Start with very low throws, only an inch or two and increase the height as you go

• Use a softer ball (like the Overbound Training Ball), that does not bounce off, and is therefore easier to catch

• For highly advanced practice, challenge yourself with a ping pong ball

• Stand straight with your Trainer on and a ball in your hand, your arm stretched away from your body

• With your Trainer on, look forward into the shield, your head high. DO NOT PEEK THROUGH THE SIDE OF THE LENS!

• Toss the ball into the air and catch it with the same hand 10-times, then switch hands

As you progress

• Increase the height of your throw as your ability increases

Practice time: at least 10 throws with each hand

Keep your spirit light, breathe and laugh at yourself if you star to feel clumsy.

Practice Lenses: #1 and #2

Watchouts

• This practice may be difficult at first. You may find yourself dropping the ball a lot! So put a few balls in your pocket, then pick them all up once you run out

Tips

• If you have difficulty, change the practice and use mono lenses R and L, leaving the eye closer to the ball unobstructed. Start with your Dominant Eye. Give yourself time to progress

• Start with very low throws, only an inch or two and increase the height as you go

• Use a softer ball (like the Overbound Training Ball), that does not bounce off, and is therefore easier to catch

• For highly advanced practice, challenge yourself with a ping pong ball

This technique gently forces each eye to equally engage in the process of seeing and thus prepares them both for visual fusion

Just this once you will NOT be asked to look into the shield, instead, your eyes will follow the ball

• Stand straight with your Trainer on and a training ball in your hand

• Notice that when you close an eye, you cannot see the ball in the corresponding hand (i.e. if you hold the ball in your right hand and you close your right eye, you will not be able to see the ball) 

• With both eyes open, throw the ball from one hand to the other, like a juggler, over your head. Follow the ball with your eyes and your head as it leaves your hand, and as it reappears on the other side. Take advantage of the upper peripheral opening of the lens

• Switch directions back and forth or practice one direction for 10 throws (i.e. left to right), and then reverse for another 10 throws (i.e. right to left).

Practice time: minimum 20 throws (10 in each direction)

Practice Lenses: #1

Watchouts

• This may be hard at first, you may be dropping the ball often. Over time your binocular vision and your eye-body coordination improves and the technique becomes easier to perform

• Practice first with your eyes unobstructed (without the shield), as described in the NAKED EYE JUGGLER . While this will not deliver the same result, it will allow you to get accustomed to the movement, and gain some eye-body coordination. You can then resume with the shield #1 added

Teaching each eye individually to properly estimate the position of an object in 3D space is an invaluable step in increasing an athlete’s depth perception. This drill also teaches eye-body coordination

• Select a target - a pole, a spot on a wall, an object above eye level

• Wearing a mono shield, take a ball and charge it at the target. Examples:
  soccer: kick/pass a soccer ball to touch a pole or hit a selected spot on a wall
  basketball: throw a training ball at a target on a wall or shoot a basketball into a hoop
  tennis: use a tennis ball, hit a target on a training wall with or without a tennis racket

• Repeat 10 times, then switch shields and practice with the other eye

Practice time: minimum 20 throws (10 with each eye)

This video shows the drill as part of a soccer practice, leveraging a soccer ball and a pole

Practice Lenses: R and L

Watchouts

• This is a very difficult task. Be kind to your eyes and have fun. This drill is a moment of practice, not a thrive for perfection

Tips:

• Practice with your Dominant Eye first

• Laugh when it does not go your way! Laughing will make you relax and the drill will become easier to perform.

• If using a wall, move the position of the target relative to your starting/shooting point from session to session. Higher, lower, to the right and left to promote eye engagement under different angle