CONNECTING OUR EYES, BRAIN, AND BODY CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
Why You Need A Quiet Eye
This is a skill that is gasoline for your sports performance
Although cats are able to see in very low light, or even in the dark, this skill is not critical to sports performance. What is critical is a Quiet Eye!
What exactly is the Quiet Eye?
The quiet eye is considered the time that the athlete aims his eyes at the target just before, during, and after the motor action of the sport.
For example, where and for how long the basketball player looks at the rim while making his shot. Another example is where a golfer looks as his club approaches, strikes, and ultimately moves the ball.
The quiet eye can be measured using specially designed glasses that have a forward-facing camera to record what the athlete is viewing and rear-facing cameras, aimed at the eyes, to measure what the athlete is looking at. The computer then superimposes these images and allows a review of what the athlete was looking at, and for how long, as he made his play.
Why is it effective
It appears that by increasing attentional control, which allows more brain energy (concentration) to be applied to the sport's task, the athlete can more finely control the action and accuracy of their arms or legs.
A simple parallel can be made to slicing a cucumber. When concentration is good, it is possible to slice the cucumber quickly and accurately. Once that concentration is distracted (even for a split second), slicing becomes much more difficult and often leads to a sliced finger!
Concentration and attention appear to be the basic tools of the quiet eye.
What’s the evidence
Research has shown that an effective quiet eye can lead to better sports performance. Studies in basketball, golf, shooting and hockey have all shown this effect.
For example, in a study of 22 elite golfers with a mean handicap of 2.7 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3111367/), the authors compared golf performance pre and post-quiet eye training. They found that quiet eye training accounted for 43% of the performance variance and more importantly trained golfers made 1.9 fewer putts per round compared to their pre-training performance.
How can I make my eye quiet?
There are several ways the quiet eye can be trained successfully. All approaches seem to be concentration and attention based.
For example, repeating a key phrase just before and during the critical motor action is common. This technique “reminds” the athlete where to look and increases their concentration and attention on the task at hand.
Working with a sports vision specialist who has eye-tracking equipment, that allows assessment and feedback of the quiet eye, is a valuable addition to other forms of sports training.
Having the ability to see where the athlete was looking and how quiet their eye was can add fire to a simple post-game video review session!
Would you like to learn more about how your eyes can help you play better in your sport? Sign up for my 5-day FREE Email course by clicking here (safe link to my website).
