If your young athlete is serious about sports, or has the goal of playing at the collegiate or professional level, it is time to schedule an Athlete Vision Assessment with Idaho's sports vision expert – Dr. Ryan C. Johnson. Unlike other optometrists, Dr. Johnson combines his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with his residency training in binocular vision and neuro-optometry. This advanced training makes Dr. Johnson uniquely qualified to diagnose and treat even the most complex sports vision cases, including post-concussion vision syndrome.
For players 8 to 16 years of age, the Youth Athlete Vision Assessment is tailored to evaluate age-appropriate, sport specific vision skills. During these formative years, young athletes are developing the foundational vision skills vital to sports performance and critical to future success.
Youth Athlete Vision Assessment
The Youth Athlete Vision Assessment with Dr. Ryan C. Johnson is more than your basic eye exam. It is the first step to better visual performance. The Youth Athlete Vision Assessment includes the thorough evaluation and testing of:
- Accommodation – rate of automatic adjustment of the focus of the eye
- Contrast sensitivity – the ability to discern difference between tones, and to what degree
- Depth perception – the ability to perceive the relative distance between objects
- Dynamic visual acuity – accuracy and speed at which an object can be tracked while in motion
- Eye dominance – this skill is important for certain shooting sports, and considered primarily informational for most other sports
- Eye movements – the ability to follow a slow moving object (pursuits) or a fast moving target (saccades)
- Fixation – ability to direct, or concentrate, the eyes on an object or player
- Peripheral awareness – the ability to be aware of, and react to, players or objects in the periphery
- Vergence – simultaneous movement of the eyes toward or away from an object
- Visual acuity – most athletes have better than 20/20 visual acuity, many have better than 20/15 visual acuity
Sports vision skills affect the ability to perceive what is happening, visualize the outcome, and make split second game-changing decisions. Left undetected, sports vision deficits can become barriers to overall sports performance and prevent a player from reaching their true potential.
If you would like help your young athlete beat out the competition, get noticed by coaches, and move to the next level - call our office and schedule a Youth Athlete Vision Assessment with Dr. Ryan C. Johnson.