Warmer weather has arrived! It's that time to let you children go
outside to play and explore! Today we are going to talk about catching
and throwing. We are going to talk about why it is important!
Growing
up, I played softball. I never understood the importance of playing
softball, I just knew it was fun and I loved being part of a team.
Little did I know just playing catch was building up my visual system.
Here's
why playing catch is important: First and foremost while throwing and
catching we are building our visual skills. It can also help us detect
visual problems.
Many times as I am talking with our
patients' parents, aside from asking about school performance I ask, "Do
they like to play sports?" or, "How are they with catching?" Most of
parents say, "They hate sports, and are not very good at catching."
Bingo! That tells me that their visual system needs to learn to work in a
different way to accomplish the task.
In a previous blog about
Sports Therapy, I wrote about sports and how they have different visual demands. Check it out:
- Passing/shooting aim (depth perception and eye/hand coordination)
- Improved defensive and offensive awareness (peripheral vision)
- Enhanced reaction time (eye/hand coordination)
- Improved hitting in baseball (tracking and depth perception)
- Improved fielding (tracking and depth perception)
All these visual demands require good eye teaming and focusing
ability. If you are lacking either skill, catching will be very
difficult.
Starting this weekend, go out and play ball
with your children! It will strengthen their visual skills, help their
eyes (and brain) learn to refocus and work together.
If
you find that your child is having difficulty catching, it is time for a
Comprehensive Evaluation here at Optometric Physicians.
