Lacrosse

An overview of important vision skills for Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport, usually played on an outdoor field. The goal is to use specialized lacrosse sticks to get a small ball into a net or goal. It is a sport which features constant movement up and down the field, and which requires precision to pick up, carry, catch, shoot, and pass the ball with the lacrosse stick’s net. Improving key vision skills can greatly increase player performance.

Attacker

In lacrosse, the primary role of the attackers is to be at the front of the team’s offense and to score goals. Awareness of what is going on around them, as well as the ability to make rapid, precise decisions based on visual input.

Important vision skills for an attacker include:

Peripheral Awareness: Increasing peripheral awareness grants increased ability to be aware of things taking place on the edges of a player’s field of view. For an attacker moving up and down the field, it allows him to remain aware of the positioning of both opposing and friendly players as he moves the ball.

Hand-eye coordination: Since so much of what they do requires expert ball handling and passing abilities, any edge in coordination can make a big difference.

Tracking: Improved tracking gives an attacker increased ability to follow the flow of play while also remaining focused on a single object, namely, the ball. Effective tracking ability can also increase an attacker’s reaction time, which can be the difference in a tight game.

Midfielder

Midfielders participate in both the offensive and defensive aspects of the game as they make sure their team maintains possession of the ball. As such, skills that enable them to better shift their focus to keep track of the action can provide significant advantages.

Important vision skills for midfielders include:

Convergence: Convergence provides midfielders with the capability to rapidly focus on nearby objects and accurately judge their movement. For midfielders, who have to keep track of both the ball and other players,improved convergence can provide an edge when it comes to focus on the ball’s movement in key situations, such as amid a scrum.

Dynamic Visual Acuity: Another vital skill for any lacrosse player, but especially for midfilers, dynamic visual acuity allows a player to maintain visual clarity while he and an object he is tracking are both in motion. In lacrosse, where the players are constantly moving, improving this skill better equips a player to follow the movement of the ball.

Visual Memory: Visual memory is the ability of a player to remember details based on things he has seen before. For a midfielder, this can improve his “lacrosse IQ” by giving improved ability to recognize offensive or defensive alignments, and to be better prepared for movements of the ball.

Defender:

goal and score. Several key vision skills can provide defenders with a crucial edge.

Important vision skills for defenders include:

Depth Perception: This skill allows a defender to use both their eyes to effectively and quickly judge the distance, speed, and direction of objects around them. For defenders, this helps better judge the positioning of the ball and opposing players, so they can get into position to prevent them from scoring.

Speed of visual processing: The quicker visual information can be processed in high pressure situations, the greater the chance the defender will be able to react quickly enough to prevent the opposing team from scoring.

Vision balance integration: Balance is important for every player on the field, but especially for those that’ll be heavily involved in plays with a lot of other players around. In addition to simply helping to avoid falls, better balance allows for more maneuverability in key moments.

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Goalie

Goalies have just a single job in lacrosse, but it is a very important one, as they are the last line of defense to prevent the opposing team from scoring.

Important vision skills for goalies include:

Visual reaction time: Things can happen very quickly during a lacrosse game especially as play moves closer to the goal, so it’s vital that a goalie be able to instantly react to a visual stimulus.

Convergence: Convergence provides players with the capability to focus on nearby objects and accurately judge their movement. For goalie, improved convergence is particularly important and can provide an edge when it comes to focus on the ball’s movement in key situations, such as amid a scrum.

Eye tracking and movement precision: A goalie must be able to follow the flow of play as the action moves closer to his position, so he can be ready to act. Improving eye tracking will give him a better ability to follow all of the movement, so that he will be able to position himself best to prevent the opposing team from scoring.

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