Vision for success: Training your vision to help you become a better rugby player

By Dr Zöe Wimshurst

Chartered Psychologist and Visual Performance Coach

Did you know that each of your eyes is controlled by 6 muscles which work in the same way as your biceps and your hamstrings (and, in fact, all of your skeletal muscles), in that they adapt to the stresses and demands you place upon them in order to become more efficient. Your eye muscles do not need to get any stronger, but by training them you can make your eyes move faster, for longer periods of time before getting tired, and in better co-ordination with each other.

When playing rugby, around 80% of all the information you have comes through your visual system so the faster and more efficient your eyes are able to work, the more time you will have to make better decisions. Even a skill as simple as catching a ball requires the visual system to carry out multiple tasks. The eyes are required to continuously converge, assessing the speed of the ball and predicting its path. The visual system must then combine the input from the eyes with activation of the body’s motor system in order to get the hands to the correct position to successfully execute the skill. Therefore, in order to successfully catch a ball the visual system has had to demonstrate depth perception (judging the distance between the hands and the ball), eye-tracking (moving the eyes smoothly to follow the ball as it travels), focus flexibility (keeping the ball in focus as it moves closer), dynamic visual acuity (the ability to take in and process visual information quickly), and eye-hand coordination (translating input from the visual system into motor action). And this list doesn’t even include the other visual skills that an elite athlete would be expected to carry out all the time, such as using peripheral awareness to monitor the position of team-mates and opponents, and saccadic eye movements (short, sharp eye movements that change the focal point of the eye) to scan for the next pass.

It has been shown many times that high skilled athletes have better visual abilities than non-players. Further, it has been shown that a visual skills and awareness training programme can improve sports performance. Studies showing this have been carried out on all levels of athletes and across a range of different sports suggesting that visual performance training is applicable to anyone wanting to improve their performance.

So what can you do to try and get your visual system working at its best? Well the first step is to have an examination by an optometrist. This will only look at the health of your eye and the very basic level of what your visual system is capable of – but it is an essential starting point. Think of it as being like having a physiotherapist check that all your muscles are in good working order before you start a fitness programme.

In order to improve your dynamic visual awareness, peripheral awareness and overall eye-body co-ordination you can learn to juggle. This seems like a simple skill but it really does involve many different visual skills and is one of the first things I encourage all of my athletes to learn. If you can already juggle try and make it more difficult for yourself by copying someone else’s movements while juggling – or even more difficult, try kicking a ball back and forth with a partner at the same time.

In terms of rugby specific vision training, think about how you can make the training you already do move visually demanding. Instead of having your teams in training wearing different colour bibs, could they just have different colour tape around their wrists? That way you have to scan harder to see who is on your team, and you are being forced to look to the hands, which is where you should be looking in order to make an accurate pass.

If you want to ensure players are looking up and scanning for space regularly can you position spare coaches/injured players/spectators around the training pitch and get them to hold up signals that the players have to see?

Finally think about your strength and conditioning sessions. What are your eyes doing when you lift weights? Are they even open? Can you put two eye charts on the wall in your gym and just read alternative letters off each one while you work out? If you can use your eyes when you are lifting the heaviest of weights it will stand you in good stead for using them effectively when under the physical pressures of a match.

It was the legendary American Football coach Blanton Collier who coined the phrase ‘the eyes lead the body’ and in rugby the visual system provides players with the information about where, when, and what to perform. It is therefore the eyes, via pathways in the brain, which direct the muscles of the body to respond. Elite athletes will spend hours every week improving the speed, strength and endurance of their muscles but, if they are inefficient in processing visual information, this muscular training will be a waste of time. Your visual system is at the core of every decision and action you will make on the pitch so make sure you give it the attention and training it deserves!

Dr Zöe Wimshurst is a senior lecturer at AECC University College. She has worked with the first team squad at Harlequins RFU for 8 seasons as well as with other elite athletes such as Premier League football teams, F1 drivers, and Olympic athletes.

Zöe will be giving a talk which is open to the public at AECC University College on Wednesday 24th October as part of the Expert talk series hosted by the University. The talk is entitled ‘Seeing is Achieving: Using Your Vision to Enhance Sports Performance’ to book a free place visit www.aecc.ac.uk

AECC University College are the official Sport Science and Performance Partners for Bournemouth Rugby Club providing support across all levels of the club.