As collegiate and professional sports have become more competitive, athletes look for anything to get an edge. Many have turned to strict diets and highly-organized physical training regimens in order to try and stand out over their peers for college scholarships and the precious few spots on professional rosters.
While these techniques have made many athletes much more talented and physically fit than they ever could have been without the new technological tools, one important trait still needed for high-level athletic performance is often overlooked.
Vision.
Eyesight is extremely valuable whether you are breaking down defensive coverages as a quarterback, running the offense as a point guard and certainly when you are standing in the batter’s box trying to decipher whether the pitch is a fastball or an off-speed all in a fraction of a second.
With this in mind it seems like an ideal for partnership for RightEye LLC to partner with Major League Baseball and the Prospect Development Pipeline as it was announced Tuesday. RightEye is a technology company that uses eye-tracking technology to enhance and evaluate vision performance as it regards to athletic training. It will work with MLB and its organizations with performance vision screenings for the new channel that MLB created to help amateur baseball players gain exposure with professional clubs.
ICYMI: USA Baseball and @MLB jointly announced today the creation of the Prospect Development Pipeline.
Read more: https://t.co/TqadtJghuu pic.twitter.com/O2MYv4c04S— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) December 8, 2016
“RightEye has been working with leading innovators in Major League Baseball and other professional national teams for several years, using eye tracking to assess and improve athlete and team performance, and we are excited to bring our experience and technology solutions to this new MLB and USA Baseball initiative,” RightEye president Barbara Barclay said in a statement. “With RightEye vision tests, teams will have a way to obtain quantifiable, objective assessments of potential players’ visual strengths.”
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Players in the program will receive feedback on their vision exercises as well as a dynamic vision assessment that is designed to help their progress as a baseball player. All players entering the program will be able to receive assessments that outline vision strengths and also identifying areas where vision can be enhanced to help reach their top performance levels on a baseball field. RightEye uses peer-reviewed scientific research as a part of their screening techniques and is already working with thousands of high school, college and professional athletes presently.
“We are pleased to be partnering with RightEye to bring their innovative eye-tracking vision assessments to athletes around the country,” Rick Riccobono, chief development officer of USA Baseball, said in a statement. “The RightEye assessments will provide a truly objective process for athletes to gauge their vision strengths and weaknesses. These are sport performance areas that can be enhanced through training, and will give athletes important insights about reaching their maximum potential.”
The first five Prospect Development Pipeline events are slated to begin this month in multiple cities across the country, with dozens more events scheduled during the high school baseball season in May and June.