Sports Vision in Soccer: The World Cup Edition!

With the FIFA World CupTM gracing our TV screens for a whole month, now is a great time to talk about visual performance in soccer! Soccer is the most popular sport on the planet with a projected five billion people to watch the World Cup this month. In the United States, soccer is not only the fourth most popular sport; it is also en route to becoming the fastest growing sport, so you are likely to encounter a soccer player who can benefit from sports vision training.

Each team has 11 players, with one goalkeeper and ten outfield players. The ten outfield players can be lined up in any combination of formations. For this article and the sake of simplicity, we’ll assume a 4-4-2 formation in which there are four defenders, four midfielders and two strikers. Each position has different visual challenges.

As players attack and/or defend, they rely on different visual skills to maximize their athletic performance. Attack-minded players need to have good central-peripheral integration, speed and span of recognition and strong visual processing skills. These skills are essential as players dribble, run with the ball at pace and constantly look for a decisive pass. Strikers need to have superb reaction speed as they receive passes to get a shot off toward the goal as fast as possible. Defensive players need fairly good central-peripheral integration, strong near/far, oculomotor skills (saccades) and speed and span of recognition. Defenders also need excellent depth perception as they constantly try to trap opposition players offside. Goalkeepers may not be called upon as often as other players, but they require high-level skills including excellent depth perception, dynamic vision, oculomotor skills, near/far, central-peripheral integration, speed and span of recognition and visual processing skills. Goalkeeping especially is one position where you can train eye-hand coordination and reaction speed.

In soccer, neuro-visual processing ability is essential. The coordination and balance required to run with a ball at your feet and constantly make decisions on where to run, when to pass or when to shoot is intense. Without the ball, players are always analyzing where other players are, where the ball is or where players and the ball will go. For this reason, I like to work with light systems, such as Fitlight, which are versatile and customizable. Let’s explore a few easy-to-implement sports vision drills for the skills I mentioned above.

Goalkeepers

Use a light system for reaction speed training and eye-hand coordination. To build center-peripheral integration, set up the light system in the player’s periphery, and have them track a ball as you throw it at them while making them tell you which light color is the odd one out.

Defenders

Dynamic Brock string training and custom near/far charts or electronic near/far systems work well for these players. Incorporate a light system in the player’s periphery while training, asking them to verbalize the odd light out.

Midfielders

Incorporate the central-peripheral integration training mentioned above. To train speed and span of recognition skills, use color-coded wall targets and corresponding lights set on the floor. Have the player find the color-coded target while stepping on the corresponding colored light.

Strikers

Incorporate drills from midfielder training. To train eye-foot coordination and improve reaction speed, set your light system on the floor and have the player perform a “fast feet” drill where they select the light that goes off. This drill is opposite for goalkeepers who will train with their hands with a light system set higher up.

Working with soccer players is both fun and challenging. Now that you know a little more about the game and sports vision skills required, you’re set to create your own drills and help your athletes!

First published: Optometric Management – December 2022