Date of Award

6-2024

Document Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Jennifer Radziak OTD, OTR/L, CHT

Second Advisor

Melinda Delbridge MS, OTR/L, CBIS

Abstract

Background. Athletic performance is one of the most visually demanding activities an individual can participate in. Due to the physically and cognitively demanding nature of soccer, it is imperative to take a deeper look into how visual-perceptual skills impact overall athletic performance. If an athlete’s visual system does not correctly receive messages from environmental stimuli, overall athletic performance may suffer. For an athlete to function at their highest performance possible, it is essential to focus on improving visual-perceptual skills.

Methods. A mixed methods approach was used to determine the impact of vision training on visual perceptual skills in male soccer players over six weeks. The TVPS-4 and Neuro-score were used to see how the vision training program affected the visual performance of an athlete. A post-survey was then used to understand the participant's perspective of the project and how they felt vision training helped them in training or games.

Results. Following the six-week vision training project, the means of TVPS-4 scores and Neuro-scores were not found to be statistically significant. Although most athletes did see an increase in scores, there was a negligible correlation between the time spent in vision training and changed TVPS-4 total scores.

Discussion. The ability to make quick decisions is dependent upon how quickly one can perceive what is happening around them on the field and can differentiate between a skilled athlete and a less-skilled athlete. An athlete may not reach their full athletic potential without the proper vision training interventions.

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