A sports vision programme can significantly improve visual and motor skills in young netball players. This is according to the research findings of Prof Dané Coetzee from the School of Biokinetics, Recreation and Sport Science at the North-West University (NWU) and her research partner Dr Elna van der Merwe.

Their research article, titled “An exploratory investigation of the effect of a sports vision programme on Grade 4 and 5 female netball players’ visual skills”, was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

They set out to determine whether structured sports vision training can enhance visual and motor skills that are critical for players’ performance on the court, particularly hand-eye coordination and reaction time.

Keep your eye on the ball

The importance of visual skills in non-disabled sports is widely acknowledged. Vision plays a crucial role in processing environmental information, and it is essential for athletes to develop strong visual and perceptual skills to achieve optimal performance.

Despite numerous studies that highlight the benefits of sports vision programmes for elite athletes, there is a lack of research focusing on how such programmes impact younger athletes. Prof Coetzee and Dr Van der Merwe sought to fill this gap by evaluating the impact of an eight-week sports vision programme on the visual skills of Grades 4 and 4 netball players.

How they did it

The study was designed as a pre-test and post-test experiment involving 25 participants with an average age of 10,08 years.

The participants were divided into two groups: an experimental group (13 participants) who underwent the sports vision training, and a control group (12 participants) who did not receive any intervention. The training sessions for the experimental group were conducted twice a week for eight weeks, each session lasting 60 minutes.

To measure the impact of the sports vision programme, the researchers used several established tests to evaluate various visual and motor skills, including hand-eye coordination, reaction time, peripheral vision and saccadic eye movements.

Both groups were assessed before and after the programme, and a retention test was conducted two months later to determine whether the intervention had any lasting effects.

What the researchers found

At the start of the study, there were no statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups in terms of their visual skills. However, after completing the sports vision programme, the experimental group demonstrated significant improvements in key areas.

In particular, hand-eye coordination and reaction time, two critical components of netball performance, showed marked improvement in the experimental group compared to the control group. Significant improvements were also observed in motor coordination, visual tracking and reaction speed.

Additionally, these improvements were maintained over time, as demonstrated by the retention test conducted two months after the intervention. The control group, which did not receive the sports vision training, showed a decline in reaction time over the course of the study, further highlighting the benefits of the programme.

A vision for the way forward

This exploratory investigation provides strong evidence that a sports vision programme can significantly improve visual and motor skills in young netball players. The programme's lasting effects, demonstrated by the retention test, further underline its potential to enhance long-term sports performance.

While the study was limited by its small sample size, the findings offer valuable insights into the role of vision training in children's sports development.

Prof Coetzee and Dr Van der Merwe suggest that future research should focus on larger samples and explore how sports vision training can be adapted for different sports and age groups. They also argue that it would be beneficial to investigate the direct impact of improved visual skills on on-field performance to further validate the effectiveness of these programmes.

Prof Dané Coetzee