Astigmatism and playing outfield

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Does having an astigmatism affect playing in the outfield?

When my daughter played in the outfield this past year it frankly didn't go very well. She would occasionally make a great catch but for the most part she really couldn't judge where the ball was going to go. Now put her in the infield and she is an entirely different player. While talking with her coach, he mentioned her lack of "tracking" in the outfield. He also mentioned that he has an astigmatism that makes outfield a challenge. DD wears corrective lens specifically designed for astigmatism. Of course he tells me this might have been helpful to mention this earlier and also to teams she is trying out for in the coming years. This has not been an issue with her pitching or hitting, but I never thought about outfield. (She won't be playing there anymore! LOL)

Would you mention this during a tryout so that she is not judged because of her lack ability in the outfield? Have you had girls with this issue and is there anything we can do to help her with it? Thanks!

 

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My DD has astigmatism and is near sighted. She has no trouble with tracking and plays outfield just fine - but she struggled with hitting a bit this year and started getting better when she got contact lenses (before that, she played with no vision correction at all - the eye doctor said an outfielder that was near sighted with astigmatism didn't need glasses while playing - go figure!).

She also played SS for school without vision correction and did okay.

I would just not mention it - some kids are better on the dirt than in the grass - no need to give a coach a preconceived idea that she's not a good fielder at all.

 

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I wore glasses from like 2nd grade on. Had very bad eyes and astigmatism. Outfield was my best position.

I'm sure it depends on the severity and how well it's corrected with glasses or contacts.

 

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I am personally inflicted with this eye condition and found that they have corrective sports glasses that make you look like an idiot or contacts that greatly help with seeing a ball in all facets of the game.

 

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I have scheduled an eye appointment so we can get their opinion on the severity of her astigmatism. Other than that we will be spending the next several months working on outfield. (with a mask on) lol Oh and she did have those sport glasses. Spent $100 on them. She never wore them. lol

 

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Astigmatism often affects the ability to see well in dimmer conditions. This could be one issue. With my astigmatism, I tend to see better in with orange or yellow tinted sunglasses.

 

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When considering vision correction, be sure to explain to the optometrist that your daughter plays softball, and tracking a fly ball is very critical. Have them check her "stereo vision" (depth perception) to determine if she's particularly dominant in one eye. Blurry vision is one thing, but without good depth perception, some kids have extreme difficulty determining distance and tracking. When playing infield, she has the ground as a reference point, so tracking becomes easier. But when there is nothing but the sky behind the ball, it's can be very difficult. I found that I was very right eye dominant, and I gradually adapted to lack of depth perception over several years.

Astigmatism generally requires toric lenses, which must be oriented on the cornea to prevent rotation. My corneas lacked proper curvature, and soft lenses tended to conform to the shape of my cornea. I resorted to rigid gas permeable lenses which were very comfortable for me, and gave excellent vision correction.

Even though lenses may correct her vision to 20/20, she may have other issues - particularly single eye dominance - which affects her overall vision acuity. Nearly everyone has some degree of eye dominance, but there are adjustments that can be made to overcome most of the problems which affect "sports vision". Hitting can especially be adversely affected by eye dominance. I would suggest doing a search of OFC for posts on this subject by Howard Carrier (Hitter). He has done quite a bit of research on the subject, and has posted many helpful tips over the years. Notice how many pro baseball players use an open stance to get a good two-eyed look at the ball.

 

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I wouldn't mention it to a coach at tryouts.

1.) It sounds like an excuse.
2.) Some coaches (the ones with the dirt-stained socks) might look at you as if you said you had leprosy.

Astigmatism is fairly common, but the name sounds worse than the actual "condition".

 

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Just curious as to how old your daughter is and how often prior to this year she's played / practiced in the outfield? The reason I ask is because as with all positions, in all sports, there are certain traits and skills that need to be practiced to be perfected. Of course vision plays a big part in tracking a ball in to your glove but there have been many great outfielders that have had less than 20/20 vision who perfected this skill. The problem, I believe arises from the fact that we are not teaching the 7-12 year olds (boys and girls) to be outfielders. If you stop at any rec. ball practice in your area and just observe how much time is spent in the dirt vs. in the grass I am sure you'll see the disparity. We look upon the young children in the outfield as a pariah. "I have to play Johnny or Susie so lets throw them in right field"! The problem with this is that one day Johnny and Susie wake up and they are 14 yrs. old and teams are consistently hitting the balls to the grass! I am sure that if your dd is a good infielder she could also be a good outfielder given the same amount of work. Dont give up on the position too soon, I have never seen a high school, college or pro team that had a 9 player infield. JMHO

 

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Just curious as to how old your daughter is and how often prior to this year she's played / practiced in the outfield? The reason I ask is because as with all positions, in all sports, there are certain traits and skills that need to be practiced to be perfected. Of course vision plays a big part in tracking a ball in to your glove but there have been many great outfielders that have had less than 20/20 vision who perfected this skill. The problem, I believe arises from the fact that we are not teaching the 7-12 year olds (boys and girls) to be outfielders. If you stop at any rec. ball practice in your area and just observe how much time is spent in the dirt vs. in the grass I am sure you'll see the disparity. We look upon the young children in the outfield as a pariah. "I have to play Johnny or Susie so lets throw them in right field"! The problem with this is that one day Johnny and Susie wake up and they are 14 yrs. old and teams are consistently hitting the balls to the grass! I am sure that if your dd is a good infielder she could also be a good outfielder given the same amount of work. Dont give up on the position too soon, I have never seen a high school, college or pro team that had a 9 player infield. JMHO

She is 13. And frankly you are correct. Rarely spent any time in the outfield. Always was a pitcher/middle infielder since she started playing at age 8. I am not one for excuses either. Just curious as it was mentioned to me. I jumped the gun, because of course you don't want to hear that your DD can't play a position! But DD can throw (almost spot on) from outfield to home plate and I believe that is why she was put in the outfield. However, without any practice from her team or at home, she was at a disadvantage. That will not be the case anymore. She wants to work at it, she doesn't like to be told she isn't good at something. So we will practice and I know her team will focus on that as well this year. Wondering if there are any defensive classes I can enroll her in. Funny how she hated being in the outfield all year, but now she is determined to master it. lol

 

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She is 13. And frankly you are correct. Rarely spent any time in the outfield. Always was a pitcher/middle infielder since she started playing at age 8. I am not one for excuses either. Just curious as it was mentioned to me. I jumped the gun, because of course you don't want to hear that your DD can't play a position! But DD can throw (almost spot on) from outfield to home plate and I believe that is why she was put in the outfield. However, without any practice from her team or at home, she was at a disadvantage. That will not be the case anymore. She wants to work at it, she doesn't like to be told she isn't good at something. So we will practice and I know her team will focus on that as well this year. Wondering if there are any defensive classes I can enroll her in. Funny how she hated being in the outfield all year, but now she is determined to master it. lol

Try this, NIKE SPARQ Vapor Strobe - See Sport BETTER..

My daughter had problems seeing long distant's when playing outfield
running down softballs, And yes They HELPED BIG TIME. Same as your daughter,
since 9 yrs old to today being 18 yrs now, she's always played SS or 2-Base.
Because of her speed, Coach put her in centerfield 2 years ago, she had to
relearn to TRACK the ball all over again, and these's helped. Today she still
plays infield, But at anytime she will and can play the outfield with NO ISSUES
on seeing the ball. They also helped with Hitting too on tracking/seeing the
pitch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhcMH27TqZY or try this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHf2i0gtKww

 

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I have severe astigmatism and am 90% right eye dominant. The astigmatism affects night activity like driving. Mlights appear as starring. It's the right eye dominance that affected me in sports as I have lack of depth perception. I bricked every jump shot I ever took in ball. I'd focus on the eye dominance. I'd just ramp up the reps in the outfield to let her brain adjust / compensate as best it can. Don't let it deter her. It's ok to realize it may limit you somewhat and to let others know, but hard work can help compensate for it.