An N.L. optometrist wants to put goalies’ eyesight to the test
An optometrist in Newfoundland is launching a study to determine if specific visual performance skills correlate with the save percentages of hockey goalies. The research aims to identify how peripheral awareness, reaction time, and eye tracking contribute to athletic success.
Why it matters
Understanding the link between visual processing and athletic performance could revolutionize training methods for professional and amateur athletes.
Dr. Sarah Hutchens, an optometrist and founder of St. John’s-based The Vision Development Centre, is starting a study to see if there’s a correlation with a goalie's visual performance skills and their save percentage.
“This is very much visual performance skills, which are different than your routine eye exam,” she told CBC Radio’s The St. John’s Morning Show .
“We're looking at things like your peripheral awareness, reaction time, eye tracking skills. Also, you know, inhibition decision making in response to visual cues,” said Hutchens.
To reach that goal, she is looking for hockey goalies ages 13 to 30 who also have a track save percentage for at least one season.
“Other than that, they just come into our office and they participate in about a 45 to 60 minute assessment. And we're really getting into their visual performance skills,” she said.
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