While I am not known for being a “gadget person” (I finally got a blackberry about the time they ceased to be the dominant smartphone), I am always on the lookout for anything that can help with sport performance. About 6 months ago, I was flipping through my most recent edition of “Clay Target Nation”, and happened upon an article that mentioned an eye-training DVD by renowned trap shooter Phil Kiner. My interest was piqued! Almost every sport relies on the eyes to provide input that drive the body to perform some physical task. A fun fact – the eyes are actually considered to be part of the brain – the only visible part at that! I was on a mission!
I located Phil’s web site:
That lead me to his email address. I inquired as to the availability of his updated 15 anniversary eye training video. He shared his cell phone number with me and told me to check back in a few weeks. Mid July, they were ready for distribution. It arrived a few days later.
This video is not an instructional video telling you how to perform the exercises and leaving it you to do it on your own. The video actually contains the exercises – Five of them. You simply watch the exercises, tracking / locating targets as they appear on your screen. Completing all 5 exercises takes about 16 minutes. Phil recommends performing them twice / day, every day for a few weeks to get started, and then dropping back to once / day, and finally to an as-needed basis. Note that the exercises are best done sitting relatively close to the largest screen you have available. I have found sitting about 4-5 feet back from a 50” TV works nicely.
I followed Phil’s instructions. The first time I did the exercises, I was tired! Basically, your eyes move, track and focus with the aid of very small muscles. The video helps to exercise those muscles much in the same way that working with weights helps to strengthen the other muscles in your body. A little over a month later, I won my class in the 20ga event at the NC state shoot. This was followed the next week with a win at my local club’s sub-gauge event. Coincidence? Maybe, but then one of my fellow shooters commented that I seemed to be picking up targets more quickly than usual. He proceeded to order a copy of the video as well!
Several of my shooting friends are now using the video. While we have not performed any scientifically controlled experiments to prove the effectiveness, we are all convinced that the use of the video has been beneficial. I recommend it! Note that this video is not just for shooters. It should be helpful for any sport requiring the ability to track or locate any sort of target (baseball, tennis, soccer, volleyball, etc, and engage with it – which is most any sport! If you decide to buy a copy, let me know how it works for you!