The Eyes Have It!
by Nick-at-Will

Nicol David, the world's #1 player and 2013 U.S. Open Champion

October 20, 2013 - Just how important are the "eyes" of the most successful professional squash-players? Well...looking closely at photos of Nicol David, you just might be convinced that they could be very important!

Seven-time world champion, Nicol David

Studies reveal that great athletes always seem to be in the right place at the right time, have better anticipation of how the play will develop, and seem to be quicker to react. They see clearly and quickly, read only the essential cues and have the appropriate motor response to act and react quickly and accurately. Let's see...does this in any way describe and/or remind you of someone who just won the women's U.S. Squash Open!?

How about former world squash champion, the great Jansher Khan!? Well...just take a look at his photo, who this author personally witnessed throughout his long and  illustrious career...

Enough said!? His "eyes have it!"

And what about current world # 7 Wee Wern Low, Nicol's Malaysian teammate who scored a major upset at the U.S. Open with a win over the #3 player Raneem El Weleily and took world  #2, Laura Massaro to five games in 86 minutes! She now just might rise in the WSA November rankings at least one, maybe two places based on those results. Her "eyes certainly have it!"

World #7 Wee Wern Low of Malaysia

Most everyone will agree that an athlete's eyes have a lot to do with their sports performance. Understanding the role of the eyes in performance can be somewhat confusing. Most people surmise that if they have 20/20 eyesight their eyes must be just fine for their sport.

However, vision in athleticism is not a question of just having good eye-sight, but knowing where to look, knowing what visual cues to seek, absorbing and then processing this visual information while physically in motion and while the other sensory systems are being challenged, often with considerable distracting information.

Who can forget the great Amr Shabana, winning the World Open in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009, reaching the world #1 ranking in 2006. His "eyes certainly have it."

Amr Shabana, World #1 player in 2006

Evidence shows that the brain works like a muscle. The proper function of the eyes depends on efficient use of seven muscles. Just as physical practice is necessary to train and refine body movement for peak performance, sensory and cognitive practice are needed to fine-tune the eyes-brain-body connection for optimal achievement. Who else might this remind you of!?

Ramy Ashour of Egypt - World #1 squash-player!

Is there any question that his "eyes have it!?" We think not!

FOOTNOTE: Athletes must adjust and respond to the changing visual cues in the playing field environment by moving their bodies in a manner that achieves the desired result. The accuracy of this movement, a motor skill, typically depends on the speed and accuracy of incoming information from the eyes. Visual input from the eyes travel to the brain and inform the athlete about the perception of body position, speed and acceleration-rate of flying objects, i.e. curve balls, skeet, footballs, soccer balls, hockey pucks, a squash ball, etc. These are all examples of assessing the environment through visual cues, the motor response to these changes that is... "the essence of athleticism,"...SQUASH!