Hand-eye coordination is an essential skill that you use each day. You use hand-eye coordination every time you reach to pick up an object, steer an automobile or bicycle or turn the pages of a book or newspaper. Most recreational activities and sports also require effective hand-eye coordination. For example, bowlers, golfers and softball and tennis players use hand-eye coordination to catch, throw and/or hit the ball. You can perform various drills to improve your hand-eye coordination.
Ball Bounces
Ball bounces improve your ability to manipulate an object with your hands to strike a moving object. Hold a ping-pong paddle in your left hand with your palm facing upward. Toss a ping-pong ball upward and repeatedly hit it 2 to 3 feet in the air, keeping your palm facing upward. Count how many times you can hit the ball without letting it fall to the ground. Try the drill with your palm facing downward also, and alternating between upward and downward. Alternatively, use a tennis racquet and tennis ball, or even a baseball bat and baseball.
Batting Tee Drill
Baseball coaches Rick Jones and Mark Kingston, contributors to “The Baseball Drill Book,” recommend baseball and softball players practice hitting off a batting tee to improve their hand-eye coordination. Randomly place the tee so it holds a ball in different parts of the strike zone, and try to hit the ball squarely off the barrel of your bat.
Catching Drill
This drill teaches you to position your hands in front of an object moving toward you. Stand upright with your hands at your sides. Have a partner stand 5 to 10 yards in front of you, toss a tennis ball at your chest, and call out either “left” or “right” while the ball is in the air. Move whichever hand she calls out to catch the ball. To make the drill more difficult, begin facing away from your partner and turn around when she calls out “left” or “right” so you have less time to react.
Cereal Drill
The cereal drill improves your ability to place one object inside another. Place a rectangular Styrofoam block on a table and spread “O” shaped cereal pieces on top of the block. Sit on a chair in front of the block and hold a toothpick in either hand. Try to stick the toothpick in the middle of each “O,” making a hole in the Styrofoam. Count how many times you can puncture the Styrofoam without touching the cereal pieces. Perform the drill with the opposite hand also. To increase the difficulty, see how many holes you can make in one minute.
References
- Newgy.com: Hand Eye Coordination
- "The Baseball Drill Book"; Bob Bennett; 2004
- "Sports Vision Training for Better Performance"; Thomas A. Wilson and Jeff Falkel; 2004
