Innovation Blog

Oh, Say, Can YOU See?  Innovating the EyeGym

By Shlomo Maital

 

  

Sherylle Calder

   A former South African women’s hockey team member, Sherylle Calder, has made a breakthrough innovation in performance enhancement in sport.  She did it by introspection – by understanding her own special gift,  then developing methods to help others acquire it.  And she has proven results: She helped coach two World Cup rugby champions, South Africa and England to world titles. 

        The basic idea is simple.  Athletes need superb eye-hand coordination, and eye-feet coordination.  Training methods focus on the hands, the feet, the body – strengthening muscles, and making them quicker and more resilient and durable.  But what about the ‘eye’, a heretofore neglected aspect of physical ability?  Is vision simply a ‘given’, determined by DNA?  Nothing, in fact, is wholly determined by DNA – everything can be improved, by hard work.

       Calder developed a series of pathbreaking eye exercises, in what she calls the EyeGym, to improve what players see on the field.  I imagine she works on peripheral vision, and on quickening reaction time to what the eye sees, and in particular, to anticipating where the play will move to, on the field.  “You have eyes in the back of your head”, she was told, when she played field hockey.  And that is literally true.  The brain can cooperate with the eyes, to translate what the eyes see into a near-term scenario, what will happen a second from now, or a split-second.

     Introspection and empathy are powerful tools for innovators.  First introspection. What do you do well, or what do you know, or what skill do you have, that are distinct and special?  What is special about them?  Second, empathy.  How can you apply those skills, to help those who may not have them?  Can you teach them? Can they be developed?  How did YOU acquire them? Can others follow suit?  And can you apply Malcolm Gladwell’s approach – 10,000 hours – can you invest 10,000 hours to sharpen a skill, insight or competency, and transform it from something unusual to truly extraordinary? And, can you make a living doing it?

  •  Developing a better eye for the game, by Emma Stoney.  Global New York Times, Tuesday Jan. 11, 2011.