The Philippine Sports Commission, in cooperation with the FDM Neuroscience and Vision Care Research and Training Institute, is making sure that Filipino athletes will have a clearer vision moving forward.
“This is an eye opener,” said PSC chairman Patrick Gregorio of the young partnership which kicks off with a free two-day “functional assessment” for national athletes on April 9 and for coaches, trainers and officials on April 11 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
“We want to create awareness that with better vision our athletes will have better performance,” said Dr. Tess Yambot, chairman of the FDM Institute during Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the PSC media room.
Yambot, past president of Vision Skills and Learning Solutions and the Integrated Philippine Association of Optometrists (IPAO), is hoping that the partnership with the PSC, dubbed “Sight on the Goal, Sports Performance Vision in Action” will be long term.
“We are here to help enhance the sports vision skills of the athletes geared for excellence,” added Yambot, who was joined at the forum by fellow FDM Institute members, including Dr. Marisse Paredes, Dr. Maricris Lim, Dr. Analyn Cruz, Dr. Aaron Lising and Dr. Noel Paed.
They were later joined by Dr. Elizabeth Nace, co-owner of the Visual Processing Optometry in Los Angeles, California.
They stressed the importance of eye-hand coordination and that it takes more than a 20/20 vision for the athletes to reach their peak performance, and that there is more than a clear vision when it comes to sports excellence.
“Even if they see clearly, is it properly processed to the brain? We need to check that too. It is about using both eyes and processing it to the brain,” said Paredes at the forum presented by San Miguel Corporation, PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, and ArenaPlus, the country’s 24/7 sports app.
Filipina tennis player Kaye Emana has undergone the initial procedure under the PSC program, including vision skills testing, eye-hand coordination, vision tracking, reaction to light. and enhanced visual clarity during play.
“Akala natin 20/20 is already good. We also need to address the needs that have not been checked before,” added Paed.
