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Helton, Rockies headed for World Series
| Congratulations to I-ON's own Todd Helton and the Colorado Rockies for winning the National League Championship and a berth in the 2007 Major League World Series. Helton has had a huge year at the plate. He hit .320 in the regular season with a .434 on-base percentage, second in the NL to Barry Bonds. It must have been a supremely proud moment as Todd Helton carried his 5-year-old daughter, Tierney Faith, around the field as his team celebrated their Championship win. The 5-time All Star joked afterward that "now she thinks after every game we come into the locker room and pour beer on each other." Here's hoping there will be more opportunities for his daughter to join him in moments like this. |  |
A Career Path to Remember
Did you know? After high school, Todd Helton turned down his draft offer from the San Diego Padres and instead accepted a football scholarship from the University of Tennessee. Helton was the starting quarterback for the Volunteers, but an injury forced Helton to relinquish the starting job to teammate Payton Manning. Bad luck or good luck? That depends on one's point of view, but maybe it was a gift to baseball. Helton joined the Volunteer baseball team and, following his junior year, was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. What a run it has been! Helton just played his 1,578th major leage baseball game and is about to take the field in the World Series. By the way, rumor has it that Peyton is doing fairly well in his career, too.
Helton Setting Marks
Confidence: There is no Substitute
I-ON on YouTube
Watch the I-ON Eye Trainer television spot, featuring Todd Helton on YouTube:
10 Under Patriots Fastpitch Win With I-On!
We're proud of the many success stories we hear from baseball and softball players, their coaches and their parents from all over the country who've tried the I-On Eye Trainer. Among these testimonials I-On users have sent to us, is this recent email from Greg Gott, the Head Coach of the Seattle, Washington 10U Patriots Fastpitch Softball team. The Patriots' players have been utilizing the I-On Eye Trainer regularly in their practice regimen since last fall, and have seen very exciting results. With their spring tournament season now underway, we recently received an email from Coach Gott saying, in part:
I can tell you that we won the first tournament that we entered by a score of 12-1 in the championship game, while out-scoring everyone 40-16 and out-hitting 30-12 in five games! With practice and tournament games combined, we are 17-3. In the last 8 games we have outscored our opponents 70-21!
We find believers in the I-On Eye Trainer everywhere it's been implemented! We're excited about Seattle's 10U Patriots Fastpitch and can't wait to follow them through their season! We'll keep you posted on their progress so check in here often, or click "join mailing list" in the left gutter to receive e-mail notifications when I-Ontheblog is updated, and remember...
Keep Your Eye On The Ball!
Focus: Conditioning and Practice
What has not occurred is the recognition for the need to maintain the same attitude toward the athlete's visual health. The reason for this is that most people think that, if you have a visual problem, you can tell, and will seek appropriate care without intervention.
The reality is that most people lose their visual skills at such a slow pace that they do not realize the vision they have is well bellow what is supposed to be. For example, when I worked with the Cubs, every year we would do eye exams on all the players, from the Rookie Leaguers up through the Major Leaguers. Every year as many as twenty five percent of the players would need a vision correction that would improve their vision two lines or more on the standard Snellen Acuity chart.
While many of those professional athletes had the physical skill to compensate for the decreased visual ability, it still compromised their game. Imagine how harmful it would be for an athlete just starting to hone their skills if they are not performing up to their physical or visual potential.
Therefore, the first thing I recommend is that each athlete on the team be required to have an annual comprehensive eye examination. This can be done by most any eye doctor; however, the American Optometric Association does have a section that is dedicated to doctors who have a special interest in sports medicine. These doctors should be aware of any special visual skills required to play the sport and can offer additional specialized testing and analysis.
The next thing I recommend is using the I-ON Eye Trainers to teach the hitter what it feels like to be looking at the right place at the right time so that when the ball crosses the plate in a faster setting he/she will have a better chance of hitting the ball. The instructions in the manual and on the DVD show a variety of drills that can be used with and without the I-ON to improve those skills.
Another way to benefit from the I-ON is in fielding practice. Take the inserts out of the middle of the lenses and put the I-ON Eye Trainers on. Now throw some ground balls to the player and let him or her see what it feels like to follow the ball all the way into their glove. This is a great tool for the infield and teaches them to be patient and not to look away before they have the ball in their glove and under control.
Once you have established these fundamentals in your practice schedule you should be spending about as much time as you need during practice to develop these skills. If you feel a particular player needs more, then I would recommend sending him or her to a sports vision specialist for more individualized training.
Also, in addition to working with the I-ON, there are some excellent vision drills that can be viewed at Get Focused. I would recommend them for all developing baseball and softball players.
Good luck, and keep your I-ON the ball!
Gregory S. Moore OD
Welcome to the I-ON Blog!
class="567163519-30082006">As an eye doctor with a specialty interest in sports medicine, it has been my privilege to work with some of the highest paid athletes in baseball. The reality is, whether I am helping a seasoned professional or a young athlete just starting to play, it is very exciting to watch an athlete I have worked with see an immediate improvement in their game.
If you go to the website you will see testimonials from athletes around the country that have used the I-ON Eye Trainers. This is a new experience for me in that always before I worked with the athlete and experienced first hand how working with my developments improved performance. I really get a kick out of hearing from people I have never met telling me what a positive effect the I-ON Eye Trainer has had on the players they work with or on their own game.
As an intro to this blog I just wanted to make sure that every athlete understands the importance of good eye health. You can have the best equipment in the world and the latest state of the art training tools like the I-ON Eye Trainer, but if your vision is compromised, you will not be playing up to your potential.
It is very easy to think that you are seeing well when in fact you are not. That is because most vision deficiencies occur very slowly. Over a long period of time you will adapt to some degree to the visual impairment. The reality is you think you are seeing as well as you ever did when, in fact, your vision may be greatly decreased causing your overall performance level to be well below your real potential.
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Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have concerning the I-ON Eye Trainers and how they can help you get the most out of your game, or visit our website at I-ONtheball.com. Until next time...
Keep Your Eye On the Ball.
Gregory S. Moore OD