the Edge trainer

and football
performance

Strengthening the Core Six Visual Skills provides the athlete with the foundational visual input needed to make critical decisions and motor responses at the highest level.

vision training

for football players

Football requires split-second reaction time and athletes who can fire on all cylinders while simultaneously reading complex coverages and schemes. A quarterback’s ability to see the field and process information goes far beyond having 20/20 vision.

the core six

visual skills

Understanding an athlete’s proficiency in the six core visual skills allows players, coaches, and scouts to identify and correct visual weaknesses and enhance the athlete’s performance on the field.

ball tracking

spatial awareness

football iq

reaction time

Convergence

Ability to locate the approaching ball as a receiver or defensive back.

Divergence

Enhances a quarterback’s ability to locate and judge the speed and trajectory of receivers and defensive players on passing plays.

Depth

Leverage spatial awareness and see the plays on multiple levels – navigating tight spaces to find the space to make a play.

Alignment

With proper alignment players are able more easily focus on the play – enabling increased precision in movements.

recognition

The ability to recognize formations, coverages, and situations properly will enable a player to more quickly and confidently perform.

TRACKING

Ability to anticipate the flight of the ball or an offensive player breaking open a play.

taking a look

at positions

Depending on the position an athlete plays in, the visual skills required for optimal performance vary. In football, an excellent quarterback may possess elite divergence and recognition to properly identify defenses and track the movements of receivers and defensive players alike. A linebacker must be able to recognize and track the movement of a running back and converge on the ball carrier as they reach the point of impact. Proper balance in the visual system will lead to improved performance and a more successful skill set to excel on the field.

quarterback

Quarterbacks have one of the most visually demanding skill-sets in all of sports. A QB must be able to scan the field, recognize defensive sets, and anticipate movements by both the offensive and defensive players. QB’s with excellent divergence can scan the field and judge the trajectory and speed of defenders as they locate open receivers. Strong recognition and tracking scores will correlate with strategic pre-snap reads and a great ability to move defenders with your eyes.

defensive backs

Must understand their spatial awareness in the secondary to move amongst receivers and other defenders to properly cover their zone/man. Convergence and tracking play a large role in defensive back play as they must focus on their man and quickly turn their head to make a play on an incoming pass.

rb, wr, & TE

Are often operating in space, which makes depth perception a crucial skill to develop and train in order to allow for proper spacing for route running. Having good convergence and tracking scores correlate with a strong ability for receivers to focus in on the football and quickly turn around to make a catch.

LINEBACKER

Must be able to quickly the read play and use convergence to close the gap on ball carriers at the point of attack. Recognition and tracking allow linebackers to pick up on strategic offensive tendencies such as formations, motions, and pulling linemen to process the play as it happens and track where the football will be amongst several moving bodies.

Offensive line

Recognition and tracking skills are essential for offensive linemen in order to quickly react to defensive stunts and blitzes. Tracking also allows offensive linemen to maintain eyes on a target while moving in space when pulling through the hole and on screens. Pass protection requires a great sense of depth for linemen to kick back in space, recognize the defensive movements, and form a passing pocket.

defensive line

Must be able to maintain gap integrity and make the quarterback uncomfortable. In order to do so, they must have a great understanding of their spatial awareness which is improved with depth perception. They also require strong tracking and recognition skills in order to get a good jump on the snap and read offensive cues such as formations and pullers.

breaking down

the edge score

The Edge Score is a comprehensive score given to each athlete based on their most recent evaluation. The score takes all visual skills into account – including convergence, divergence, depth perception, alignment, recognition and tracking. Through analysis of an athlete’s Edge Score as well as their individual scores, we identify areas of weakness and develop an appropriate training program.

convergence

Convergence is the ability to focus on objects within close proximity and judge their movement and impact. Convergence may impact a player in the following ways:

Ability to locate the ball as it approaches to secure a catch
Anticipate the speed of a defensive player closing in on a hole
Target an offensive player as a player closes in on a tackle

DIVERGENCE

Divergence is the ability to locate objects in the distance, impacting an athlete’s ability to anticipate and react. Divergence may impact a player in the following ways:

Ability for a quarterback to locate defenders quickly and track their movements in coverage
Quickly locate offensive players as a safety all while reading the quarterback’s eyes
Capability for a wide receiver to judge the speed and trajectory of the ball as it leaves the quarterback’s hand for critical adjustments

DEPTH PERCEPTION

Depth perception uses both eyes to locate objects in space to judge their distance, speed, and direction. Depth perception may impact a player in the following ways:

The quarterback to feel the pocket and locate defenders closing in on the blind side
Running backs operating in highly congested spaces to break through a hole
Strong spatial awareness for defensive linemen trying to navigate potential double teams or chips

ALIGNMENT

Proper alignment creates no difference between the perceived location and actual location of an object. Alignment may impact a player in the following ways:

Reaction time
Timing of response to offensive and defensive movement
Crispness and decisiveness in movements

RECOGNITION

Recognition is the ability to observe, process and recall a series of visual targets, and respond properly. Recognition may impact a player in the following ways:

Recognize offense/defensive tendencies
Read developing plays in the run and pass game
Follow patterns to fire off the ball effectively