Tim Howard: goalie for the U.S. Men’s World Cup Soccer Team. In this week’s game, he made the most recorded saves in a World Cup Match.
How does he do this? In order for someone like a goalie to block a ball from going into the net, the goalie’s eyes need to work together to converge and focus on one object (the ball). Having our eyes work together to see a single image is very important especially for learning and everyday life. You use your eyes everyday to read, throw/hit a ball or look at an object nearby.
If you notice that your child has trouble focusing their eyes, there are simple everyday activities that you and your child could do to improve eye focus and it doesn’t even feel like work! Tossing an object at a target is one of the best training procedures for developing hand/eye coordination and the ability to locate objects in space.
· Roll a ball back and forth.
· Throw a ball or bean bags back and forth.
· Throw a ball into a target like a bucket.
Notice that all these activities are hands on and do not involve technology. It is important to play with actual toys in real space to improve your eye teaming ability. This is essential for the development in a young child. Who knows, maybe one day your child will end up playing goalie for the U.S. Men’s Soccer Team making more saves than Tim Howard.