What Is Foot Eye Coordination?
Foot-eye coordination refers to the link between visual inputs or signals sent from the eye to the brain, and the eventual foot movements one makes in response. Foot-eye coordination can be understood as very similar to hand-eye coordination.
Foot-eye coordination affects almost all people, as it is necessary for even the most basic tasks, such as walking or going up stairs. However, this innate skill is of particular interest and importance to athletes, specifically those who play foot-intensive sports such as soccer.
Even performers who rely on their feet a great deal, like dancers, must have excellent foot-eye coordination. This means that their legs, particularly their knees and feet, respond immediately and accurately to visual cues processed through the brain. For example, poor foot-eye coordination could lead a soccer player to attempt a kick, but the player may end up missing the ball because his foot didn’t correctly process the location information about the ball that his eye provided.
Thankfully, foot-eye coordination is not static. Rather, continued practice at responding accurately to visual inputs with one’s feet can increase one’s level of foot-eye coordination. This is part of the reason why studies of high-caliber athletes consistently show that foot-eye coordination is linked to a player’s skill level in his sport.
