What are Soft Eyes in Pickleball?
Soft Eyes in pickleball involves having your attention on the whole field of vision, rather than intensely focussing on the ball. Doing this, you surprisingly still easily find the ball. You know where it is. Your body knows where it is. You can find the ball without staring it into submission. In pickleball, hard focus can tighten the face, neck, shoulders, and hands, inviting the thinking brain to start managing the stroke. Soft Eyes widens awareness. You still register the ball, but you also sense court space, opponent movement, paddle position, and timing. From the Fluid Motion Factor perspective, this helps the body organize naturally instead of waiting for verbal instructions from the mind. On returns, volleys, dinks, and resets, Soft Eyes create calm precision. You are not chasing the ball. You are receiving it.
How to get there:
The Focus
The focus is on the entire field of vision.
About the ball
The ball will not get lost in the mix. It is one of the only moving things.
Snapshot at contact
Just as the ball reaches you, see if you can have another wide shot, gazing at the area of contact.
After the shot
Keep the vision wide, rather than an intense focus on where the ball goes.
FAQ:
Why can trying too hard to watch the ball make me tense?
Trying to do anything can make you tense. That “watch the ball, watch the ball, watch the ball” instruction is one more thing you need to process in addition to hitting the ball. And, since the ball is constantly changing position, whatever you are trying to do is almost always on the verge of failing. The vigilance required is almost certainly engaging rather than sooting the pre-frontal cortex
Why do soft eyes help you see the court more clearly?
Because the whole situation and all of the reference points for assessing the ball’s position in space are readily available.
How do soft eyes help me react faster at the kitchen?
You have more of a 3-D view of the ball. In addition, hard focus may activate the prefrontal cortex, which takes about a half of a second to make a decision. A ball traveling kitchen line to kitchen line takes about half a second as well. If we don’t engage the PFC, we have a lot more time for the (far faster) cerebellum to focus and fire..
How do soft eyes change the way you track the ball in pickleball?
in fact players rarely watch the ball all the way into the paddle. They usually check in on the ball on its way over to their side, then somehow lose interest and start looking where they intend to hit the ball, even though they haven’t even made contact yet. Soft eyes doesn’t plan ahead. It’s simply present.
Can soft eyes improve my timing and shot feel?
Soft eyes puts more attention on the space around the ball, and on the gap between shots. The feeling is more time to execute, more space for deft paddle and shot control.
How do I practice soft eyes during a real point?
That’s the best time to do it. Few people practice pickleball. But if you do, get soft eyes going ASAP.
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What Are Soft Eyes in Pickleball?
Short Answer Soft eyes in pickleball means seeing the ball without staring at it too hard. Instead of narrowing your focus and tightening your body, soft eyes allow you to see the ball, the court, your opponent, your partner, and the space around the point. From the…