{"id":9666,"date":"2021-01-27T17:58:34","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T17:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=9666"},"modified":"2021-07-12T10:47:13","modified_gmt":"2021-07-12T10:47:13","slug":"the-larry-fitzgerald-story","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-to-vision-therapy\/the-larry-fitzgerald-story\/","title":{"rendered":"The Larry Fitzgerald Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>The renowned NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr. attributes his successful football career to the skills he learned in vision therapy.\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Larry Fitzgerald Jr. played college football at Pittsburgh University, where he earned uncontested All-America honors. In 2004, he was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals (pick number three), and his famed reputation has grown ever since.<\/p>\n<p>Larry Fitzgerald Jr. has had a long and distinguished career and is a firm believer that his visual training helped him to succeed on the football field. According to Mr. Fitzgerald, \u201cWhen you\u2019re at that age, anything that helps strengthen your eyes and eye-hand coordination is going to definitely help with catching the ball\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Contact a vision therapy eye doctor to strengthen your eyes and hand-eye coordination like Larry Fitzgerald Jr.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SEE RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-to-vision-therapy\/what-is-vision-therapy\/\">What Is Vision Therapy?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"practice-search-widget\">\n\t\t<h3>Find a Vision Therapy Eye Doctor Near You<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t<form class=\"practice-search-form practice-search-form-widget\" action=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/results\/\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page\" class=\"practice-search-page\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_latitude\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_longitude\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"address\" class=\"practice-search-address\" placeholder=\"City, Surburb or Address\" value=\"\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<button type=\"submit\" class=\"practice-search-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M10.6796 0.130005C9.15708 0.130059 7.66615 0.5646 6.38198 1.38258C5.09781 2.20057 4.07373 3.36803 3.43004 4.74783C2.78634 6.12763 2.54976 7.66246 2.74808 9.17205C2.9464 10.6816 3.57139 12.1033 4.54964 13.27L0.729639 17.08C0.6364 17.1732 0.562439 17.2839 0.511979 17.4058C0.461519 17.5276 0.435547 17.6581 0.435547 17.79C0.435547 17.9219 0.461519 18.0524 0.511979 18.1743C0.562439 18.2961 0.6364 18.4068 0.729639 18.5C0.917942 18.6883 1.17334 18.7941 1.43964 18.7941C1.5715 18.7941 1.70207 18.7681 1.82389 18.7177C1.94571 18.6672 2.0564 18.5932 2.14964 18.5L5.99964 14.62C7.35406 15.6038 8.98566 16.1324 10.6596 16.13C12.7814 16.13 14.8162 15.2871 16.3165 13.7869C17.8168 12.2866 18.6596 10.2517 18.6596 8.13C18.6596 6.00827 17.8168 3.97344 16.3165 2.47315C14.8162 0.97286 12.7814 0.130005 10.6596 0.130005H10.6796ZM10.6796 14.13C9.49295 14.13 8.33291 13.7781 7.34622 13.1188C6.35952 12.4595 5.59049 11.5225 5.13636 10.4261C4.68224 9.32975 4.56342 8.12335 4.79493 6.95946C5.02644 5.79558 5.59788 4.72648 6.437 3.88736C7.27611 3.04825 8.34521 2.4768 9.5091 2.24529C10.673 2.01378 11.8794 2.1326 12.9757 2.58673C14.0721 3.04085 15.0092 3.80989 15.6685 4.79658C16.3277 5.78328 16.6796 6.94332 16.6796 8.13C16.6796 9.7213 16.0475 11.2474 14.9223 12.3726C13.7971 13.4979 12.2709 14.13 10.6796 14.13Z\" fill=\"#fff\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"practice-search-use-my-location\">\n\t\t\tSearch near me\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\n\t<\/form>\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<p><i>The following are just some of Larry Fitzgerald\u2019s NFL achievements:<\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Selected for the Pro Bowl eleven times, he was named First-team All-Pro in 2008 and Second-team All-Pro twice in 2009 and 2011.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Fitzgerald and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice are the only wide receivers in NFL history to be selected for the Pro Bowl at least 11 times.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">His 234 games played are tied with K Jim Bakken (1962-78) for the most in franchise history.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Named a co-winner of the 2016 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award\u2014 the only league award that recognizes a player\u2019s community services as well as his playing achievements.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Franchise career leader in receptions (1,303), receiving yards (16,279), receiving TDs (116), 100-yard receiving games (47) and consecutive games with a reception (227).<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Ranked second in NFL history in career receiving yards (16,279), third in receptions (1,303) and is tied for sixth in NFL history with 116 career TD receptions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>What is Larry Fitzgerald\u2019s story?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>What many Fitzgerald Jr. fans don\u2019t know is that Larry Fitzgerald worked hard for his achievements, beginning from a young age.<\/p>\n<p>As a young child, Larry Fitzgerald struggled with academic difficulties. Fortunately, his grandfather, Dr. Robert Johnson, the founder of an optometry clinic in Chicago, understood the essential role the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/the-17-key-visual-skills\/\">visual skills<\/a> play in reading, writing, and even athletic performance.<\/p>\n<p><b>Dr. Robert Johnson soon began providing vision therapy to strengthen his grandson\u2019s visual skills<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>When Larry Fitzgerald Jr. turned 12 years old, he began to take interest in sports, but required further strengthening of the visual skills necessary to succeed on the sports field.<\/p>\n<p>Once again, Dr. Robert Johnson helped his grandson to strengthen his visual skills, this time to improve his athletic performance<b>.<\/b><\/p>\n<h3><b>Which visual skills are necessary for athletic success?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Speed and accuracy are both factors that contribute to a sports player&#8217;s successful performance\u2014 and the visual skills are essential for achieving these factors.<\/p>\n<p>The visual skills allow you to track a ball as it flies through the air, assume the correct position to make an effective catch, and accurately pass the ball to another player.<\/p>\n<p><i>The following visual skills are necessary for optimal sports performance:<\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Dynamic visual acuity<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Eye-tracking<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Eye focusing<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Peripheral vision<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Depth perception<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Visual reaction time<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Eye-hand coordination<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Visual memory<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Visualization<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Visual concentration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most binocular vision conditions are caused by problems within the visual system, or the neural connections between the eyes and the brain.<\/p>\n<p>If a vision problem is detected, a vision therapy program can help to retrain and strengthen the visual system to improve the visual skills.<\/p>\n<p>Through vision therapy, Larry Fitzgerald Jr. was able to improve his visual dominance, control, precision, spatial judgment and rhythm.<\/p>\n<p><b>Larry Fitzgerald improved his game with vision therapy, and you can too.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>LEARN MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-vision-and-learning-difficulties\/\">Guide to Vision and Learning Difficulties<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">Schedule an appointment with a developmental optometrist<\/a><\/strong> for a comprehensive evaluation of your visual skills, and to determine if vision therapy can help to enhance your sports performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you heard of NFL star Arizona Cardinals wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald?<br \/>\nHe is the second most career leading receiver for total TDs, yards, catches and more, after the legendary Jerry Rice. Larry credits his success on the field to a customized vision therapy program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1206,"featured_media":9667,"parent":12036,"menu_order":37,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[84,109,95,86,186,496,124,136,83,101],"class_list":["post-9666","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-adults","tag-binocular","tag-childrens-vision","tag-education","tag-focusing","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-vision-problem","tag-vision-therapy","tag-visual-skills"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Larry Fitzgerald Story - Optometrists.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/guide-to-vision-therapy\/the-larry-fitzgerald-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Larry Fitzgerald Story - Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you heard of NFL star Arizona Cardinals wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald? 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