Locked In is a spotlight series on the athletes, coaches, and programs using MaxBP to train smarter, see sharper, and compete with an elite mindset. From vision training to game-day focus, these are the stories of what happens when preparation meets obsession.
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There’s no stat line for vision. No leaderboard for reaction time. No highlight reel for depth perception. But ask any athlete who’s really chasing greatness, and they’ll tell you - those are the skills that separate “good” from “locked in.”
That’s where Cal Toler comes in.
At HOPE Vision Development Center in Orlando Florida, Toler and his team aren’t just fitting glasses or checking prescriptions. They believe that vision and visual skills are foundational to academic and athletic performance. They’re rewiring the way athletes see the game. The center specializes in optometric vision therapy, sports vision training, and dynamic visual rehab for everyone from youth players to elite competitors. For over four years now, MaxBP has been a cornerstone of that work.
“What we’re doing isn’t about 20/20,” says Toler. “It’s about how fast the brain can process visual information and respond. MaxBP lets us simulate those split-second decisions in a safe, repeatable, and frankly, really fun way.”
Seeing Beyond 20/20
Unlike traditional eye care practices that focus on corrective lenses or surgery, HOPE Vision works on binocular coordination. That means training both eyes to work together for maximum speed, accuracy, and depth perception. And it’s not done in a chair with a clipboard. It’s done with drills, movement, and feedback.
Using MaxBP, athletes perform drills like:
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Identifying colored dots or numbers mid-flight
- Calling out spin or pitch trajectory
- Reacting to unpredictable ball paths for catching or defensive practice
These exercises help build dynamic vision, contrast sensitivity, and automatic responses. These are skills that translate directly to improved plate discipline, defensive reads, and reaction time across multiple sports.
“We’ve had volleyball players, hockey players, even football guys come through,” Toler explains. “The portability and variability of the machine lets us adapt training for almost any sport.”
The Pitcher Who Saw the Game Differently
One of the most powerful stories from HOPE Vision centers around a high school pitcher recovering from a serious orbital injury. After taking a hard blow to the eye that required surgery, he came to HOPE for rehab and vision retraining.
As part of his recovery, he used MaxBP to train both his eyes and brain by rapidly catching balls with both hands to train his visual processing and depth perception. This drill helped his visual system correct and sharpen itself after surgery, rebuilding the skills critical for on-field awareness and safety.
A few months later, the team at HOPE received a text from the pitcher’s mother. It included a video taken from the stands during a game. It happened again, another line drive back at him. But this time, he caught it. The caption simply said, “He caught it this time.”
That moment shows the real-life power of reaction training. It’s proof that the right visual and cognitive drills don’t just improve stats, they can keep players safer and more confident on the field, even pitchers facing hard-hit balls.
Why MaxBP Wins
While Toler and his team experiment with a range of training tools like ping pong shooters, light pods and many more pieces of tech, the feedback is consistent. Nothing beats the real-world visual cues and flexibility of MaxBP.
“With MaxBP, you’re reacting to a real ball in real space. That’s a big difference when you’re training depth and timing.”
MaxBP’s adaptability also makes it ideal for small-space setups like Toler’s clinic. And thanks to his ability to gamify features, customized balls, point systems, and competition-style drills, it keeps young athletes fully engaged in the process.