Probing expert anticipation with the temporal occlusion paradigm: Experimental investigations of some methodological issues

Copyright @ 2005 Human KineticsTwo experiments were conducted to examine whether the conclusions drawn regarding the timing of anticipatory information pick-up from temporal occlusion studies are influenced by whether (a) the viewing period is of variable or fixed duration and (b) the task is a laboratory-based one with simple responses or a natural one requiring a coupled, interceptive movement response. Skilled and novice tennis players either made pencil-and-paper predictions of service direction (Experiment 1) or attempted to hit return strokes (Experiment 2) to tennis serves while their vision was temporally occluded in either a traditional progressive mode (where more information was revealed in each subsequent occlusion condition) or a moving window mode (where the visual display was only available for a fixed duration with this window shifted to different phases of the service action). Conclusions regarding the timing of information pick-up were generally consistent across display mode and across task setting lending support to the veracity and generalisability of findings regarding perceptual expertise in existing laboratory-based progressive temporal occlusion studies.This study is funded by the Australian Institute of Sport Tennis program

Effect of stroboscopic training on the groundstroke in skilled youth tennis players

Previous research suggested that training with stroboscopic glasses has a positive effect on visual processes like online control and transient attention in a laboratory setting. In this study the effect of six stroboscopic training sessions on the groundstroke in skilled youth tennis players was investigated. Controls participated in the same training sessions as the strobe group. The hitting accuracy of the groundstroke in the strobe group improved significantly after stroboscopic training compared to the control group (p <0.05). Therefore, it is concluded that training with stroboscopic glasses has a positive effect on the groundstroke in tennis

Unravelling tennis performance:creating monitoring tools to measure and understand technical and tactical skills

The key in elite tennis performance is suggested to be the combination of outstanding technical and tactical skills. However, little is known about which specific skills are important to progress towards elite tennis performance. Moreover, there are no reliable, valid and feasible tools to assess technical and tactical skills in youth tennis players. Therefore, in this thesis, tools with sufficient psychometric properties were developed to measure technical and tactical skills in a tennis-specific context - contributing to both scientific and practical purposes. An on-court tennis test was developed to assess technical skills based on accuracy (target areas), ball speed (radar system) and percentage errors. A new instrument with closed-ended questions was designed to examine tactical skills, in particular ‘Anticipation and positioning’, ‘Game intelligence and adaptability’, ‘Decision-making’, and ‘Recognizing game situations’. Our studies showed that outstanding technical skills, especially accuracy under increased task complexity (i.e. high temporal and cognitive pressure), were considered essential to progress towards elite tennis performance. Findings of this thesis also suggest that these technical skills continue to develop in adolescence in a group of youth talented tennis players. From a practical perspective, the tools created in this thesis are valuable for coaches and players to enhance tennis performance. In addition to monitoring the progress of players, tools can assist in identifying relative strengths and weaknesses of players as well as provide essential information about underlying skills that require most attention to progress towards elite performance

Inside the brain of an elite athlete: The neural processes that support high achievement in sports

Events like the World Championships in athletics and the Olympic Games raise the public profile of competitive sports. They may also leave us wondering what sets the competitors in these events apart from those of us who simply watch. Here we attempt to link neural and cognitive processes that have been found to be important for elite performance with computational and physiological theories inspired by much simpler laboratory tasks. In this way we hope to inspire neuroscientists to consider how their basic research might help to explain sporting skill at the highest levels of performance

Mechanisms for handling uncertainty in sensorimotor control in sports: a scoping review

In complex naturalistic sensorimotor behaviour, uncertainty arises from ambiguities and delays in sensory inputs as well as noise in sensory detection and motor execution. In sports, where human capacity reaches its limits, handling uncertainty is crucial. In fundamental motor-control research, five mechanisms for handling uncertainty – multisensory integration, prior-knowledge integration, risk optimisation, redundancy exploitation, and impedance control – have been proposed based on a rich body of evidence, mostly investigating simple arm and hand movement tasks. Here we review the literature investigating more complex tasks and examine to what extent these mechanisms explain handling uncertainty in sensorimotor control in sports. A systematic search following the PRISMA guidelines resulted in the consideration of 82 studies. These studies provide robust empirical evidence for the mechanisms of multisensory integration, prior-knowledge integration, and redundancy exploitation in complex naturalistic behaviour, whilst only a few publications focused on the other two mechanisms. Furthermore, only a few studies test model-based predictions that can be derived from the theoretical frameworks to a satisfactory extent. Finally, beyond discussing these explanatory mechanisms in isolation, we propose a unifying model that builds upon the theory of optimal feedback control, in which the mechanisms can be related to each other coherently

The effect of two specific practice environments on the forehand and backhand ball placement ability of beginning tennis players

It was the purpose of this study to determine the effects of two practice environments on the forehand and backhand ball placement ability of beginning tennis players. The subjects were 32 female students enrolled at Stonewall Jackson High School. They were divided into two groups. During the first 3 days of the study three tennis skills tests were administered: the Shepard Modification of the Broer-Miller Tennis Drive Skills Test, the Hewitt Revision of the Dyer Backboard Test and a Stationary Test which was a modification of the Broer-Miller Tennis Drive Skills Test. The subjects then received 2 days of instruction on the forehand and backhand strokes. Following the instruction, Group I practiced 12 days in a stable environment; Group II practiced 12 days in an unstable practice environment. Ball-Boy machines were used in both environments. The same three skills tests were then re-administered

A comparison of the upper limb movement kinematics utilized by children playing virtual and real table tennis

Active virtual games (AVG) may facilitate gross motor skill development, depending on their fidelity. This study compared the movement patterns of nineteen 10–12 yr old children, while playing table tennis on three AVG consoles (Nintendo Wii, Xbox Kinect, Sony Move) and as a real world task. Wrist and elbow joint angles and hand path distance and speed were captured. Children playing real table tennis had significantly smaller (e.g. Wrist Angle Forehand Real-Kinect: Mean Difference (MD): -18.2°, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): -26.15 to -10.26) and slower (e.g. Average Speed Forehand Real-Kinect: MD: -1.98 m s-1, 95% CI: -2.35 to -1.61) movements than when using all three AVGs. Hand path distance was smaller in forehand and backhand strokes (e.g. Kinect-Wii: MD: 0.46 m, 95% CI: 0.13–0.79) during playing with Kinect than Move and Wii. The movement patterns when playing real and virtual table tennis were different and this may impede the development of real world gross motor skills. Several elements, including display, input and task characteristics, may have contributed to the differences in movement patterns observed. Understanding the interface components for AVGs may help development of higher fidelity games to potentially enhance the development of gross motor skill and thus participation in PA

Increasing Perceived Competence in Beginning Tennis players: The Effects of a Task oriented Climate and Adaptive Learning Strategies

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to determine if the use of adaptive learning strategies increases the perception of competence of students in a leisure skills tennis class. The complex motor skills of tennis negatively influence a beginning player\u27s demonstration of competence and motivation. Player\u27s self efficacy, goal orientation, and environment are linked to perceived competence, participation, effort, and enjoyment. Lowering functional task difficulty, use of modeling, and use of feedback should increase perceived competence of students. Trying to improve oneself (Task goal orientation) and being in a climate that encourages this (mastery motivational climate) are positively linked to increasing perceived competence. To test the students\u27 goal orientation, skill, and perceived competence, the TEOSQ, a skills test, and the subscales interest/enjoyment, perceived competence, and effort/importance of the IMI were used for the pre test of this study. The post test was conducted using the LAPOPECQ, a skills test, and the three subscales of the IMI. This study did not find significant differences in perceived competence between the treatment group and control group (F = .113, p \u3c .738). The initial skill level of the player also did not significantly influence perceived competence (F = 1.501, p \u3c .233). Both instructors constructed a task oriented environment which could possibly explain the rejection of the research hypotheses. Both groups experienced bivariate correlations between task-oriented environment, effort, and enjoyment. The treatment group also had bivariate correlations between perceived competence and skill level which were not found for the control group. An explanation for this result could be the adaptive learning strategies used during the program. Future research could find out what parts of the program could be best used for a college leisure skills tennis class. The traditional teaching method in combination with certain parts of the program could be beneficial for future participants. It could make the leisure skills tennis class more useful for students with different skill levels and create a more positive experience for all participants

Sport Modalities, Performance and Health

Sport modalities are highly practiced in order to improve many aspects of human beings, including performance and health. The increasing interest in the quantitative and qualitative aspects of sport training is ascribable to the fact that several training systems and new methodologies are appearing in all sport modalities. These methodologies can have different effects on the organism depending on the degree of training.On the other hand, some of the main objectives in sport research are to describe match activity and to detect effective performance indicators. A better knowledge of players' performance adaptations and game dynamics during competition is extremely useful for optimizing the training process. The need to develop training methodologies according to actions occurring during the game is essential for each sport