List of Titles

Attributes of expert anticipation should inform the design of virtual reality simulators to accelerate learning and transfer of skill

- Müller, Sean, Dekker, Evan, Morris-Binelli, Khaya, Piggott, Benjamin, Hoyne, Gerard, Christensen, Wayne, Fadde, Peter, Zaichkowsky, Leonard, Brenton, John, Hambrick, David

Authors: Müller, Sean , Dekker, Evan , Morris-Binelli, Khaya , Piggott, Benjamin , Hoyne, Gerard , Christensen, Wayne , Fadde, Peter , Zaichkowsky, Leonard , Brenton, John , Hambrick, David
Date: 2023
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Sports Medicine Vol. 53, no. 2 (2023), p. 301-309
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Description: Expert sport performers cope with a multitude of visual information to achieve precise skill goals under time stress and pressure. For example, a major league baseball or cricket batter must read opponent variations in actions and ball flight paths to strike the ball in less than a second. Crowded playing schedules and training load restrictions to minimise injury have limited opportunity for field-based practice in sports. As a result, many sports organisations are exploring the use of virtual reality (VR) simulators. Whilst VR synthetic experiences can allow greater control of visual stimuli, immersion to create presence in an environment, and interaction with stimuli, compared to traditional video simulation, the underpinning mechanisms of how experts use visual information for anticipation have not been properly incorporated into its content design. In themes, this opinion article briefly explains the mechanisms underpinning expert visual anticipation, as well as its learning and transfer, with a view that this knowledge can better inform VR simulator content design. In each theme, examples are discussed for improved content design of VR simulators taking into consideration its advantages and limitations relative to video simulation techniques. Whilst sport is used as the exemplar, the points discussed have implications for skill learning in other domains, such as military and law enforcement. It is hoped that our paper will stimulate improved content design of VR simulators for future research and skill enhancement across several domains. © 2022, The Author(s). Correction to: Sports Medicine https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01735-7, Page 1: The affiliation for Evan Dekker, which previously read: 2Academic Services and Support Directorate, University Drive, Mt. Helen, Ballarat, VIC 3350, Australia has now been updated to read: Academic Services and Support Directorate, Federation University, University Drive, Mt. Helen, Ballarat, VIC 3350, Australia. The original article has been corrected.

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Coach rating combined with small-sided games provides further insight into mental toughness in sport

- Piggott, Ben, Müller, Sean, Chivers, Paola, Burgin, Matthew, Hoyne, Gerard

Authors: Piggott, Ben , Müller, Sean , Chivers, Paola , Burgin, Matthew , Hoyne, Gerard
Date: 2019
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 10, no. July (2019), p.
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Description: Literature indicates that mental toughness contributes to successful performance when faced with challenge. This study used an exemplar sport of Australian Rules football to investigate whether skilled performance thrived across increased challenge in small-sided games. Higher (n = 14) and lower (n = 17) skilled Australian footballers were recruited. First, coaches rated participants' mental toughness (MTC) using the Mental Toughness Index. Second, participants competed in small-sided games where challenge was manipulated by varying the attacker to defender ratio to create lower and higher pressure scenarios. Decision-making, motor skill execution, and a combined total were measured. MTC rating was higher for higher skilled players. Total score of higher skilled players was significantly superior to lower skilled players in higher and lower pressure scenarios (p = 0.003). A "pressure differential score," calculated to determine whether participants maintained performance across increased challenge, indicated a significant decrease in performance (total score) from lower to higher pressure scenarios for lower skilled (p = 0.011), but not for higher skilled (p = 0.060) players. Furthermore, MTC scores were predictive of high pressure scenario total scores (p = 0.011). Findings suggest higher levels of mental toughness may contribute to maintain performance across the increased challenge of pressure within small-sided games. Practitioners can subjectively rate athlete mental toughness and then structure small-sided games to objectively measure performance under pressure scenarios. This provides an interdisciplinary approach to assess and train psychomotor skill. © 2019 Piggott, Müller, Chivers, Burgin and Hoyne.

Is sports science answering the call for interdisciplinary research? A systematic review

- Piggott, Ben, Müller, Sean, Chivers, Paola, Papaluca, Carmen, Hoyne, Gerard

Authors: Piggott, Ben , Müller, Sean , Chivers, Paola , Papaluca, Carmen , Hoyne, Gerard
Date: 2019
Type: Text , Journal article , Review
Relation: European Journal of Sport Science Vol. 19, no. 3 (2019), p. 267-286
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Description: Sports science research is traditionally monodisciplinary despite calls for an interdisciplinary focus. The primary purpose of this systematic review was to identify studies on talent identification, talent selection and competition performance to determine whether interdisciplinary research is being conducted. Thirty-six studies met the selection criteria. These studies were critiqued relative to sport, skill level, sport science sub-disciplines included, and whether the research was multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary. The secondary purpose of the review was to critique the level of analysis and level of representative task design in performance tests used in the studies. Twenty-five studies were categorised as interdisciplinary, with 11 categorised as multidisciplinary. Thirteen sports were represented with soccer the most frequent followed by field hockey, Australian Rules football, handball and rugby league. Thirty-two studies completed their analysis at a group level and four at an individual level. A total of 337 performance tests were rated for representative task design with 64 categorised as low, 123 as medium and 150 as high. The results pertaining to interdisciplinary studies and individual analyses are discussed in relation to constraints theory, which predicts that interacting variables can explain sport performance. Sports science research is beginning to fulfil the call for interdisciplinary research. Future research, however, needs to consider individual analyses and representative task design of tests to progress sports science knowledge. © 2018, © 2018 European College of Sport Science.

Small-sided games can discriminate perceptual-cognitive-motor capability and predict disposal efficiency in match performance of skilled Australian footballers

- Piggott, Ben, Müller, Sean, Chivers, Paola, Cripps, Ashley, Hoyne, Gerard

Authors: Piggott, Ben , Müller, Sean , Chivers, Paola , Cripps, Ashley , Hoyne, Gerard
Date: 2019
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Journal of Sports Sciences Vol. 37, no. 10 (2019), p. 1139-1145
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Description: This study determined if small-sided games could discriminate perceptual-cognitive-motor skill in Australian Rules Footballers. Higher skilled Western Australian Football League (WAFL) (n = 17) and lesser skilled Amateur (n = 23) players were recruited. Participants played three small-sided games of three minutes. Each disposal was scored for decision-making and motor skill execution, with these scores combined for a total score. Mann-Whitney U tests indicated significantly superior mean decision-making by higher skilled (Median = 2.90, Range = 0.30) over lesser skilled (Median = 2.80, Range = 0.73) (p = .012) players. Execution score was not significantly different between groups. Linear mixed model analysis found higher skilled players (M = 5.32, SD = 1.19) scored significantly higher than lower skilled players (M = 4.90, SD = 1.52) on total score (p = .009). Large effect sizes were found for decision-making and total score relative to games and position played in WAFL players. High agreement of scoring was observed for an elite (inter-rater) and a novice (intra-rater) coaches. Linear mixed model analysis indicated mean total scores of WAFL players significantly predicted disposal efficiency in match performance (p = .011). Small-sided games can be easily implemented to identify talented players and assess perceptual-cognitive-motor skill. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

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