List of Titles

Visual-perceptual training with motor practice of the observed movement pattern improves anticipation in emerging expert cricket batsmen

- Brenton, John, Müller, Sean, Harbaugh, Allen

Authors: Brenton, John , Müller, Sean , Harbaugh, Allen
Date: 2019
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Journal of Sports Sciences Vol. 37, no. 18 (2019), p. 2114-2121
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Description: This study addressed the paucity of evidence of whether visual anticipation can be improved in emerging experts in striking sports. Twelve emerging expert batsmen from a state cricket squad were equally randomised into intervention and control groups. They were pre-and-post tested on a video temporal occlusion test of a fast bowler, as well as transfer tests of different fast and slow bowlers. The intervention group received two sessions per week of point-light display temporal occlusion training with motor practice of the observed bowler’s action over a 4-week period. The control group completed only the testing phases. Batting averages before, during, and after the study were recorded for both groups. The intervention group, but not the control group, improved anticipation to significantly above chance level across pre-to-post-tests based upon pre-ball flight information. The intervention, but not the control, transferred their learning to anticipate significantly above chance level based upon pre-ball flight information across different fast and slow (spin) bowlers. Batting average of the intervention group was higher than the control group during the study. Findings indicate that the intervention can improve anticipation in emerging expert batsmen, beyond sport-specific practice. This improvement may benefit competition performance, but further evidence is required. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Visual-perceptual training with acquisition of the observed motor pattern contributes to greater improvement of visual anticipation

- Brenton, John, Müller, Sean, Dempsey, Alasdair

Authors: Brenton, John , Müller, Sean , Dempsey, Alasdair
Date: 2019
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied Vol. 25, no. 3 (2019), p. 333-342
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Description: This experiment investigated the contribution of visual and additive motor experience to improvement of visual anticipation. Club cricket batters were randomized into (a) a visual-perceptual group that received temporal occlusion training (n = 13), (b) a visuomotor group that received temporal occlusion training coupled with motor pattern practice of the observed bowler's action (n = 13), and (c) a no-training control group (n = 13). They completed a fast bowler video-based temporal occlusion prepost anticipation test, as well as a transfer temporal occlusion test that included different fast and slow bowlers. Results indicated visual-perceptual and visuomotor groups equally improved pick up of advance cues across prepost tests. Additive motor pattern practice for the visuomotor group facilitated superior anticipation through earlier pick up of advance information across the transfer tests. No improvement was found for the control group. The findings indicate that visual and combined motor experience facilitates learning, but additive motor experience facilitates superior transfer. Findings have implications for theoretical and applied knowledge to develop anticipation skill. © 2019 American Psychological Association.

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Considerations for application of skill acquisition in Sport : an example from tennis

- Müller, Sean, Fitzgerald, Cody, Brenton, John

Authors: Müller, Sean , Fitzgerald, Cody , Brenton, John
Date: 2020
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Journal of Expertise Vol. 3, no. 3 (2020), p. 175-182
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Description: Skill acquisition principles are crucial to prepare athletes for superior performance in sport, but, in training athletes, coaches have focused less on these principles than they have on the design of training. This paper provides an overview of how a skill acquisition specialist disseminated scientific knowledge to amateur and professional coaches and initiated collaboration to improve practice design. First, a framework of representative task design is outlined, which considers perception and action components of sports skills in practice tasks relative to the competition setting. Second, with elite tennis as an example, steps are described as to how the skill acquisition specialist can initiate collaboration with coaches to evaluate practice tasks and make recommendations using representative task design. This approach includes delivery of a seminar to educate coaches, observation of practice tasks to rate representative task design with recommendations made, and factors identified by coaches that should be considered when applying skill acquisition principles. Factors identified by coaches related to presentation of anticipatory cues, practice variability, individualization of practice, skill complexity, and consistency of skill tests. Collectively, this paper provides insight into how skill acquisition specialists can collaborate with coaches to disseminate knowledge, and it presents some of the challenges and solutions of designing representative practice tasks in sport.

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Embedding of psycho-perceptual-motor skills can improve athlete assessment and training programs

- Müller, Sean, van Rens, Fleur, Brenton, John, Morris-Binelli, Khaya, Piggott, Benjamin, Rosalie, Simon, Burgin, Matthew

Authors: Müller, Sean , van Rens, Fleur , Brenton, John , Morris-Binelli, Khaya , Piggott, Benjamin , Rosalie, Simon , Burgin, Matthew
Date: 2019
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Journal of Expertise, 2 (1), 14-22. Vol. 2, no. 1 (2019), p. 14-22
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Description: Practitioners in a variety of sports seek unique ways to train athletes to better prepare them for competition. In this position paper, we argue that inclusion of psycho-perceptual-motor skills, from the fields of sport psychology and sport expertise, is crucial, but underutilized in the assessment and training of athletes. First, a brief introduction is provided as to why psycho-perceptual-motor skill is vital for training athletes. Second, examples are discussed relating to key concepts. These include the following: assessment of expertise discriminators such as visual anticipation under pressure contexts, incorporation of sports analytics and performance analysis to aid reflection upon previous experiences of good anticipation and coping with pressure, use of qualitative and quantitative measures to understand processes underlying performance and learning, as well as design of representative tasks for assessment and training anticipation under pressure contexts. Third, some recommendations are made to practitioners of sports teams to assist them in taking advantage of psycho-perceptual-motor skill to better prepare athletes for competition. Collectively, we hope this paper stimulates collaboration between practitioners of sports teams and scientists to create a greater focus upon integrated sport psychology and sport expertise in the training of athletes.

Is visual–perceptual or motor expertise critical for expert anticipation in sport?

- Brenton, John, Müller, Sean

Authors: Brenton, John , Müller, Sean
Date: 2018
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Applied Cognitive Psychology Vol. 32, no. 6 (2018), p. 739-746
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Description: A prominent topic is whether visual or motor expertise makes greater contribution to expert visual anticipation in sport. This stems from psychological theories, such as common coding theory, which predicts perception and action can inform each other in a bidirectional manner. This paper reviews the literature that has investigated visual and motor expertise contributions to expert visual anticipation in sport. First, psychological theories are discussed that predict visual and motor contributions to perceptual–motor behaviour. Second, classifications of motor skills and studies are presented to evaluate the literature reviewed. Third, literature is reviewed with reference to performance, learning, and transfer of visual anticipation, which are all vital for successful sports performance. The review aims to stimulate thought about mechanisms underpinning visual and motor expertise relative to performance, learning, and transfer of anticipation skill, which can better guide the practitioner to improve skill. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Automated vision occlusion-timing instrument for perception–action research

- Brenton, John, Müller, Sean, Rhodes, Robbie, Finch, Brad

Authors: Brenton, John , Müller, Sean , Rhodes, Robbie , Finch, Brad
Date: 2018
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Behavior Research Methods Vol. 50, no. 1 (2018), p. 228-235
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Description: Vision occlusion spectacles are a highly valuable instrument for visual-perception–action research in a variety of disciplines. In sports, occlusion spectacles have enabled invaluable knowledge to be obtained about the superior capability of experts to use visual information to guide actions within in-situ settings. Triggering the spectacles to occlude a performer’s vision at a precise time in an opponent’s action or object flight has been problematic, due to experimenter error in using a manual buttonpress approach. This article describes a new laser curtain wireless trigger for vision occlusion spectacles that is portable and fast in terms of its transmission time. The laser curtain can be positioned in a variety of orientations to accept a motion trigger, such as a cricket bowler’s arm that distorts the lasers, which then activates a wireless signal for the occlusion spectacles to change from transparent to opaque, which occurs in only 8 ms. Results are reported from calculations done in an electronics laboratory, as well as from tests in a performance laboratory with a cricket bowler and a baseball pitcher, which verified this short time delay before vision occlusion. In addition, our results show that occlusion consistently occurred when it was intended—that is, near ball release and during mid-ball-flight. Only 8% of the collected data trials were unusable. The laser curtain improves upon the limitations of existing vision occlusion spectacle triggers, indicating that it is a valuable instrument for perception–action research in a variety of disciplines. © 2017, Psychonomic Society, Inc.

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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.

Reliance upon contextual information can impede visual anticipation

- Müller, Sean, Brenton, John, O’Grady, Mathew

Authors: Müller, Sean , Brenton, John , O’Grady, Mathew
Date: 2023
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: European Journal of Sport Science Vol. 23, no. 7 (2023), p. 1324-1333
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Description: This study investigated whether skilled batsmen in a state cricket pathway could anticipate ball types when congruency of field-placings was manipulated with a bowler’s action. Twenty-four male cricket batsmen were recruited who had played either first-class cricket (n = 6), were part of under 17 (n = 8) or under 19 (n = 10) state cricket squads. Participants completed a video-based temporal occlusion test where they were required to anticipate ball types from a swing bowler. In condition one, contextual field-placing information was presented to be congruent with the delivery type and bowler’s action, whilst in condition two it was incongruent. Results did not reveal skill level differences across conditions for anticipation. In the congruent condition, all skill groups predicted above the chance level at the beginning and end of the bowler’s delivery stride. In the incongruent condition, first-class players predicted above chance at the beginning of the bowler’s delivery stride, and to a higher magnitude above chance compared to other skill groups at ball release. Under 17 and 19 players could not predict above chance at the start of the bowler’s delivery stride with their magnitude of prediction lower than first-class players at ball release. Results indicate skilled batsmen find it challenging to integrate contextual and kinematic information to anticipate. This is likely due to greater emphasis placed upon contextual information in part supplied by data analysts. Findings have theoretical and practical implications respectively for lower body positioning for bat-ball interception and perceptual training to improve pick-up of kinematic cues. HIGHLIGHTS Skilled batsmen in a high-performance state cricket pathway could integrate congruent field-placings and bowler kinematics to anticipate ball types. First-class batsmen could integrate incongruent field-placing information to the start, but not the end, of the bowler’s delivery action to anticipate ball types. Under 17 and 19 batsmen could not integrate incongruent field-placings to bowler kinematics to anticipate ball types. Skilled batsmen who cannot use kinematic information to anticipate ball types should be given visual-perceptual simulation training to accelerate performance. © 2022 European College of Sport Science.

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