The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different volleyball-specific attentional focus instructions on arm velocities of a volleyball spike in young female volleyball players using the Statistical Parametric Mapping method. Twelve young female volleyball players (13.6 ± 0.6 years old, 1.8 ± 0.8 years of experience in volleyball training) were asked to perform a volleyball spike in a standing position in three different attentional focus conditions including internal focus (IF, i.e., pull back your elbow prior to transfer momentum), external focus, (EF, i.e., imagine cracking a whip to transfer momentum), and control (CON, i.e., no-focus instruction). A Qualisys 3D motion capture-system was used to track reflective markers attached to the arm, forearm, and hand. Consequently, four phases of the volleyball spike including wind-up, cocking, acceleration, and follow-through were analyzed. A one-way repeated-measure ANOVA using one-dimensional statistical parametric mappi...

An extensive body of work has focused on the processes underpinning perceptual-cognitive expertise. The majority of researchers have used film-based simulations to capture superior performance. We combined eye movement recording and verbal reports of thinking to explore the processes underpinning skilled performance in a complex, dynamic, and externally paced representative volleyball task involving in situ data collection. Altogether, 27 female volleyball players performed as centre backcourt defenders in simulated sessions while wearing an eye-tracking device. After each sequence, athletes were questioned concerning their perception of the situation. The visual search strategies employed by the highly-skilled players were more exploratory than those used by skilled players, involving more fixations to a greater number of locations. Highly-skilled participants spent more time fixating on functional spaces between two or more display areas, while the skilled participants fixated on ...

Attentional focus research consistently demonstrates a benefit of an external focus relative to an internal focus. However, this dichotomous comparison may oversimplify the variety of attentional focus strategies a learner uses when acquiring a motor skill. Recent research suggests a holistic focus of attention provides a similar benefit over an internal focus in performing a standing long jump, but the generalizability of this effect is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine how an internal (IF), external (EF), and holistic focus (HF) and control condition impact the learning of a badminton short serve. Novice participants (N = 60) were randomly assigned to IF, EF, HF, or control groups. They practiced the badminton short serve for 150 trials over 5 days and completed retention and transfer tests 48-h post-acquisition. Serve accuracy was analyzed in separate repeated-measures ANOVAs for acquisition and pretest/retention/transfer. All groups improved accuracy through ac...

Background: Great importance has been given in recent years to the impact of focus of attention cues during skills execution but not during real game play, where more cognitive skills are involved besides technical performance. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of internal and external focus of attention instructions on the components of the game performance (decision making, skill execution, base) in tennis. Methods: The participants (N = 60) were divided into three groups and followed an intervention training program that lasted 6 weeks; IF group (n = 20) under internal focus of attention instructions, EF group (n = 20) under external focus of attention instructions and CON group (n = 20) under no attentional focus instructions. Three measurements took place (pre, post and ret) in which the participants were recorded on video while playing matches in real scoring conditions. Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) was used to evaluate the ...

Coaches and trainers often use verbal cues to help players improve their sport performance and training quality. The type of verbal instructions implemented by a coach may influence how players execute certain tasks. External and internal focus attention are verbal ques that may help athletes improve performance in various tasks such as running and jumping. Purpose: This study attempted to determine if implementing external focus attention ques (EFAQ) improved standing long jump (SLJ) performance when compared to implementing internal focus attention ques (IFAQ). Methods: Female (n=14) high school soccer players completed three testing sessions where three trials of the SLJ were collected (3 sessions with 3 trials each). Prior to each testing session a dynamic warmup was implemented to prepare the participants for the subsequent SLJ trials. During the initial test session, the coach/investigator provided no attention ques (NQ) prior to the SLJ trials. During the other two testing se...

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of the internal and external focus of attention instructions on performance and learning of the service, forehand and backhand tennis skills at 8 – 9 years old tennis players. 68 participants of 8 – 9 years old (M=8.8, SD=0.54), were divided in three groups and followed a 6 weeks intervention program; the internal attentional focus group (N=21), the external attentional group (N=23) and the control group (N=24). Three measurements were implemented (pre, post, retention) in which the participants were video recorded: a) while performing each skill and b) while playing matches in real game situations. Due to the qualitative evaluation of the technique five assessment criteria were used, whilst due to performance outcome evaluation one part of the Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) was used. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant interaction between groups and measurements and Bonferroni post hoc showed that the athletes of external focus of attention group had better scores in the post-test in the skills' technique and in real game condition. The findings are in line with those of previous studies, which proved the superiority of external focus of attention instructions in performance and learning of object manipulation skills. Moreover, the present research makes an initial attempt to extend the already existing research about attentional focus impact on real game performance.