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The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2018 October;58(10):1544-53

DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.17.07522-3

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Visual control in basketball shooting under exertion conditions

Teresa ZWIERKO ¹ ✉, Marek POPOWCZAK ², Jarosław WOŹNIAK ³, Andrzej ROKITA ²

¹ Laboratory of Kinesiology in Functional and Structural Human Research Center, Department of Physical Culture and Health Promotion, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland; ² Department of Team Sports Games Wroclaw, University School of Physical Education, Wroclaw, Poland; ³ Department of Mathematics and Physics, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland

BACKGROUND: This study examined the effect of physical exertion on gaze behavior during basketball shooting in both stationary and dynamic conditions.
METHODS: Thirteen skilled basketball players performed two-point shooting during a 60 second fatigue protocol. Before and after a jump shot test, players performed two free throws. Eye movements were registered using an SMI Mobile EyeTracker. The frequency of all fixation points (number) and fixation duration during the motor phases of shooting were determined using frame-by-frame analysis.
RESULTS: The type of basketball shot differentiated gaze control: 1) fixations were longer and more frequent during free throws as compared to jump shots; 2) shooting accuracy was positively influenced by less frequent and longer fixations; 3) physical exertion resulted in significantly more frequent fixations during free throws; and 4) exertion conditions resulted in a high variation in the patterns of total fixation times during jump shots.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that physical exertion may reduce oculomotor efficiency during aiming at a distant target. Moreover, stationary and dynamic shots require different gaze behavior strategies.

KEY WORDS: Eye movement measurements - Attention - Exercise