Abstract
We investigated three areas of uncertainty about the role of vision in basketball shooting, the timing of fixations (early, late), the location of fixations (hoop centre, non-centre) and the effect of the defender on performance. We also sought to overcome a limitation of past quiet eye studies that reported only one quiet eye (QE) period prior to a phase of the action. Elite basketball players received the pass and took three-point shots in undefended and defended conditions. Five sequential QE periods were analyzed that were initiated prior to each phase of the shooting action: QE catch, QE arm preparation, QE arm flexion, QE arm extension, and QE ball release. We used a novel design in which the number of hits and misses were held constant by condition, thus leaving the timing and location of QE fixations free to vary across the phases during an equal number of successful and unsuccessful trials. The number of QE fixations accounted for 87% of total fixations. The greatest percent occurred during QE catch (43.6%), followed by QE arm flexion (34.1%), QE arm extension (17.5%) and QE ball release (4.8%). No fixations were found prior to QE arm preparation, due to a saccade made immediately to the target after QE catch. Fixation frequency averaged 2.20 per trial, and 1.25 during the final shooting action, meaning that most participants had time for only one fixation as the shot was taken. Accuracy was enhanced when: (1) an early QE offset occurred prior to the catch, (2) an early saccade was made to the target, (3) a longer QE duration occurred during arm flexion, and (4) QE arm flexion was located on the centre of the hoop, rather than on non-centre locations. Overall, the results provide evidence that vision of the hoop was severely limited during the last phase of the shooting action (QE ball release). The significance of the results is explored in the discussion, along with a QE training program designed to improve three-point shooting. Overall, the results greatly expand the role of the QE in explaining optimal motor performance.
Highlights
The quiet eye (QE) is defined as the final fixation or tracking gaze that is located on a specific location or object in the task environment within 3◦ of visual angle for a minimum of 100 milliseconds
We found the percent of QE fixations differed significantly across the phases, with the highest percent/number occurring during QE catch (43.6%; 412 QE fixations out of 430 trials), followed by QE arm flexion (34.1%, 322 QE fixations), QE arm extension (17.5%, 165 QE fixations) and least for QE ball release (4.8%, 45 QE fixations)
The results of this study greatly expand the explanatory power of multiple QE periods, with each initiated prior to the onset of a specific phase of the movement
Summary
The quiet eye (QE) is defined as the final fixation or tracking gaze that is located on a specific location or object in the task environment within 3◦ of visual angle (or less) for a minimum of 100 milliseconds (ms). The onset of the QE occurs prior to a critical phase of the movement and the offset occurs when the gaze deviates off the location for a minimum of 100 ms QE Basketball Three-Point Shot (Vickers, 1996a,b, 2007). QE studies have defined the QE period relative to a previously identified single critical or final motor phase that has been derived from past QE studies, available biomechanical research, and/or applied technical knowledge. We determined five QE periods in the three-point shot, with each having an onset prior to a critical biomechanical phase of the shooting action: QE catch, QE arm preparation, QE arm flexion, QE arm extension, and QE ball release. Our goal was to determine which of these QE periods was most important in contributing to high levels of accuracy in the three-point shot
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