in English Premier League (EPL) soccer players Geir Jordet - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The hidden foundation of field vision in English Premier League (EPL) soccer players Geir Jordet Norwegian School of Sport Sciences Johan Heijmerikx Jonathan Bloomfield Norwegian Centre of Football Excellence University of Groningen Support2Perform

Wilbert-Lampen et al. (2008) 2006 World Cup; Germany vs : 1 : Costa Rica; 2 : Poland, 3 : Ecuador; 4 : Sweden; 5 : Argentina; 6 : Italy; 7 : Portugal ( 8 : final)

Italy vs. Germany, World Cup Semifinal 2006

”There are some special players who always find openings.” “Those who see will get you wins. But not many players are able to see like this.” (Arsenal Coach Arsene Wenger, Oct 7, 2010)

Previous research All studies on visual search • in team sports are carried out in restricted lab settings : – Film stimuli – Eye movements only – Non-relevant movements (joystick, left or right step) Urgent need for more • ecologically valid paradigms Roca et al. (2011) and studies of real-world situations .

Evolution of the visual system

Frontally positioned eyes

A visual exploration is: “A body and/or head movement in which the player’s face is actively and temporarily directed away from the ball, with the intention of looking for information that is relevant to perform a subsequent action with the ball .”

Purpose Learn about the ways expert professional soccer players use visual exploratory behaviors in real-world games and Examine the link between these behaviors and performance.

Method Sky Sport’s split screen PlayerCam broadcasts: 64 EPL games, 118 players, 1,279 relevant situations

Individual Awards Exploratory Behavior Frequency (explorations/second) 0,5 Mann Whitney U = 155728.00 p < .001 0,4 81% 0,3 0.33 0.27 0,2 0,1 0 Awarded Not Awarded players players

Frank Lampard #1 Steven Gerrard #2 Exploratory frequency: Exploratory frequency: 0.62 explorations/second 0.61 explorations/second

Exploratory Behavior Frequency Passes Completed 100 OR=2.46 p<.001 OR=1.18 80 OR=1 p=.316 81% Ref. 60 68% 64% 40 20 0 Low Medium High frequency frequency frequency N = 118 players Midfielders and Forwards

Exploratory Behavior Frequency Forward Passes Completed 100 OR=4.38 p<.001 80 OR=1.84 75% p=.114 60 OR=1 Ref. 56% 40 41% 20 0 Low Medium High frequency frequency frequency N = 55 players Midfielders only

Exploratory Behavior Frequency Forward Passes Completed on Opponents’ Half 100 OR=4.25 p=.024 80 OR=1.50 77% p=.437 60 OR=1 Ref. 55% 40 44% 20 0 Low Medium High frequency frequency frequency N = 55 players Midfielders only

Conclusions For EPL-players, there is a close relationship between exploratory • behaviors and Performance, across roles and locations in the field. When players’ eyes are not naturally exposed to relevant info, • exploratory behaviors provide a necessary foundation for vision. Not a sufficient explanation for vision, as expert players • probably also process information more effectively, e.g.: – Higher Signal sensitivity – Better Pattern recognition However, with increased exploratory behaviors the eyes will be • exposed to more information , which will improve ability to effectively process this information .

To what extent can exploratory behavior be developed/trained? Athletes’ deliberate practice Everyday behavior Evolution

Spain vs. Netherlands, World Cup Final 2010

Thank you for your attention geir.jordet@gmail.com (+47) 90 78 02 50