Volume 4, Issue 3

The Recognition-primed decision model (RPDM) explains how experts make decisions when facing situations related to their area of expertise. Key decision makers among experts in a given field can sometimes be identified based on their roles and responsibilities. The aim of this study is to analyze, using the RPDM, how the anticipation process of experts with decisional responsibilities, namely setters in volleyball, differs from that of other experts and non-experts when facing context-specific situations. Twenty-five setters, 36 other players, and 19 controls watched 50 volleyball video sequences: 10 services, 10 receptions, 10 sets, 10 attacks, and 10 blocks. Sequences stopped 120 ms before ball contact, and participants had to explain their anticipation process by answering four questions verbally: “What would you do facing this situation?”, “What were you looking at?”, “What were you thinking of?”, and “What led you to this decision?”. Answers were transcribed verbatim. Scores were computed, where points were awarded depending on verbalization number and relevance to the model. Mixed factorial ANOVAs revealed that setters scored higher than other players on three types of ball contacts and higher than controls on all five. Other players had higher scores than controls on all contact types except receptions. In addition, results indicate that players’ orientation and position are relevant visual cues. Results support the validity of the RPDM to explain how volleyball players with different levels of decision making responsibilities differ. Discussion suggests the use of RPDM as a tool to identify key decision makers.

In field hockey, the penalty-corner drag flick is one of the most important offensive techniques, and a drag flicker capable of playing fast, accurate shots is an indispensable player. Regrettably, drag flickers are more injury prone than non-drag flickers, and it remains unclear why. We used surface electromyography to examine patterns of change in indices of muscle force and fatigue during the drag-flick striking phase in the lead leg rectus femoris, lateral gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior of eight elite male field hockey drag flickers (Age; M = 25.4 years SD = 2.9: Experience; M = 16.8 years SD = 7.1) and five equivalently skilled non-drag flickers (Age; M = 23.9 years SD = 2.23: Experience; M = 18.5 years SD = 3.1). Faster shots were associated with a lower index of muscle force at stick-ball contact for rectus femoris and slower rates of change in the index of muscle force across the striking phase for rectus femoris and tibialis anterior. Less accurate shots were associated with a lower index of muscle force at stick-ball contact and a slower rate of change for lateral gastrocnemius. All three muscles fatigued over 16 trials. The only difference between drag flickers and non-drag flickers was in the index of muscle force of tibialis anterior. The rate of change in the index of muscle force of tibialis anterior was slower for drag flickers compared to non-drag flickers. Patterns of change in the indices of muscle force and fatigue varied between drag flickers but did not vary between non-drag flickers. Consequently, individual differences in the lead leg muscle activation patterns during the striking phase seem more tightly coupled to shot speed and accuracy, and potentially injury risk, for drag flickers compared to non-drag flickers.

Expert performance in highly dynamic and time pressured team sports such as soccer is underpinned by successful decision-making. Little research exists examining whether these decision-making skills associated with defensive scenarios can be transferred across similar and dissimilar sports. A shortened participation history questionnaire was used to identify 98 soccer players, 35 invasion sport players (e.g., rugby) and 52 other sport players (e.g., swimming), as well as skill level (hours of engagement/competition level). These participants completed a video-based temporal occlusion test designed to measure decision making in 11 vs. 11 defensive soccer scenarios. Results indicated that the skilled soccer players were more accurate than the skilled and less-skilled invasion sport players and skilled and less-skilled other sport players. Skilled soccer players were also more accurate than the less-skilled soccer players, with less-skilled soccer players exhibiting similar accuracy to both the skilled and less-skilled invasion sport and other sport players indicating that processes associated with decision-making in defensive scenarios may be specific to their sport.

Establishing trajectories and collecting insights of athletes to better understand sport expertise development is an important step for illustrating developmental milestones for the next generation of athletes. The purpose of this study was to use a transdisciplinary approach with a large cohort of talented Japanese athletes to investigate the holistic development of sport expertise. The national athlete development pathway survey was conducted with 604 athletes across 53 sports. The talented athletes were categorized into three groups: youth international level (n = 100), youth national squad (n = 437), and potential sporting talents (n = 67) based on the highest competition levels achieved in their main sport. The facilitators and barriers to athlete development were analyzed for the three groups. The key complementary factors for the development of talented athletes in Japan included: deliberate play; sport sampling; structured practice and competition in other sports; deliberate practice; and deliberate planning/programming, including talent identification and talent transfer. The pathway trajectory (milestones) of talented athlete development revealed in this study can be used as a helpful guide for the next generation of athletes. Finally, this study addresses the various challenges associated with systemic culture, and its impact on athlete development.

Various studies have identified features of effective talent development environments and their impact on the development of successful athletes. In contrast, there has been limited investigation of failures in talent development practice. Accordingly, the present study sought to understand the perceptions of coaches about barriers to integrating support and optimizing experience for athletes in talent development. A series of focus groups (n = 6) were conducted with academy coaches, Heads of Youth, and national staff in elite English Rugby League (n = 29 M_age = 41.2, SD = 6.9). Data were analyzed using a Reflexive Thematic Analysis approach, with findings suggesting a number of complex factors acting as barriers to optimal talent development practice and, thus, the experience of the athlete. Three overarching themes were developed to encompass barriers to integrated support and optimal experience in elite rugby league: (a) the high-performance milieu, (b) a lack of integrated working practice and (c) failures of coaching practice. Results highlight the complexity of the overall talent development milieu and the utility of deploying negative case studies to further understand optimal practice. Implications for the applied practitioner are discussed, including approaches to support systemic talent development practice.

“Ut est rerum omnium magister usus,” Julius Caesar declared in De Bello Civile. Many contemporary psychologists take a dimmer view. In The Myth of Experience: Why We Learn the Wrong Lessons, and Ways to Correct Them, Emre Soyer and Robin Hogarth (2020) claim that, far from being the best teacher, experience is often misleading and that its infallibility is a myth.