Author(s): KATO, T., FUJIWARA, K., INOUE, S., NAKAMURA, Y., TAKAMI, K., YAMAMOTO, H., SUGAJIMA, Y., Institution: ASAHI UNIVERSITY, Country: JAPAN, Abstract-ID: 768

INTRODUCTION:
In sports activities, "vision" plays an important role in situational judgment. The incorporation of gaze-focused instruction could potentially result in improved players performance and reduce the time needed for beginners to acquire technical skills. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the improvement in skills, and clarify the relationship with eye movement dynamics. If improvements in underhand passing skills by volleyball team members are observed through peer coaching, identifying significant changes in eye movement dynamics during this process may suggest the potential for incorporating eye movements into technical instruction.
METHODS:
Sixteen participants, comprising 8 adult male university students and 8 members of the university volleyball team, participated in the study. The study utilized the Tobii Pro Glasses 3, a wearable eye-tracking device, for eye movement analysis. A peer of the participants individually performed 10 underhand passes with a member of the volleyball team, wearing the Tobii Pro Glasses 3. The eye movement phases were categorized as (A) from the participants hand to the top of ball trajectory, (B) around the top, and (C) from the top to the opponent receiving the ball. The number of steps taken by the volleyball team member in the lateral and forward/backward directions was recorded. After the first set of passes, individual coaching was provided for approximately 10 minutes, followed by a second set of passes. A paired t-test (IBM SPSS) was employed to compare pre- and post-coaching measurements of step count, gaze fixation positions, and dwell time ratios in five defined areas: (1) opponent, (2) near opponent, (3) ball, (4) near ball, and (5) other.
RESULTS:
The male university student group showed improved step counts in lateral and forward/backward directions after receiving underhand passing coaching, with an average decrease from 1.53±0.53 steps before coaching to 1.17±0.36 steps after coaching. Regarding eye movement dynamics changes after individual coaching by volleyball team members, a significant increase in gaze fixation on the "ball" was observed (p=0.025). Specifically, the gaze fixation ratio on the ball increased from 11% before coaching to 41% after coaching around the top of the passing trajectory. Although the volleyball team members did not provide specific eye movement guidance, individualized technical coaching resulted in alignment of eye movement dynamics with those of the volleyball team.
CONCLUSION:
Individualized technical coaching led to improved step counts in 7 out of 8 university students. Notably, participants started to focus on the ball around the top of the passing trajectory, similar to the volleyball team members. This suggests that incorporating eye movement guidance may have additional benefits in coaching effectiveness, as confirmed by the potential improvement in underhand passing skills.