Informational constraints shape emergent functional behaviours during performance of interceptive actions in team sports
Highlights
► We examined information–movement couplings that underline decision-making in team sports. ► We proposed the variable time to ball intersection to capture decision-making. ► Initial performance conditions constrained successful actions. ► The variable time to ball interception captured the relational behaviour of players. ► Players use spatial–temporal information from game environment to make decisions.
Section snippets
Participants
Fifteen Portuguese male senior (M = 23.25, SD = 1.96 years) performers from the National Futsal University team squad participated in this study. All participants gave prior informed consent and the experimental protocol was approved by the local university institution’s ethics guidelines.
Task and procedures
Futsal is a five a side indoor soccer game that is played on a court of 40 m length by 20 m width. During performance the main goal of each team is to win a game by scoring more goals than the opposition. In
Time to ball interception (TBI)
Analysis of TBI1 data over time revealed no significant differences between intercepted and non-intercepted passes (p > .05) with high levels of variability for both conditions over time and a convergence to positive values at the end of the trials. This finding indicates that D1 never intercepted the ball. However, the variability observed over time for both conditions revealed that, according to initial conditions and the ball’s trajectory, D1 did try to continuously promote a favourable
Discussion
In the present study we examined how spatial–temporal information directly available within the performance environment guides perceptual-motor behaviour of players when intercepting a ball in team games. For this purpose, we studied functional behaviours of performers attempting to intercept the trajectory of a passing ball in futsal. In agreement with our hypothesis, the variable ‘time to ball interception’ captured how the interdependent relationships of information and movement might
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by a financial grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/36225/2007) awarded to the first author.
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