Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The purpose of the current paper is to advocate that the athletic skills model (ASM) serves as a suitable framework to structure (developmental) movement programs to enhance physical literacy as a foundation for expertise. Taking the... more
The purpose of the current paper is to advocate that the athletic skills model (ASM) serves as a suitable framework to structure (developmental) movement programs to enhance physical literacy as a foundation for expertise. Taking the non-linear developmental trajectories into account (including the possibility to follow the linear developmental pathway), the ASM applies three “roads” to reach this goal, that is, the concentric approach, creating challenging environments, and exploiting transfer. Each of these separately or in combination with each other will increase the level of physical literacy, that is creating more functional variation leading to an increasement of possibilities for adaptation of those involved (athletes, PE teachers, and coaches). ASM seeks a life-long physical activity participation and to maintain a balance between performance, fitness and health for the recreational as well for the disable and able (elite) athlete.
Research Interests:
In foul decision-making by football referees, visual search is important for gathering task-specific information to determine whether a foul has occurred. Yet, little is known about the visual search behaviours underpinning excellent... more
In foul decision-making by football referees, visual search is important for gathering task-specific information to determine whether a foul has occurred. Yet, little is known about the visual search behaviours underpinning excellent on-field decisions. The aim of this study was to examine the on-field visual search behaviour of elite and sub-elite football referees when calling a foul during a match. In doing so, we have also compared the accuracy and gaze behaviour for correct and incorrect calls. Elite and sub-elite referees (elite: N = 5, Mage ± SD = 29.8 ± 4.7yrs, Mexperience ± SD = 14.8 ± 3.7yrs; sub-elite: N = 9, Mage ± SD = 23.1 ± 1.6yrs, Mexperience ± SD = 8.4 ± 1.8yrs) officiated an actual football game while wearing a mobile eye-tracker, with on-field visual search behaviour compared between skill levels when calling a foul (Nelite = 66; Nsub−elite = 92). Results revealed that elite referees relied on a higher search rate (more fixations of shorter duration) compared to sub-elites, but with no differences in where they allocated their gaze, indicating that elites searched faster but did not necessarily direct gaze towards different locations. Correct decisions were associated with higher gaze entropy (i.e. less structure). In relying on more structured gaze patterns when making incorrect decisions, referees may fail to pick-up information specific to the foul situation. Referee development programmes might benefit by challenging the speed of information pickup but by avoiding pre-determined gaze patterns to improve the interpretation of fouls and increase the decision-making performance of referees.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Repeated measures experiment. To determine the effect of changes in horizontal lift distance on the amount of flexion, at lift onset, in different spine regions when using different lift styles. By approximating spine bending during... more
Repeated measures experiment. To determine the effect of changes in horizontal lift distance on the amount of flexion, at lift onset, in different spine regions when using different lift styles. By approximating spine bending during lifting as a pure rotation about a single revolute joint, the differential effects of task constraints and instructions on motions of different spine levels will be obscured. Eight participants lifted a 10-kg crate from the floor, 10 times at each of five distances. Participants were instructed to use freestyle (a participant's preferred lift style), squat, or stoop lift styles. Kinematic data were collected from the mid thoracic spine, lower thoracic/upper lumbar spine, mid lumbar spine, and the lower lumbar spine at lift onset. A whole spine angle was also calculated. Flexion of the lower lumbar spine was not affected by lift distance and style. Differences between lift styles occurred mainly in the mid thoracic and the lower thoracic/upper lumbar regions. With increasing horizontal distance, changes in lift style occurred in the upper three spine regions. These results suggest that the tensile strain on tissues in the lower lumbar spine, which can be a cause of injury in lifting, was not affected by lift style or horizontal lift distance when lifting from floor level.
Research Interests:
Many environmental aspects such as the optical flow and one's own movement can affect posture stabilization. However, little is known about how these two features can be combined as participants maintain upright stance during grasping... more
Many environmental aspects such as the optical flow and one's own movement can affect posture stabilization. However, little is known about how these two features can be combined as participants maintain upright stance during grasping actions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of moving room discrete movements (approaching to or moving back from participants) combined with grasping an object on postural control stability. Twelve participants stood upright inside a moving room, moved discretely approaching or moving away from the participants, as they had to remain still or grasping a stationary or an approaching ball. Body displacement and correlation coefficient values were obtained during the movement of the moving room and mean sway amplitude were used to infer postural stability before and after room's movement. Results indicated that grasping and movement of the moving room disrupted and induced body sway, even after the grasping action, however in those conditions in which optical flow was created, due to the moving room and moving ball, postural sway was less pronounced. Based upon these results, we can suggest that in those conditions that structured optical flow is available, even when posture might be destabilized due to one's own movement, postural control takes advantage of the optical flow to maintain postural equilibrium.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
A constraints- based framework for understanding processes of movement coordination and control is predicated on a range of theoretical ideas including the work of Bernstein (1967), Gibson (1979), Newell (1986) and Kugler, Kelso &... more
A constraints- based framework for understanding processes of movement coordination and control is predicated on a range of theoretical ideas including the work of Bernstein (1967), Gibson (1979), Newell (1986) and Kugler, Kelso & Turvey (1982). Contrary to a normative perspective that focuses on the production of idealized movement patterns to be acquired by children during development and learning (see Alain & Brisson, 1986), this approach formulates the emergence of movement co- ordination as a function of the constraints imposed upon each individual. In this framework, cognitive, perceptual and movement difficulties and disorders are considered to be constraints on the perceptual- motor system, and children’s movements are viewed as emergent functional adaptations to these constraints (Davids et al., 2008; Rosengren, Savelsbergh & van der Kamp, 2003). From this perspective, variability of movement behaviour is not viewed as noise or error to be eradicated during development, but rather, as essentially functional in facilitating the child to satisfy the unique constraints which impinge on his/her developing perceptual- motor and cognitive systems in everyday life (Davids et al., 2008). Recently, it has been reported that functional neurobiological variability is predicated on system degeneracy, an inherent feature of neurobiological systems which facilitates the achievement of task performance goals in a variety of different ways (Glazier & Davids, 2009). Degeneracy refers to the capacity of structurally different components of complex movement systems to achieve different performance outcomes in varying contexts (Tononi et al., 1999; Edelman & Gally, 2001). System degeneracy allows individuals with and without movement disorders to achieve their movement goals by harnessing movement variability during performance. Based on this idea, perceptual- motor disorders can be simply viewed as unique structural and functional system constraints which individuals have to satisfy in interactions with their environments. The aim of this chapter is to elucidate how the interaction of structural and functional organismic, and environmental constraints can be harnessed in a nonlinear pedagogy by individuals with movement disorders.
Research Interests:
In a series of three experiments, the effect of training under restricted light conditions on one-handed catching performance is investigated. Training in the dark - with only a luminous ball visible - is shown to produce performances... more
In a series of three experiments, the effect of training under restricted light conditions on one-handed catching performance is investigated. Training in the dark - with only a luminous ball visible - is shown to produce performances equivalent to those of subjects who train in full light provided that sessions of training in the dark are interspersed with trials in full-light. A proportion of the increase in performance, following on training under the restricted light condition, is demonstrated to be attributable to increases in spatial accuracy. The positive changeover effects - from training in the dark to performing in the light - and the negative effects - from performing in the light to training in the dark - are shown to be attributable to increases/decreases in spatial accuracy (additional increases/decreases in temporal accuracy also are not excluded - the methodology used, however, did not allow categorical statements in this respect to be made). These findings are discussed from the point of view of two contrasting theoretical frameworks - information-processing and ecological psychology.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... embryonic area of scientific endeavour. Amsterdam Geert Savelsbergh Research Fellow of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Page 7. This Page Intentionally Left Blank Page 8. VII CONTENTS Preface v List ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Psychology and Routledge
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Athletic Skills Model offers an alternative to dominant talent development theories in the form of holistic broad-based movement education, focusing on health and wellbeing. It places the emphasis on ‘physical intelligence’ –... more
The Athletic Skills Model offers an alternative to dominant talent development theories in the form of holistic broad-based movement education, focusing on health and wellbeing. It places the emphasis on ‘physical intelligence’ – including attributes such as agility, flexibility and stability – through adaptable and varied training programmes, creating a skilled athlete before introducing sport specialization. The book sets out the scientific underpinnings of the ASM before going on to offer practical guidance on the content of the programme, how to adapt and vary the programme, and how to apply the approach to different age groups and sports. The ASM’s application in the youth development programme at AFC Ajax is explored in depth, before a future of talent development with an emphasis on athletic, rather than sport-specific, expertise is imagined. The Athletic Skills Model introduces an important and timely challenge to conventional wisdom in talent development and is a fascinating read for any upper-level student or researcher interested in youth development, skill acquisition, motor learning or sports coaching, and any coaches wanting to refresh their approach to talent development.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This paper addresses the contribution that recent studies of hitting and catching have made to the understanding of the coordination between actors and their environment from an ecological psychological perspective. Experiments with top... more
This paper addresses the contribution that recent studies of hitting and catching have made to the understanding of the coordination between actors and their environment from an ecological psychological perspective. Experiments with top players in table tennis demonstrated that ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Athletic Skills Model offers an alternative to dominant talent development theories in the form of holistic broad-based movement education, focusing on health and wellbeing. It places the emphasis on ‘physical intelligence’ –... more
The Athletic Skills Model offers an alternative to dominant talent development theories in the form of holistic broad-based movement education, focusing on health and wellbeing. It places the emphasis on ‘physical intelligence’ – including attributes such as agility, flexibility and stability – through adaptable and varied training programmes, creating a skilled athlete before introducing sport specialization. The book sets out the scientific underpinnings of the ASM before going on to offer practical guidance on the content of the programme, how to adapt and vary the programme, and how to apply the approach to different age groups and sports. The ASM’s application in the youth development programme at AFC Ajax is explored in depth, before a future of talent development with an emphasis on athletic, rather than sport-specific, expertise is imagined. The Athletic Skills Model introduces an important and timely challenge to conventional wisdom in talent development and is a fascinating read for any upper-level student or researcher interested in youth development, skill acquisition, motor learning or sports coaching, and any coaches wanting to refresh their approach to talent development.
Research Interests:
The effects of binocular and monocular viewing on spatial and temporal errors in one-handed catching were investigated in two experiments. The first experiment-using expert catchers-recorded more spatial errors under the monocular than... more
The effects of binocular and monocular viewing on spatial and temporal errors in one-handed catching were investigated in two experiments. The first experiment-using expert catchers-recorded more spatial errors under the monocular than under the binocular condition. No significant differences in the number of temporal errors were apparent. In a second experiment, which paradigm, relatively poor catchers were trained under both vision conditions. Its objective was to investigate whether the superior results obtained under the binocular condition in the first experiment, for the number of catches and number of spatial errors, could be attributed simply to the fact that subjects had more experience with binocular than monocular viewing. The following results occurred after a period of training (a) a significant reduction in the number of spatial errors under the monocular condition, reaching a level similar to that under the binocular condition; (b) no significant reduction in the number of spatial errors when subjects transferred from monocular to binocular viewing, and significantly more spatial errors when subjects transferred from binocular to monocular viewing; and (c) a training-sequence effect. The latter effect indicates that subjects had more benefit from training in the sequence monocular-binocular than vice versa. These findings are discussed in the context of the strategies of specificity of learning and use of multisources.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
To interact with the environment, an individual must code, store, and translate spatial information into the appropriate motor commands for achieving an outcome. Working from this premise, Vision and Goal-Directed Movement:... more
To interact with the environment, an individual must code, store, and translate spatial information into the appropriate motor commands for achieving an outcome. Working from this premise, Vision and Goal-Directed Movement: Neurobehavioral Perspectives discusses how visual perception, attention, and memory are linked to the processes of movement preparation and execution. With contributions from active researchers in movement science, Vision and Goal-Directed Movement presents the latest theories on the utilization of vision in goal-directed movement control. As a resource for motor control and motor learning researchers, students, educators, and clinicians, Vision and Goal-Directed Movement offers the following: - Comprehensive coverage of current behavior-based literature on the visual control of goal-directed movement - A systematic explication of the sensory and physiological processes and systems responsible for fast, accurate, and efficient performance - A solid foundation for further study of the sensory and neural systems responsible for precise goal-directed behavior - A discussion of how current research on vision and goal-directed movement can assist in creating efficient and safe work environments Using research informed by neural imaging and magnetic brain stimulation, this text provides readers with a better understanding of the neural foundations for goal-directed movement, illustrates the flexibility of the human visuomotor system, and discusses how regulation of movements depends on the learning and developmental history of the performer. It begins by reviewing the works of R.S. Woodworth and the influence of his theories on current research. The majority of the chapters in the first section of the book take a behavioral and process-oriented approach to exploring goal-directed movement. The text then explores the sensory and neural foundations for goal-directed action, including issues related to both pursuit and saccadic eye movements as well as discussion of the specialization of various cortical systems for the regulation of movement. Especially relevant to professionals and scientists concerned with skill instruction and rehabilitation, the final part of the text provides a review of recent research on how and why limb control changes occur with practice and development. In addition, Vision and Goal-Directed Movement considers how the research presented can maximize precision, efficiency, and safety in workspace design.