the hidden foundation of field vision in english premier league

Geir Jordet Norwegian School of Sport Sciences

Norwegian Centre of Football Excellence

The hidden foundation of field vision

in English Premier League (EPL)

soccer players

Johan Heijmerikx University of Groningen

Jonathan Bloomfield Support2Perform

2006 World Cup; Germany vs: 1: Costa Rica; 2: Poland, 3:

Ecuador; 4: Sweden; 5: Argentina; 6: Italy; 7: Portugal (8: final)

Wilbert-Lampen et al. (2008)

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 and studies of real-world situations.

Roca et al. (2011)

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

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0.27

0.33

81%

Not Awarded players

Awarded players

Individual Awards Exploratory Behavior Frequency

(explorations/second)

Mann Whitney U = 155728.00 p < .001

Frank Lampard #1

Exploratory frequency: 0.62 explorations/second

Steven Gerrard #2

Exploratory frequency: 0.61 explorations/second

0

20

40

60

80

100

68% 64%

81%

High frequency

Medium frequency

Low frequency

Exploratory Behavior Frequency Passes Completed

OR=1.18 p=.316

OR=2.46 p<.001

OR=1 Ref.

N = 118 players

Midfielders and Forwards

0

20

40

60

80

100

56%

41%

75%

High frequency

Medium frequency

Low frequency

Exploratory Behavior Frequency Forward Passes Completed

OR=1.84 p=.114

OR=4.38 p<.001

OR=1 Ref.

N = 55 players

Midfielders only

0

20

40

60

80

100

55%

44%

77%

High frequency

Medium frequency

Low frequency

Exploratory Behavior Frequency Forward Passes Completed on Opponents’ Half

OR=1.50 p=.437

OR=4.25 p=.024

OR=1 Ref.

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?

Everyday behavior

Athletes’ deliberate practice

Evolution

Spain vs. Netherlands, World Cup Final 2010

geir.jordet@gmail.com

(+47) 90 78 02 50

Thank you for your attention