Task difficulty and passing decision-making in skilled netball players: An eye tracking study

This study investigated skilled netball players’ visual behaviour during a sport-specific decision-making passing task under varying levels of difficulty. Twelve highly skilled female netball players from Singapore's Division 1 league wore eye-tracking glasses while completing 10 simulated netball scenarios projected life-size on a screen. Each scenario varied in difficulty based on the number of open players: one (difficult), two (medium) or three (easy). Participants were instructed to make decision within three seconds and to physically pass a ball to a teammate on the screen. Their visual (foveal) focus, quiet eye and decision time were compared. Results showed that participants focused more on their teammates compared to opponents ( p < .001) and other areas ( p < .001) and recorded longer fixation durations for difficult conditions compared to medium ( p < .001) and easy ( p = .003). While quiet eye durations did not differ across task difficulty, participants took significantly longer to make a decision in difficult ( p < .001) and medium ( p = .019) scenarios as compared to easy scenarios. In conclusion, skilled netball players rely on direct cues from teammates more than opponents during passing decision-making. In situations of greater uncertainty, they require more time to process visual information before making a decision.