Visual Fixations in Basketball Shooting: Differences between Shooting Conditions

Abstract

Basketball is a sport where shooting is one of the most important factors that determines the success or failure of the teams. Therefore, basketball players need to shoot the ball accurately. The present study aimed to evaluate whether different shooting conditions influence the visual behavior of athletes. For this, the Tobbi Pro Glasses 3 equipment was used to evaluate the time of the first fixation, the number of fixations, and the total time of fixations in the basket, during the shooting movement. Different distances to the basket, simulated gym audience noise, and shooting with opposition were considered. A group of 18 athletes with an average age of 22 ± 3.72 years and an average basketball practice experience of 12.5 ± 4.52 years performed 10 valid shots from different distances and different shooting angles, with different restrictions, namely, shooting with simulated opposition and gym audience noise. Statistically significant differences between shooting with opposition and baseline, in terms of the number of fixations and the total time of fixation, were found. Regarding shooting with gym audience noise, differences only occur for the total time of fixations in one position. Despite this, in all variables and positions, the values were lower in shooting with constraints compared to the baseline.

Keywords

• gaze behavior
• environmental constraints
• shooting opposition
• task constraints
• ocular fixation