Effects of video-based training on anticipation and decision-making in football players: A systematic review

Abstract

The training of athletes’ anticipation and decision-making skills has received increasing attention from researchers, who developed and implemented training programs to achieve this. Video-based training (VBT) has become a popular method in anticipation and decision-making skills training. However, little is known about the benefits of implementing VBT in soccer. This systematic review considered the results of studies on VBT aiming to develop decision-making and anticipation skills in football players, and analyzed its effects. Literature published up to March 2022 was systematically searched on the scientific electronic databases Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, SportDiscus, and Google Scholar. In total, 5,749 articles were identified. After screening the records according to the set exclusion and inclusion criteria, ten articles were considered eligible, including six longitudinal studies and four acute studies. Eight of the ten included studies (80%) showed that VBT group performance in anticipation or decision-making skills was significantly better at post-test than at pre-test, as evidenced by improvements in response accuracy (RA), response times (RT), mean distance scores (MDS) and passing decision-making performance. In six studies that included the no video-based training (NVBT) group, results showed that athletes in the VBT group performed better in anticipation or decision-making skills than in the NVBT group, as evidenced by improvements in RA and RT performance. The studies used different methods for VBT, both explicit and implicit training effectively improved participants’ anticipation and decision-making skills. In addition, the implementation of the “first-person” perspective (i.e., the player’s perspective) and virtual reality (VR) improved the presentation of video stimuli, effectively improving anticipation and decision-making. The findings of this review suggest that VBT is beneficial in developing anticipation and decision-making judgments in football players. However, some findings were inconsistent with previous studies due to differences in intervention duration and experimental protocols, and further studies are needed. Furthermore, future research should actively seek to design appropriate retention tests and transfer tests to truly understand the benefits of VBT for athletes.

Studies of Vision in Cricket—A Narrative Review

“…However, because the influence of gaze tracking and eye and head coordination on batting performance is not entirely clear, future studies are necessary to determine whether gaze tracking strategies result in better batting. Alternatively or in addition to eye movement training, because predictive saccades are thought to reflect anticipation, it may be that training anticipation could improve performance in cricket [ 60 ]. However, none of these eye and head tracking studies included assessments of the relationship between eye and head movements, lower body movements, and early portions of the bat swing.…”

The Role of Virtual Reality in the Management of Football Injuries

“…Among the critical issues that emerge from the use of VR in healthcare are the costs of equipment, the need for technical expertise, and cybersickness, defined as the nausea and headaches caused by the prolonged use of smartphones, tablets and headsets [ 24 ].…”

“…In sport, VR can be seen as an assistive technology that provides specific support for training through the simulation of game dynamics and data analysis. However, the applications of VR vary, and include the improvement of teamwork and reductions in the risk of injury throughout a personalized training program for a single player based on the data collected, helping them to improve their weaknesses and reach their potential [ 24 , 25 ].…”

Exploring the effects of 3D-360°VR and 2D viewing modes on gaze behavior, head excursion, and workload during a boxing specific anticipation task

“…Varying degrees of success were obtained due to the challenges involved in replicating the representativeness of the sporting environment and simulating embodied decision-making ( Broadbent et al, 2015b ; Fadde and Zaichkowsky, 2018 ). For example, video-based tests have been widely used to study anticipation and decision making in several sports ( Farrow and Abernethy, 2002 ; Fadde, 2006 ; Hopwood et al, 2011 ; Broadbent et al, 2015a ; Müller et al, 2019 ; Zhao et al, 2022 ), including combat sports ( Russo and Ottoboni, 2019 ).…”