The effects of a single stroboscopic training session on anticipating tennis serve direction were explored. Intermediate tennis players in both the stroboscopic training (n = 16) and control (n = 16) conditions completed 40 pretest and 40 post-test service video clips, prompting them to indicate the serve trajectory direction. Identical on-court training was provided for both conditions after the pretest, in which each participant was asked to return 40 tennis serve shots. In the experimental condition, participants performed the task wearing stroboscopic glasses, whereas those in the control condition performed the task naturally, without any glasses. Response accuracy and reaction time (RT) were measured. Results revealed that stroboscopic training significantly improved response accuracy. However, there were no significant differences in RT between conditions. The present study indicates that a single training session can improve the anticipation of serve trajectory detection in tennis. Further research must examine the transfer to the natural environment and investigate anticipation in other types of tasks, such as during play in tennis and in other sports.

VAR (video assistant referee) presents a human-technology interface that was designed to improve referees' ability to make accurate decisions in key match incidents. VAR interventions are pivotal moments in football matches, challenging referees' critical decisions and potentially affecting their perceived ability to manage the game. This study aimed to investigate how referees handle VAR interventions in terms of game management and control. Through statistical analyses, we examined 120 real-match VAR interventions in penalty incidents from the Israeli Premier League, focusing on the number of fouls and yellow cards before and after the VAR interventions. Our findings revealed a significant impact (d = 0.40) on yellow cards but not on fouls. Remarkably, referees issued twice the number of yellow cards (normalized per playing minute) following a VAR intervention, irrespective of the time it occurred during the match (i.e., first or second half). These results are discussed within the framework of current research and theories concerning self-control and game management in football refereeing. The increased issuance of yellow cards following VAR interventions suggests that teams may be at a higher risk of receiving disciplinary actions, which can potentially impact their performance and increase the likelihood of losing matches. Consequently, we provide practical recommendations for referee training and match preparation as well as for teams.

Participation in the Olympic Games (OGs) represents the pinnacle of an elite athlete’s career, often accompanied by a spectrum of emotions – including euphoria, flow, pride, and a sense of meaning – as well as negative experiences such as disappointment, frustration, anxiety, and a lack of purpose. Over the past decade, research on athletic careers has increasingly recognized the OGs as a longitudinal career transition encompassing multiple phases and meta-transitions, including qualification/selection, preparation, participation, and the post-Games period. However, no review has yet addressed the full scope of the OGs transition, and no conceptual model has been developed to account for this complex experience. This article addresses this gap by pursuing two objectives: (a) to provide a narrative review of the OGs transition, and (b) to introduce a new framework – the Olympic Games Transition Model (OGT model) – which captures the change events, career pathways, and associated adaptation processes within the OGs transition. Our research questions were: (a) What are the transitional experiences of elite athletes throughout their Olympic journeys? (b) Can specific transitions and phases be identified as career pathways? (c) How do athletes perceive these transitions? (d) How do elite athletes emotionally respond to the transition’s demands and barriers? (e) How do athletes adapt to these demands and barriers? The findings underscore the scarcity of quantitative, comparative, predictive, and longitudinal research in this area. The review highlights the complex and dynamic emotional nature of the OGs experience and its potential impact on athletes’ well-being. The OGT model offers researchers and practitioners a comprehensive framework for understanding athletes’ change events, career pathways, and adaptation processes.

This chapter reviews the use of imagery and selects sensory modalities for facilitating decreased perception of effort and increased positive affective responses to exercise. It reviews innovative intervention strategies, including the use of mental imagery and olfactory, visual, and auditory stimuli. The chapter discusses empirical evidence pertaining to their effectiveness for facilitating perception of effort and optimizing affective responses to exercise. The chapter outlines potential use of relatively unexplored sensory modalities. It identifies gaps in the literature and provides recommendations for researchers. Research into the effectiveness of imagery for reducing perception of effort in exercise has focused on the change in effort perception, dominant attention focus, and time on task while using imagery during exercise. In the exercise domain, music can be used in both synchronous or asynchronous manners. The chapter concludes with practical implications and guidelines for best using these to promote long-term physical activity behavior in individuals.

Football referees are required to make numerous decisions per match under physiological and emotional strain. Within this context, VAR (video assistant referee) interventions represent a key match event in which referees' critical decisions are challenged and thus their perceived ability to control the match might also be obscured. In this study, we investigated the effects of a VAR intervention on referees' self-rated mental fatigue (MF) and performance. Nine elite referees completed over 2-6 real matches each (total of 44 matches) a single item of MF before the match, at half-time, and immediately after the match. Situational and performance indices were also collected. The referees' level of MF significantly increased from pre-match to half-time to post-match, yet the referees were not completely mentally fatigued at the end of the matches. Post-match MF was higher (a medium effect) for matches with a VAR intervention (n = 9) compared with matches without an intervention (n = 35). Post-match MF correlated negatively with self-rated performance, r(44) = .35, p = .019. These findings are discussed in relation to current theory and research in the area of self-control and MF in sports. We also provide recommendations for referee training and match preparation.

While there are studies that qualitatively examine athletes' retirement experiences post retirement [e.g. Lavallee & Robinson, 2007. In pursuit of an identity: A qualitative exploration of retirement from women's artistic gymnastics. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 8(1), 119-141; Torregrosa et at, 2015. Olympic athletes back to retirement: A qualitative longitudinal study. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 21, 50-56; Tshube & Feltz, 2015. The relationship between dual-career and post-sport career transition among elite athletes in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 27, 109-114; Warriner & LavaIlee, 2008. The retirement experiences of elite female gymnasts: Self identity and the physical self. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20(3), 301-317], a unique opportunity was presented during the COVID-19 pandemic to gather data from NCAA Division II baseball players who faced potential involuntary sport retirement at roughly the same time for the same reason, thus eliminating multiple variables that are common in athlete retirement research. This study aimed to explore the experiences of senior college athletes using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Data analysis revealed that while the college athletes reported experiencing negative cognitive and emotional responses, they also identified positive aspects of this unexpected situation, thought of others during this unprecedented time, and remained future-oriented. Although there is still more to learn about the impact of sudden sport retirement on athletes, this exploration offered optimism that some athletes can be surprisingly resilient when faced with unexpected adversity at the end of their athletic careers.

The current study investigated the adaptations which occur in visual search behaviour as a function of expertise in rugby union players when completing attacking scenarios. Ten experienced players (EP) and ten novice players (NP) completed 2 vs. 1 attacking game scenarios. Starting with the ball in hand and wearing a mobile eye tracker throughout, participants were required to score a try against a defender. The scenarios allowed for a pass to their supporting player (Spin Pass or Switch) or trying to run past the defender (Take-Player-On or Dummy Switch). No between group differences were found in fixating on the supporting attacking player (p > 0.05). However, EP increased the length (p = 0.008) and frequency (p = 0.004) looking at the area immediately ahead of the supporting player, particularly when executing a spin pass. NP fixated longer (p = 0.005) and more frequently (p = 0.032) at the defender, whilst EP fixated more frequently in the space the supporting player would run into in Switch and Dummy Switch scenarios (p = 0.025). More successful passes were completed and tries scored by EP compared to NP (p = 0.001). Differences in visual search behaviour between experienced and NP suggest that the experts extract information from areas directly related to guiding the motor action; the space immediately ahead of the support player to pass the ball in. Contrastingly, novices use a more allocentric perspective where the actions from the defender are used to guide their motor actions.

Home advantage in sports has been extensively researched in the academic literature over the past five decades. A review of the literature reveals several factors that consistently underly this phenomenon. One of the most documented is the home crowd effect. While the crowd effect on the results has been widely researched considering noise, size, and density, there are conflicting findings of the effect and its extent. Furthermore, the perceptions of fans, athletes, coaches, and officials of the causes of home advantage in general and the crowd effect in particular, remain marginal. This is especially important in the face of significant regulation changes in the stands caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study, therefore, examined the perceptions of fans, athletes, coaches, and officials of the Israeli handball premier league regarding fans’ contribution to the home advantage phenomenon along with other factors (e.g., travel and officiating). A questionnaire examining perceptions regarding home advantage was distributed to 232 Israeli participants (117 fans, 59 players, 26 coaches, and 30 officials). Results, based on MANOVA, ANOVA, and post-hoc analyses, indicated significant differences in participants’ perceptions of the different factors in general and the crowd factor in particular. Overall, the crowd was perceived as the most important factor contributing to the home advantage phenomenon ( M = 5.7). Furthermore, fans perceived their contribution (i.e., the crowd) significantly higher than the rest of the participants ( p = 0.001; i.e., players, coaches, and officials). On the other hand, officials ranked their contribution to the home advantage effect as low as well as significantly under ranked their contribution in comparison to the other groups ( p < 0.001). This result suggests that officials perceive themselves as relatively robust to the crowd effect compared to the other participants. Additional results are discussed in light of existing gaps in the literature on the home advantage phenomenon. Alongside the theoretical contribution, these findings contribute to applied implications of increasing the home advantage effect when playing at home and negating the home advantage when playing away.

Decision-making (DM) has been studied from two main perspectives: cognitive and ecological. Findings indicate that experts have advanced DM skills that enhance performance. The underlying mechanisms of DM skills relate to the attention and anticipation capacities to function without interruption under pressure of time and to counter various sources of stress (e.g., self-regulation and coping strategies). There are still many questions that must be addressed to fully account for the DM process and apply the findings in a real-world environment. The most urgent questions relate to the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying DM, team DM processes, training and measuring DM, making creative decisions, and comprehending the process of coaches’ DM during competitive conditions and other real-life situations.

Abstract Decision-making (DM) has been studied from two main perspectives: cognitive and ecological. Findings indicate that experts have advanced DM skills that enhance performance. The underlying mechanisms of DM skills relate to the attention and anticipation capacities to function without interruption under pressure of time and to counter various sources of stress (e.g., self-regulation and coping strategies). There are still many questions that must be addressed to fully account for the DM process and apply the findings in a real-world environment. The most urgent questions relate to the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying DM, team DM processes, training and measuring DM, making creative decisions, and comprehending the process of coaches’ DM during competitive conditions and other real-life situations.

The modifications of judo regulations since 2013 were examined as a career change-event (Samuel and Tenenbaum 2011a). Highly competitive judokas (n = 53) and coaches (n = 30), representing three main sub-cultures (i.e., Israel, Croatia, and the UK), completed online measures of change-event experiences and athletic/coaching identity. The modifications of judo regulations were perceived as a moderate and somewhat negative change-event. Judokas' perceptions of this change-event were correlated with their coaches' perceptions. Coping efforts mainly focused on adjusting tactical skills. Participants' decision-making mostly involved consulting with others and making a conscious decision to change. The participants' motivation decreased following these modifications. The participants were only moderately knowledgeable about these changes. UK participants perceived this change-event more negatively and were less informed about it. These findings stress the importance of conducting a reflective process before additional modifications are introduced to the sport, and the role of coaches in athletes' education.

The authors tested the notion that expertise effects would be more noticeable when access to situational information was reduced by occluding (i.e., noncued) or freezing (i.e., cued) the environment under temporal constraints. Using an adaptation of tasks developed by Ward, Ericsson, and Williams, the participants viewed video clips of attacking soccer plays frozen or occluded at 3 temporal points and then generated and prioritized situational options and anticipated the outcome. The high-skill players anticipated the outcomes more accurately, generated fewer task-irrelevant options, and were better at prioritizing task-relevant options than their low-skill counterparts. The anticipation scores were significantly and positively correlated with the option prioritization and task-relevant options generated but not with the total options generated. Counter to the authors' prediction, larger skill-based option-prioritization differences were observed when the play was frozen than when it was occluded. These results indicate that processing environmental information depends on temporal and contextual conditions.

Mobile technologies aimed at improving perceptual-cognitive skills align on a continuum of dimensions: specificity, from general to domain specific, and functionality, from higher to lower - order skills. Training protocols aimed at improving perceptual-cognitive skills have used both eye tracking and video-based technologies to measure and improve these skills. Anticipation training has been examined in handball, particularly players’ ability to predict attacking shots on goal. The company suggests that training on the application improves pattern recognition, anticipation, and decision-making skills, and suggests training twice a week, 15–30 minutes per session, with improvements seen after around 20 sessions. The main concern with mobile training technologies is the transferability to domain-specific, representative, and real-world tasks. Finally, move the field forward, and continue advancing mobile training technology, stronger collaborations among researchers, practitioners, and technology companies is required.

ABSTRACT Purpose: Changes in biophysiological markers related to perceived burnout and self-comfort were tested in this study. Method: Forty-two student-athletes from middle and high school grades were evaluated for burnout, salivary cortisol levels, measures of arousal-related physiological markers (i.e., blood volume pulse; BVP), galvanic skin response (GSR), and respiratory rate, and self-comfort variables during the last two weeks of the season. Using self-comfort theory as its conceptual framework, we examined burnout through a conceptual model in which feeling of discomfort with the self was related to biophysiological markers affecting perceived burnout. The proposed model was tested by using a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results: The main findings indicate that increased self-discomfort is significantly (p < .001) associated with increased salivary cortisol (β = – 0.189) along with a significant (p = .050) decrease in GSR (β = – 0.259). Increased salivary cortisol is significantly (p < .001) associated with increased burnout (β = 0.242). Conclusion: The findings partially support the model and encourage further effort to capture the burnout syndrome through the integration of biological and psychological markers.

Statistics indicate that the overwhelming majority of NCAA Division I college athletes will not continue in their sport professionally (NCAA, 2019). Therefore, there is a need to develop a deeper understanding of the variables that influence college athletes’ psychological health and well-being as they transition to retirement. The present study gathered detailed information about 15 former NCAA Division I college athletes’ retirement experiences four to five months post retirement. The findings suggested that the former college athletes had varied retirement experiences ranging from negative to positive. All college athletes who reported having a successful retirement transition described having at least one identified support group, stated they accomplished their athletic goals, indicated they had started pursuing other interests, and identified some positive aspects about their lives since retirement. Alternatively, the college athletes who reported having an unsuccessful retirement transition revealed they did not accomplish most of their athletic goals and struggled to identify any positive aspects about their lives since retirement. The findings of this study highlight the diversity in college athletes’ retirement experiences that can occur. Although there is still much more to ascertain about athlete retirement, this exploration into college athletes’ retirement experiences offers practical implications for athletes, coaches, practitioners, and those who want to provide support for a retiring athlete.

Itay Basevitch 5 Sport Studies, Manhattanville College, NY, USA 6 7 Gershon Tenenbaum 8 B. Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel 9 10 Edson Filho 11 School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK 12 13 Selen Razon 14 Department of Kinesiology, West Chester University, PA, USA 15 16 Nataniel Boiangin 17 Sport and Exercise Sciences, Barry University, FL, USA 18 19 Paul Ward 20 The MITRE Corporation, Washington D.C., USA* 21 * Disclaimer 22 Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited. Public Release Case Number 19-1567. 23 Paul Ward's affiliation with The MITRE Corporation is provided for identification purposes only, and is 24 not intended to convey or imply MITRE's concurrence with, or support for, the positions, opinions, or 25 viewpoints expressed by the author. 26 ©2019 The MITRE Corporation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 27 28