Previous studies have compared visual skills of expert and novice athletes; referees' performance has not been addressed. Visual skills of two groups of expert referees, successful and unsuccessful in decision making, were compared. Using video clips of soccer matches to assess decision-making success of 41 national and international referees from 31 to 42 years of age, 10 top referees were selected as the Successful group and 10 as the Unsuccessful group. Visual tests included visual memory, visual reaction time, peripheral vision, recognition speed, saccadic eye movement, and facility of accommodation. The Successful group had better visual skills than the Unsuccessful group. Such visual skills enhance soccer referees' performance and may be recommended for young referees.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbernethyB.NealR. J. (1999) Visual characteristics of clay target shooters. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 2, 1–19.
2.
BeckermanS.HitzemanS. A. (2003) Sports vision testing of selected athletic participants in the 1997 and 1998 AAU. Optometry, 74, 502–516.
3.
BibiR.EdelmanJ. A. (2009) The influence of motor training on human express saccade production. Journal of Neurophysiology, 102, 3101–3110.
4.
BlundellN. L. (1985) The contribution of vision to the learning and performance of sports skills: Part 1. The role of selected parameters. The Australian Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 17, 3–11.
5.
BodenL. M.RosengrenK. J.MartinD. F.BodenS. D. (2009) A comparison of static near stereo acuity in youth baseball/softball players and non-ball players. Optometry, 80, 121–125.
6.
DewhurstR.CrundallD. (2008) Training eye movements: Can training people where to look hinder the processing of fixated objects?Perception, 37, 1729–1744.
7.
FerreiraJ. T. (2003) The application of sport vision in cricket. Eyesight, March, 41–43.
8.
FrenchK. E.McPhersonS. L. (1999) Adaptations in response selection processes used during sport competition with increasing age and expertise. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 30, 173–193.
9.
GarberN. (1994) Tangent screen perimetry (continuing education credit). Journal of Ophthalmic Nursing and Technology, 13, 69–76.
10.
GhasemiA.MomeniM.RezaeeM.GholamiA. (2009) The difference in visual skills in expert versus novice soccer referees. Journal of Human Kinetics, 22, 15–20.
11.
GilisB.HelsenW.CatteeuwP.Van RoieE.WagemansJ. (2009) Interpretation and application of the offside law by expert assistant referees: Perception of spatial positions in complex dynamic events on and off the field. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27, 551–563.
12.
GriffinJ. (1988) Binocular anomalies: Procedures for vision therapy. New York: Professional Press.
13.
Guzman-MartinezE.LeungP.FranconeriS.GraboweckyM.SuzukiS. (2009) Rapid eye-fixation training without eye tracking. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 16, 491–496.
14.
HardiessG.GillnerS.MallotH. A. (2008) Head and eye movements and the role of memory limitations in a visual search paradigm. Journal of Vision, 8, 1–13.
15.
HelsenW.GilisB.WestonM. (2007) Helsen, Gilis, and Weston (2006) do not err in questioning the optical error hypothesis as the only major account for explaining offside decision-making errors. Journal of Sport Sciences, 25, 991–994.
16.
HelsenW.PauwelsJ. M. (1993) The relationship between expertise and visual information processing in sport. In StrakesJ. L.AllardF. (Eds.), Cognitive issues in motor expertise. Amsterdam: North-Holland. Pp. 109–134.
17.
IwasakiT. (1993) Effects of a visual task with cognitive demand on dynamic and steady-state accommodation. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics, 13, 285–290.
18.
JafarzadehpurE.AazamiN.BolouriB. (2007) Comparison of saccadic eye movements and facility of ocular accommodation in female volleyball players and non-players. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 17, 186–190.
19.
JafarzadehpurE.YarigholiM. R. (2004) Comparison of visual acuity in reduced rumination and facility of ocular accommodation in table tennis champions and non-players. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 3, 44–48.
20.
KiyotaN.FujiwaraK. (2010) Effects of anti-saccade training with neck flexion on eye movement performance, presaccadic potentials, and prefrontal hemodynamics in the elderly. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 13, 1–12.
21.
KrampeR. T.EricssonK. A. (1996) Maintaining excellence: Deliberate practice and elite performance in young and older pianists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 125, 331–359.
22.
MacMahonC.HelsenW. F.StarkesJ. L.WestonM. (2007) Decision-making skills and deliberate practice in elite association football referees. Journal of Sports Sciences, 25, 65–78.
23.
MannanS. K.PambakianA. L.KennardC. (2010) Compensatory strategies following visual search training in patients with homonymous hemianopia: An eye movement study. Journal of Neurology, 257, 1812–1821.
24.
MascarenhasD. R. D.CollinsD.MortimerP. (2002) The art of reason versus the exactness of science in elite refereeing: Comments on Plessner and Betsch (2001). Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 24, 328–333.
25.
Montes-MicoR.BuenoI.CandelJ.PansA. M. (2000) Eye-hand and Eye-foot visual reaction time of young soccer players. Optometry, 71, 775–780.
26.
NakamotoH.MoriS. (2008) Sport-specific decision-making in a go/no go reaction task: Difference among nonathletes and baseball and basketball players. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 106, 163–170.
27.
PlessnerH.HaarT. (2006) Sports performance judgments from a social cognitive perspective. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 7, 555–575.
28.
PowersM. K.GrishamJ. D.WurmJ. K.WurmW. C. (2009) Improving visual skills: II. Remote assessment via Internet. Optometry, 80, 61–69.
29.
RipollH.LatiriI. (1997) Effect of expertise on coincident-timing accuracy in a fast ball game. Journal of Sports Sciences, 15, 573–580.
30.
SalthouseT. A. (1991) Mediation of adult age differences in cognition by reductions in working memory and speed of processing. Psychological Science, 2, 179–183.
31.
SavelsberghG. J. P.Van der KampJ.WilliamsA. M.WardP. (2005) Anticipation and visual search behavior in expert soccer goal keepers. Ergonomics, 15, 1686–1697.
32.
SavelsberghG. J. P.WilliamsA. M.Van der KampJ.WardP. (2002) Visual search, anticipation, and expertise in soccer goalkeepers. Journal of Sports Sciences, 20, 279–287.
33.
StineC. D.ArterburnM. R.SternN. S. (1982) Vision and sport: A review of the literature. Journal of American Optometry Association, 53, 627–633.
34.
TakeuchiT.InomataK. (2009) Visual search strategies and decision making in baseball batting. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 108, 971–980.
35.
VaeyensR.LenoirM.WilliamsA. M.MazynL.PhillippartesR. M. (2007) The effect of task constraints on visual search behavior and decision making in youth soccer players. Journal of Sport Exercise Psychology, 29, 147–169.
36.
VaeyensR.LenoirM.WilliamsA. M.PhillippartesR. M. (2007) Mechanisms underpinning successful decision making in skilled youth soccer players: An analysis of visual search behaviors. Journal of Motor Behavior, 39, 395–408.
37.
VasudevanB.CiuffredaK. J.LudlamD. P. (2009) Accommodative training to reduce near work-induced transient myopia. Optometrical Vision Science, 86, 1287–1294.
38.
WardP.WilliamsA. M. (2003) Perceptual and cognitive skill development in soccer: The multidimensional nature of expert performance. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 25, 93–111.
39.
WestR. W. (1988) Standardization of the tangent screen examination: Some neglected parameters. American Journal of Optometry ana Physiological Optics, 65, 580–584.
40.
WilliamsA. M.DavidsK. (1998) Visual search strategy, selective attention, and expertise in soccer. Research Quarterly for Exercise ana Sport, 69, 111–128.
41.
WilliamsA. M.EricssonK. A. (2005) Perceptual–cognitive expertise in sport: Some considerations when applying the expert performance approach. Human Movement Science, 24, 283–307.
42.
WilliamsA. M.HodgesN. J.NorthJ.BartonG. (2006) Perceiving patterns of play in dynamic sport tasks: Investigating the essential information underlying skilled performance. Perception, 35, 317–332.
43.
WilliamsA. M.WardP.SmeetonN. J. (2004) Developing anticipation skills in tennis using on-court instruction: Perception versus perception and action. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 16, 350–360.
44.
WongA. M.SharpeJ. A. (2000) A comparison of tangent screen, Goldman, and Humphrey perimetry in the detection and localization of occipital lesions. Ophthalmology, 107, 527–544.
45.
YuanY. W. Y.FanX.ChinM.SoR. C. H. (1995) Hand-eye co-ordination and visual reaction time in elite badminton players and gymnasts. New Zealand Journal of Sports Medicine, 23, 19–22.
46.
ZwierkoT. (2007) Differences in peripheral perception between athletes and nonathletes. Journal of Human Kinetics, 19, 53–62.
