Visual search, anticipation and expertise in soccer goalkeepers GEERT J.P. SAVELSBERGH, 1,2 * A. MARK WILLIAMS, 3 JOHN VAN DER KAMP 1 and PAUL WARD 3 1 Research Institute for Fundamental and Clinical Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2 Centre for Biophysical and Clinical Research into Human Movement, Department of Exercise and Sports Science, The Manchester Metropolitan University, Alsager, UK and 3 Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK Accepted 30 November 2001 We used a novel methodological approach to examine skill-based diþerences in anticipation and visual search behaviour during the penalty kick in soccer. Expert and novice goalkeepers were required to move a joystick in response to penalty kicks presented on ®lm. The proportion of penalties saved was assessed, as well as the frequency and time of initiation of joystick corrections. Visual search behaviour was examined using an eye movement registration system. Expert goalkeepers were generally more accurate in predicting the direction of the penalty kick, waited longer before initiating a response and made fewer corrective movements with the joystick. The expert goalkeepers used a more eýcient search strategy involving fewer ®xations of longer duration to less disparate areas of the display. The novices spent longer ®xating on the trunk, arms and hips, whereas the experts found the kicking leg, non-kicking leg and ball areas to be more informative, particularly as the moment of foot±ball contact approached. No diþerences in visual search behaviour were observed between successful and unsuccessful penalties. The results have implications for improving anticipation skill at penalty kicks. Keywords : penalty kicks, perceptual skill, performance. Introduction Expert soccer goalkeepers demonstrate highly skilled and well coordinated behaviour when diving or jumping to catch the ball. Such skilled behaviour requires many years of practice (Ericsson et al., 1993), allied to a considerable amount of ability (Singer and Janelle, 1999). It is now accepted that successful performance in such sports requires skill in perception as well as the eýcient and accurate execution of movement patterns (see Williams et al., 1999). The awareness that skilled perception precedes appropriate action has led researchers to examine its role in sport performance. For example, it has been demonstrated that experts are better than novices in using advance visual cues to guide their anticipatory responses (Abernethy, 1987; Williams and Burwitz, 1993). * Address all correspondence to Geert J.P. Savelsbergh, Research Institute for Fundamental and Clinical Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands. e-mail: g_j_psavelsbergh@fbw.vu.nl A player’s ability to use advance postural cues is particularly important in fast ball sports where the speed of play and ball velocity dictate that decisions must often be made in advance of the action. High-speed ®lm analysis indicates that players who react to the ball, as opposed to anticipating its intended destination, are unlikely to be successful (Glencross and Cibich, 1977). The temporal occlusion paradigm has been used to examine anticipatory cue usage in sport. In this approach, participants are presented with ®lmed sequences that are representative of their customary view of the action. These ®lm clips are selectively edited to provide a varying extent of advance and ball ¯ight information, with participants being required to predict the end result of the sequence being observed. The expert performer’s superiority over the novice has been demonstrated in a range of sports including soccer, with these diþerences being more pronounced at the earliest (pre-event) occlusion conditions (for a detailed review, see Williams et al., 1999; Starkes et al., 2001). In one such study, Williams and Burwitz (1993) required expert and novice goalkeepers to observe Journal of Sports Sciences, 2002, 20, 279±287 Journal of Sports Sciences ISSN 0264-0414 print/ISSN 1466-447X online Ó 2002 Taylor & Francis Ltd http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals