Greg Wood and Mark R. Wilson
School of Sport and Health Sciences University of Exeter, UK
Citation
Wood, G., R. Wilson, M. (2010). Gaze behaviour and shooting strategies in football penalty kicks: Implications of a ‘keeper-dependent approach. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 41(3), 293-312.
Abstract
It has been suggested that when footballers take penalty kicks they generally focus on the goalkeeper, ignoring the target area. In experiment 1, we tested the implications of this strategy by constraining gaze centrally while asking participants to hit distal locations. When gaze was constrained, resultant shots became significantly centralised despite the partecipants striving to hit distal locations. In experiment 2, the gaze behaviour of kickers was analysed when taking penalty kicks with a goalkeeper present. Three distinct shooting strategies were identified and the most prominent strategy implemented was a ‘keeper-focused strategy. Individual analyses revealed that the utilisation of these strategies is highly variable within and between participants. However, better shooters used a target-focused approach more frequently, while the poorer shooters used a ‘goalkeeper-focused’ strategy. Implications and future research directions are outlined.
Keywords: Aiming, Perception-Action, Quiet Eye, Soccer, Visual attention