Š AFP
Damien Lafont damien_lafont@yahoo.fr
A.S.Montferrand Tennis
Denver 2008
Plan Sport, vision and perception Visual strategies Interaction visual strategies & mental : the tennis example Perspectives Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Sport, vision and perception Vision : important parameter Empirical methods Confidential methods In development ‌
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual training Static and dynamic acuity Contrast sensitivity Ocular movements (mobility) Accommodation Coordination : convergence et divergence Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Perceptual training Visual attention Attentional partage Memory Multisensorial integration Visual strategies Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Perceptual training Peripheral vision Eye / hand coordination Reaction Time
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Perceptual training DynaVision
SVT Wayne Peripheral Awareness AcuVision Trainer
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Perceptual training Methods Visual Performance Visual Fitness TMK Slow Down the Game Dynamic Edge EyeCoach EyeBall Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Perceptual training EyeBall – Sherylle Calder Improving performance through increased perception see better, faster, at the best moment, at the best place
Methods on field « homeworks »
Results ? Rugby, Hockey Damien Lafont
http://www.sportsvisionmagazine.com Denver 2008
Visual strategies Decision What to see and When? Identify the best strategies
Laboratory On field Gaze control Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Gaze Stability (100 ms) fixation tracking
Instability saccades
Optimal control depends on the task (interceptive ‌)
Identify the control strategies Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual strategies ÂŤ Vision in Action Âť Recording what the athletes see
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual strategies
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual strategies Identified visual strategies in sport: Basketball Golf Volleyball Table tennis Hockey
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual strategies: Example of the hitting phase in tennis
Usual model Observations Mental effects
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual strategies - Tennis Between points, games and sets Routines Ocular movements Girod (1997), PNL
Return of serve The most relevant cues (anticipation)
During the stroke execution? Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual strategies - Tennis Current model: « Watch the ball ! » The player must try to always watch the ball
≠ OBSERVATIONS
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual strategies - Tennis
Š Advantage Tennis - McCarron
Š Advantage Tennis - McCarron
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual strategies - Tennis
Š Advantage Tennis - McCarron
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual strategies - Tennis Forehand / Post-impact
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual strategies - Tennis Federer shows a specific gaze control (eye & head) during the hitting phase :
Fixation on the contact zone at impact Fixation on the contact zone during the follow-through Unique signature ? Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Photo analysis Data + 9000 photos
Advantage Tennis - Mike McCarron Pablo Sanfrancisco Vandystadt AFP Reuters Associated Press Getty Images
ATP & WTA tournaments – Top 100 Hitting phase: Impact and post-impact Groundstrokes: backhand & forehand
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
3 profiles Fixation in backhand AND in forehand « Total fixation » Fixation in backhand OR in forehand or by intermittency « Partial fixation » No fixation
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
« No fixation »
« Fog zone » Different head positions Different gaze orientations Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
« Partial fixation »
© Getty Images
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
« Total fixation »
© AP
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
ATP - Top 100 ATP ranking 8/20/2007 1. Federer,
Nadal, Djokovic, Davydenko, Roddick, Blake, Gonzalez, Robredo, Berdych, Haas, Youzhny, Ljubicic, Gasquet, Canas, Ferrer, Hewitt, Moya, Baghdatis, Murray, Chela, Ferrero, Mathieu, Monaco, Nalbandian, Safin, Nieminen, Tursunov, Almagro, Volandri, Soderling, Starace, Melzer, Karlovic, Stepanek, Verdasco, Hrbaty, Ancic, Kohlschreiber, Andreev, Simon, Clement, Lee, Santoro, Monfils, Gicquel, Montanes, Querrey, Calleri, Becker, Fish, Tipsarevic, Mayer, Hernandez, Eschauer, Rochus, Malisse, Wawrinka, Bjorkman, Del Potro, Massu, Llodra, Lopez, Benneteau, Spadea, Koubek, Ginepri, Russell, Dancevic, Acasuso, Mahut, Delic, Johansson, Vassallo Arguello, Tsonga, Hartfield, Berlocq, Seppi, Roitman, Grosjean, Lapentti, Korolev, Vliegen, Zabaleta, Berrer, Garcia-Lopez, Horna, Bolelli, Guccione, Gulbis, Serra, Luczak, Henman, Kunitsyn, Gabashvili, Haase, Goldstein, Pavel, Pless, Navarro Pastor, Zverev.
Total fxation : 10 players Partial fixation : 35 players No fixation Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
A new model ? The best players : Seem to follow the ball longer Fix the contact zone after the impact Switch from the ball to the contact zone BALL CONTACT ZONE Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Fixation on the contact zone : The consequences
Biomechanical benefits Visual and cognitive benefits Mental benefits Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual strategies - Tennis What the coaches tell us Vic Braden (1977, 1993) During the hitting phase, the player should avoid moving his head to see where the ball is going
Scott Ford (1984, 2002) Focus on the contact zone would favour ÂŤ flow Âť states, therefore optimal performance
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Visual strategies - Tennis ÂŤ Fixation Âť on the contact zone : the mental effects Concentration Control Stress
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Psychology Focus on the ball Focus on the contact zone
« Outcome » focus lack of control Concentration « Flow » Present & Control « Zone » Confidence TESTS & QUESTIONNAIRES OMSAT-3, T-TAIS
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Effects Mesurements EEG – Vickers et Crews (2002) Golf – brain activation and gaze control
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Perspectives Training and learning methods of
visual strategies in tennis Anticipation During movement execution Drills Level of expertise
Improving performance Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
Perspectives Training Golf Baseball Cricket Soccer Rugby
Damien Lafont
Denver 2008
References Lafont, D. (2008). Six good reasons to keep your eyes off the ball, ITF Coaching
and Sport Science Review, 44. Lafont, D. (2008). Gaze control during the hitting phase in tennis: a preliminary
study, IJPAS, 8(3), 85-100. •
Lafont, D. (2008). From the ball to the contact zone: Evidence of visual referential switch among elite tennis players, Le tennis dans la société de demain, Dijon, France, April 2008.
Lafont, D. (2007). High-speed photo analysis of top players’ gaze behaviour,
Tennis Science and Technology 3, ITF publication, London, 227-233. Lafont, D. (2007). Towards a new hitting model in tennis, International Journal of
Performance Analysis in Sport, 7(3), 104-114. Lafont, D. (2007). Watch the ball? ITF Coaching and Sport Science Review, 43, p.11.
Denver 2008