Visual Information in Basketball Jump-Shots: Differences between Youth and Adult Athletes
(Rui Marques, Fernando Martins, Ricardo Gomes, Diogo V. Martinho, Rui Mendes, Sarah A. Moore, Manuel J. Coelho-e-Silva, Gonçalo Dias)

Basketball shooting is a complex skill that requires visual routines and trained players typically evidence a specific oculomotor pattern. This study aimed to examine visual patterns in male novice youth and professional adult players while performing a jump shot. The sample included 20 basketball players grouped as under-16 youth (n = 10) and professional adult (n = 10) players. Each participant completed 50 shots at two distances (long range: 6.80 m; middle range: 4.23 m). Eye tracking glasses were used to obtain quiet eye (QE), the number of fixations, total fixation duration, duration of first and last fixation. An independent t-test was used to assess differences between groups. Shooting accuracy given by % of efficacy indicated that under-16 players attained poorer scores at both distances: long (t = −4.75, p < 0.01) and middle (t = −2.80, p < 0.012) distance. The groups also differed in QE time (long: 600 ms vs. 551 ms; middle: 572 ms vs. 504 ms) and total duration of the fixations (long: 663 ms vs. 606 ms; middle: 663 ms vs. 564 ms) in both long and middle distance shots. Significant differences also occurred in the last fixation (long distance: t = −4.301, p < 0.01; middle distance: t = −3.656, p < 0.01) with professional adult players presenting the value of, on average, 454–458 ms, while youth shooters 363–372 ms. In summary, visual strategy differed between under-16 youth and professional adult basketball players. To support their long-term sport development, it is recommended that youth basketball players focus their attention with longer final fixation before releasing the ball to improve their shot.

Marques, R., Martins, F. M. L., Gomes, R., Martinho, D. V., Mendes, R., Moore, S. A. … Dias, G. (2023). Visual Information in Basketball Jump-Shots: Differences between Youth and Adult Athletes. Journal of Human Kinetics, 89, 66-75. https://doi.org/10.5114/jhk/163447

Marques, R., Martins, F. M. L., Gomes, R., Martinho, D. V., Mendes, R., Moore, S. A., Coelho-e-Silva, M. J., and Dias, G. (2023). Visual Information in Basketball Jump-Shots: Differences between Youth and Adult Athletes. Journal of Human Kinetics, 89, pp.66-75. https://doi.org/10.5114/jhk/163447

Marques, Rui et al. “Visual Information in Basketball Jump-Shots: Differences between Youth and Adult Athletes.” Journal of Human Kinetics, vol. 89, 2023, pp. 66-75. doi:10.5114/jhk/163447.

Marques R, Martins FM L, Gomes R, Martinho DV, Mendes R, Moore SA et al. Visual Information in Basketball Jump-Shots: Differences between Youth and Adult Athletes. Journal of Human Kinetics. 2023;89:66-75. https://doi.org/10.5114/jhk/163447