The next stage in the tennis stroke is the perceptual mechanism, which interprets the information using different parts of memory. The speed of the ball, the direction and the height is worked out at this stage. This is important because it is required in the decision making process. It is the part where all irrelevant information is discarded and the potentially important information is kept. For there to be no excess delay in this period distractions must be kept to a minimum. Environmental distractions are referred to as ‘noise’. Noise is usually disregarded by athletes. Much of it comes from spectators but there are other more trivial distractions such as objects on the court or even a plane flying overhead may cause a distraction. Short-term memory is the storage area known as the ‘working memory’ where all sensory inputs of the current situation are stored. The storage lasts for about a second and is lost if not carried through. This works more effectively in experienced players as they can store a lot more information and are able to ‘read’ situations because they have met more similar situations than inexperienced players. Long-term memory contains a large quantity of information. The storage of information the long-term memory causes a change in structure of cells, which makes it a permanent store. It is practically limitless. It included past experiences transferred from short-term memory because the actions from selected bits of information were carried out. Movement patterns are stored here as well as results of actions that happened in the past.
A decision is then made from the information that has just been collected. In this case, the player decides to play a forehand drive. As said before the decision is made through the comparison of the information in the short-term memory and the long-term memory. The events that are unfolding trigger a memory recall of events that have happened in the past and the brain tries to track similar situations, and the result of the situation. If successful the player will then choose to perform that particular action, maybe in a slightly different way.
The processing part of the complete movement is now complete. The movement now has to be executed. The effector response takes place, and the signals from the sensory input have gone to the spinal cord and brain and returned to muscles via motor neurones. This triggers the muscles to extend or contract to pull the arm back and move the body into a sideways position. The memory store is still acquiring information and telling the brain which movements are less successful for performing the task. The output is the physical action produced. The situation and result are stored from this experience for future reference as is any feedback i.e. was the ball in or out?
In individual sport such as athletics some of the processes are the same in terms of perception. However, there are fewer situations which could occur in this sport so therefore there is a shorter response time. In the 100 metre sprint the each athlete is focused on his or her run because the other competitors do not have a direct influence on each other. They are taught to ignore ‘noise’ very well ad some have been said to not even hear the chants of spectators all they is see is the finish line and all they hear is the starting gun. In this event the only thing they can do is what they have been taught and what they feel is the most effective way of running. There are few independent variables; they just do the same movement over again. The motor control plays a major role in the performance of sprint athletes. Movements can be done without reference to feedback simply because the muscles have become accustomed to it. The main processing stage comes at the start when the athlete hears the gun. Occasionally, some athletes try to anticipate the gun and can often make false starts. If a particular stimulus is expected the response is going to be triggered more quickly because the mind has already started sorting out various possibilities and has delved into the long-term memory store and is ready to process new information. Experienced performers tend to respond more quickly and accurately than those with less experience because they have developed an ability to focus on the important stimuli they receive. This makes perception a quicker process. They are more likely to have met more situations than inexperienced players so when the time comes, they are more likely to make the correct decision.
Team sports such as football the performers have a lot more decisions to make because the opposition can directly affect the choices the player makes. There are so many situations that it is almost impossible to predict what could happen in a game. A player taking a shot at goal for example has to decide whether the goalkeeper is coming off his line or not and the possible effect of surrounding defenders. The atmosphere inside a football stadium is very ‘electric’. This increased amount of ‘noise’ can make it difficult for a player to select information. If the player is under pressure for example the opposition are leading by a goal and it is the final minute, the correct decision may not be taken because the player does not have the time to evaluate all possible outcomes. If a player is about to be tackled he/she might do the first thing that comes to mind such as pass the ball, when it would seem the more sensible option to take the opposing player on.
In conclusion it is possible to say that the main variation in racket, individual and team sport is the time it takes to process the information received. It has been discovered that there are various factors that influence the response time. These factors include:
- Time available
- Intensity of stimuli
- Readiness to accept stimuli
- Experience
- Alertness/psychological state
- Level of fitness
All the delays occur mainly in the perception stage where all the information is being sorted out. With training and experience it becomes possible to block out distractions and irrelevant information and if coaching is concentrated on this, then the performer will inevitably be more successful. Learning a skill is one thing, but knowing when to use that skill is where it matters in sport.
