The researchers recruited 14 collegiate soccer players, with half of them highly skilled, and seven graduate students who did not have formal soccer training. All 21 subjects were men. As one part of the experiment, a series of photographs showing different arrangements of two defenders and three offensive teammates from a first-person perspective was displayed. The participants had to push a foot switch button if a pass downfield between two defenders was possible.
The reaction time was significantly shorter in the higher skilled group than in the novice group, and variability was small in the higher skilled group. Furthermore, electroencephalographs revealed the neural waveforms that showed stronger processing of inhibition, which restrains a motor response, in higher skilled players.
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