Effects of Preparation Time on Expert and Novice Volleyball Serving

Abstract

Temporal demands placed on motor skill execution can have complex effects on athletic performance, for example skills found in golf, soccer, hockey, and tennis. Rushing a skill or, in contrast, having too much time to execute it may lead to the automatic processes of experts to be disrupted, thus leading to "choking" under pressure. Novices, on the other hand, may perform better with more time, needing to devote conscious attention to execution. The present research extended findings to volleyball by examining the effects of manipulating preparation time of novice and expert volleyball players in executing an overhand serve to a target. 24 female participants were tested in three conditions: fast (3 s ), intermediate ( 5 s ), and slow ( 10 s) preparation time. Results found that increasing preparation time caused experts' inaccuracy (fine errors) to increase. However, the number of missed serves (gross errors) decreased. It was also found that decreased preparation time increased both fine and gross errors across both skill levels. Novices were found to perform better overall when given more preparation time and worse overall when given less preparation time.