We examined skill-based differences in the detection and utilization of contextual information over a period of increasing exposure to an opponent’s action preferences in soccer. Moreover, we investigated the ability of athletes to adapt to changes in these action preferences over time. In an initial detection phase, the attacking opponent demonstrated a proclivity to either pass or dribble, with these preferences being reversed in a subsequent adaptation phase of the same length. Skilled soccer players showed superior anticipation accuracy across both phases compared with less-skilled counterparts. The skilled participants significantly enhanced their performance over both phases, despite a significant drop in performance immediately following the change in opponent action preferences. In contrast, the less-skilled group only improved over the detection phase. Gaze data revealed that the skilled participants fixated more on kinematically relevant areas, compared with the less-skilled group, and increased the time spent fixating the player “off the ball” following greater volumes of exposure. Our novel findings elaborate on how skilled performers use both action preferences and motion information to anticipate an opponent’s impending actions in sport.

我们检查了在一段时间内越来越多地接触到对手在足球中的动作偏好，在检测和利用上下文信息方面基于技能的差异。此外，我们调查了运动员随着时间的推移适应这些动作偏好变化的能力。在最初的检测阶段，进攻的对手表现出传球或运球的倾向，这些偏好在随后的相同长度的适应阶段被逆转。与技术水平较低的同行相比，技术娴熟的足球运动员在两个阶段都表现出更高的预测准确性。熟练的参与者在两个阶段都显着提高了他们的表现，尽管在对手行动偏好发生变化后表现立即显着下降。相比之下，技能较低的组仅在检测阶段有所改善。凝视数据显示，与技术较差的组相比，技术熟练的参与者更多地关注运动学相关区域，并且在更多的暴露量后增加了固定球员“无球”的时间。我们的新发现详细说明了熟练的表演者如何使用动作偏好和动作信息来预测对手在运动中即将发生的动作。