Understanding decision-making in sports with eye tracking

In the world of sports, every split-second decision counts. From the reaction times of athletes to the strategic choices made by coaches, understanding the intricacies of decision-making is vital to staying ahead of the competition.

Eye tracking is emerging within sports as a revolutionary way to get impactful insights into these decision-making processes. To find out more, our research specialist Stephano Radaelli, spoke to Lee Waters - a seasoned Senior lecturer in sports and exercise psychology. With over 15 years of experience, Lee is also the director of his own company, Clear Waters Sports Vision.

Skip ahead to watch the full interview here.

Out of the lab and on to the field

Traditionally, eye tracking studies have been confined to controlled, simulated laboratory environments, that don’t reflect the reality of sport. Thanks to products like our Tobii Pro Glasses 3, athletes and coaches can study gaze behaviors live, in real-world sporting scenarios. This shift from controlled environments to the field itself brings a new level of authenticity to the understanding of decision-making processes in dynamic situations.

“If you look at quite a lot of the research in the area of eye tracking - especially in the world of sports - it's not actually done in the applied settings where the findings are… Now you [Tobii] have developed this amazing technology, we're able to make it more mobile.”

Lee is on a mission to push the boundaries of applied research and showcase the untapped potential of eye tracking in sports. His diverse experience in taekwondo, cricket, golf, horse riding, and rugby, displays the versatility of eye tracking research. He aims to prove that eye tracking is an invaluable tool in sports analysis.

“Decision-making is the most important cognitive process we go through. The visual system is a vital part of that. If we're going to understand the visual system and decision making, we need to do it in the settings that they are doing it.”

The potential of eye tracking in sports

In his approach, Lee looks at both quantitative and qualitative data, encouraging athletes, coaches, and officials to have in-depth discussions about their decision-making processes. By examining gaze behavior and search patterns, he provides a comprehensive understanding that extends beyond traditional analysis methods. This integration reveals the nuanced, minute aspects of decision-making, contributing to a more holistic perspective.

“One of the privileges that I have is that I'm able to discuss with athletes, coaches, and officials about the processes they have gone through to make their decisions. I sit down with them with the footage and go through it with a fine-tooth comb to say - well okay so you're looking here, what's your process? What information are you getting from here? One of the key parts is to try and understand what they do and why they do it, in the order that they do it, for how long, and what they gain from that.”

A clear example of how effective eye trackers are at revealing hidden insights within sports research is in taekwondo, where Lee shares insights into how offensive and defensive fighters show distinctive gaze behaviors. He discovered the impact of altering focus on decision-making, revealing valuable insights for athletes aiming to improve anticipation and strategic awareness. This real-world application of eye tracking technology offers athletes and coaches a competitive edge.

Eye tracking technology is also becoming embedded into the sport of ice hockey. Lee explains how one of his biggest achievements was aiding the International Ice Hockey Federation to start actively using Tobii’s eye trackers during live games to review official’s gaze behaviors during crucial moments.

“They are using this information for their education, their development, and to challenge anything that has been done before.”

Empowering athletes and coaches

While Lee acknowledges initial challenges in introducing eye tracking, he is clear that the responses from individuals who experience the technology are overwhelmingly positive.

“Once I'm in the room, the response is 99.9% of the time - oh wow, why haven't we been doing this before? This is amazing; this is surely going to be something that’s common practice in years to come.”

Still, some individuals hesitate to try eye tracking. One common resistance Lee encounters is the belief that head cams and body cams provide equivalent information to eye trackers. However, he sheds light on their limitations:

“A body cam is irrelevant as soon as you move your head. If you're using a head cam, it shows you the direction that people are looking at, not exactly what they're looking at. So, there's a big level of assumption as to what people are focusing on. That becomes a problem.”

To persuade athletes to prioritize eye tracking in their training regimes, Lee focuses on the pivotal role of the visual system, highlighting that a significant 80 to 90% of the information crucial for decision-making on the field is processed through the eyes. He then compares the importance of eye training to the dedicated workouts athletes engage in for specific muscle groups, such as hamstrings for speed. To ensure optimal performance, athletes can engage in eye training to boost their decision-making on the field. By analyzing gaze behaviors and decision-making processes, athletes get a deeper understanding of their focal points, strengths, and areas for improvement. Coaches, in turn, can use the information collected from eye tracking to tailor training programs and strategies to optimize performance outcomes.

Looking to the future

As sports and technology continue to evolve, the potential for eye tracking to revolutionize performance analysis is limitless. Lee discusses the latest advancements, such as auto-calibration in the Tobii Pro Glasses 3, and how it opens exciting possibilities for further research in applied settings.

He passionately encourages individuals, especially those unfamiliar with eye tracking, to give it a chance. He assures that eye tracking unveils a new dimension of understanding, eliminating assumptions and providing definitive data crucial for informed decision-making.

“Ultimately in so many settings, if not all settings in life, our decisions have such massive ramifications into how successful or unsuccessful we are. So, we kind of owe it to ourselves to know how we make those decisions and the processes that we go through.”

Check out the full interview with Lee Waters to hear more about his experience and insights into using eye tracking to boost sports performance.