The timely and correct anticipation of an opponent's action based on (movement) information available before the ball flies is a central component of goalkeeper tactics and an essential prerequisite for outstanding defensive performances by handball goalkeepers. The anticipatory requirements found at the national and international top level of the adult game pose a major challenge, especially for junior goalkeepers in the transition to the adult game.

The aim of this project, which is funded by the Federal Institute of Sports Science (duration April 2021 to March 2023), is to diagnose the defensive tactical behaviour of handball goalkeepers - and in particular their anticipation performance - and to improve it through supplementary training measures in order to reduce the gap between the perceptual-cognitive requirements of junior and adult goalkeepers. The project is being carried out in co-operation with the German Handball Federation.

Project partners:

• Department of Sport and Exercise(Prof. Dr Jörg Schorer, PD Dr Florian Loffing, Kim Huesmann)
• Department of Sport and Training (Prof Dr Dirk Büsch)
• German Handball Federation

Project funding by the Federal Institute for Sports Science (ZMVI4-070716/21-23)

Contact person: Kim Huesmann

The professional view refers to the domain-specific perception of PE teachers to perceive information within lessons and interpret it appropriately for the situation. The central processes of the concept are "noticing" and "reasoning". In the context of "noticing", selectively relevant information from a movement or interaction of the complex teaching event is perceived. In the second interdependent "reasoning" process, this visual information is categorised and interpreted in a pedagogically sound manner, taking into account, for example, the situation, motivational and persuasive dispositions. Over the years, the concept has been expanded to include a further part, "deciding how to respond". In addition to perception, this includes situation-specific consequences of action for the teaching situation in the concept.

The aim of the project "The professional view of PE teachers" as part of the Research Training Group "Teacher Education 2040" (running from May 2022 to April 2025) is to quantitatively record the "reasoning" of PE teachers at different levels of experience using eye-tracking and qualitatively record "noticing" using verbal protocols. Visual expertise identified in the analyses, characterised by systematic group differences in quantitative measures of gaze such as the number, duration or distribution of fixations, can potentially be used in deliberate-pratice approaches to teach professional gaze to trainee teachers and support the professionalisation of PE teachers.

Project partner:

• University of Oldenburg, Institute of Sport Science, Department of "Sport and Exercise" (Prof. Dr Jörg Schorer, Jelto Witt)
• University of Oldenburg, Institute of Educational Sciences, Department of Educational Psychology (Dr Ingo Roden)
• German Sport University Cologne, Department of "Performance Psychology" (PD Dr Florian Loffing)
• ZfsL Krefeld, Head of Sports, (Dr Rebecca Rienhoff)

Contact person: Jelto Witt

In recent decades, the number of national sports institutions, commercial agencies and professional sports clubs with talent identification and development (TIE) programmes has risen sharply. They are united by the goal of recognising talented young players as early as possible in order to supposedly lay the foundation for excellent long-term performance. There is no question that both 'talent' and peak performance in most sports are made up of various factors, such as perception, cognition, psychology, tactics and technique. Technical skills play a central role here, especially in view of the highly specialised skills required in many sports from an early age.

As part of the project, the role of sport-specific technical skills in the context of talent research in various sports will be examined in depth. The focus here is on researching the importance of sport-specific technique in talent identification and development. In addition, the potential of biomechanical measurement methods, which have been used with restraint to date, will be explored and innovative and new data collection and analysis methods (e.g. inertial measurement units (IMUs) or markerless movement analysis) will be tested in this context. Ultimately, the findings should advance and promote both scientific talent research and sporting practice.

Contact person: Dr Till Koopmann