Abstract
Superior perceptual-cognitive skills allow for successful performance in various complex dynamic motor tasks that occur in highly constrained contexts, including sport. Decision-making is perhaps one of the most influential perceptual-cognitive skills within sport. However, while a large body of research exists in this area, the differences in decision-making demands between different playing levels, particularly within sports such as Australian Rules Football (ARF), requires further exploration. Further, decision-making is not traditionally considered during ARF talent identification (TID) and development (TDE) pathways, and consequently, a more standardised process of identifying decision-making skill may be warranted. In addition, despite the importance of decision-making within ARF, the use of perceptual-cognitive training is surprisingly under-researched within the sport, deserving additional investigation. Therefore, this thesis aimed to investigate decision-making within ARF across three distinct but linked studies.The results of this research highlight the decision-making demands evident at the elite ARF level, with implications for training this critical skill, including the need for increased amounts of decision-making tasks as well as time constraints. Further, the importance of xi successful decision-making within ARF is exhibited, with this research providing strong support and potential tools to establish a standardised assessment of decision-making skill for TID pathways. The outcomes also highlight the need to further explore perceptual-cognitive training methods that result in both near and far transfer effects, given the benefits of off-field training programs.
| Date of Award | 2021 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Kylie Steel (Supervisor) |