What does keeping one's eye on the ball mean?

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Abstract
Calling players'' attention to keep their eyes on the ball is a constant exhortation in ball sports. Nevertheless, speeds reached by balls are generally superior to the oculo-motor capacity of pursuit. This paradox was investigated by analysing the visuo-motor behaviour of five expert table tennis players using a video-oculographic recording technique. Three different strokes were analysed-forehand (FH), forehand with top spin (TS) and backhand (BH) drives. The results indicate that it is not necessary to keep one''s eye on the ball throughout the entire trajectory. At only two points in the ball''s flight was the eye directed towards the ball. These points occurred during the following operations (1) the visual pursuit of the ball at the very beginning of the trajectory and (2) the visuo-motor co-ordination during the execution of the strike. The visual behaviour involved during these phases was analysed in detail. It appeared that visuo-motor behaviour is determined by the external constraints of the stroke (the eccentricity of the ball trajectory in relation to the mid-line of the body and the accuracy of the strike). It appeared that only the first part of the trajectory was visually tracked, beginning just after the opponent''s strike. Nevertheless the nature of this operation corresponded to the type of stroke. The ball was visually tracked more often and for a longer period when it moved towards the body (in BH) than when it moved laterally in relation to the body (in FH and TS). During the strike, the ball was not precisely viewed. A characteristic visuo-motor behaviour was observed. Between the bounce and the strike, the eye was stable inside the orbit and aligned according to the position of the head axis. Both the eye and head together were quickly directed in advance towards the direction of the ball/bat. This mechanism occurred more frequently when the ball was projected laterally in relation to the mid-line (in FH and TS) and mainly when the strike itself was particularly accurate (in TS). The role of the head and eye orientation towards the target in the execution of fast and accurate table tennis movements is discussed in relation to specific table constraints. Pedagogical consequences of these results are presented.

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