THE QUIET EYE- ITS ROLE IN SQUASH

Three areas about the role of vision in hitting a squash ball were investigated- the fixation timings (early or late), the fixation location (ball centre, not the centre of the ball) and the area the ball landed.Intermediate and semi professional squash athletes were asked to wear an eye tracking device and hit a straight drive on either side as close to the sidewall as they could, while someone was repeatedly feeding them the ball. Three succeeding Quiet Eye periods were observed- racket preparation (when the athlete moved his racket in preparation of the shot), racket extension (when the athlete swung his racket to hit the ball) and ball hit (once the athlete hit the shot till it touched the wall).