The Effect of Visual Training on the Psychomotor Performance of Male Volleyball Players under Environmental Evaluation Conditions

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of visual training on the psychomotor performance of Iraqi male volleyball players under environmental evaluation conditions.Methodology: This research was semi-experimental in nature and conducted in the field. A total of 45 participants who met the inclusion criteria and were interested in the study were purposefully selected and randomly assigned into three groups of 15: sport vision, combined, and traditional/specialized. To measure service and spike accuracy in volleyball, a test adapted from Giaruino et al. (2023) was employed.Trait and state anxiety were measured using the Illinois SCAT questionnaire (Martens, 1997) and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) developed by Martens et al. (1990), respectively. To induce environmental evaluation effects during the post-test, a combined supervision and comparison method was used, as suggested by Esmaeili et al. (2019). Data analysis was performed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and the Bonferroni post hoc test. The sport vision training program was implemented based on the method proposed by Formenti et al. (2019).Findings: The results of the study indicated no statistically significant differences in service and spike accuracy scores (p ≥ .05). However, statistically significant differences in favor of the sport vision training group were observed for cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence. (p ≤ .05).Conclusion: This research provides evidence that specialized sport vision training can serve as an effective tool for enhancing psychomotor skills and managing psychological pressure in athletes. These findings hold value for both sport coaches and sport psychologists in designing training programs and psychological preparation for athletes.