Optimal temporal placement of the call in beach volleyball

• Main Authors: Stefan Künzell, Fabian Reffel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2016-12-01
• Series: Cogent Psychology
• Subjects: choice reaction time; motor control; movement time; ball games; applied sports science
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2016.1189377

The call is a tactical component in beach volleyball attacks. Through the call, the setter indicates to his or her teammate an open spot in the opponent’s court. In two experimental conditions, we investigated the interval between the call and the ball-hand contact (“call shot interval”, CSI) of top-level athletes. We show that the probability that a given call is followed is dependent on the duration of the CSI and the number of call options. Longer CSIs result in an increased probability that the given call will be followed, whilst increasing the call options results in a decrease in probability. On average, there is a 50% probability that the call will be followed if the call precedes the shot by 460 ms and if a single call option (“line”) is expected. If the attacker has to choose between three call options (“line”, “cut”, “no-one”) a 50% probability that the call will be followed is observed at an CSI of 542 ms. It did not appear that gender influenced the ability to follow a call. We recommend that in practice and in competition, players and coaches should consider the proper duration of the CSI for effective calling.