Abstract
M.Phil.
Netball is regarded as the most popular woman’s sport in various countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean to name a few and one of the top three sports codes in South Africa according to participation numbers. Visual skills are pertinent in processing of information regarding the surroundings of a person, in their everyday lives but also very important in the sporting performance. Despite the important role, the visual system has, it is rarely taken into consideration when coaches design a training programme and has not been addressed in the sport of netball. Sport vision is based on developing and improving the visual skills of an athlete and this will enhance the overall performance of athletes together with other important attributes. The investigations into sport and vision indicated that the type of sport code will determine the visual skills training the athlete would require.
Various studies in rugby, field hockey, table tennis and basketball have been guiding other sport codes to interrogate the application of visual ability and skills in the preparation of athletes. Despite the doubt that was created with visual skills training, these training programmes became popular with regard to the athletes being able to respond faster to visual information, ultimately adding advantage to their performance specifically in fast ball sports.
Knowledge about the demands that netball places on the visual system specifically and the effect of visual training might influence the management and coaching of these athletes in general. Given that there has been very little research presented in visual skills and application in netball, this study should benefit the sport as well as the scientific approach to the coaching of netball...