Skill-Based Differences in Decision Time when Responding to Verbal Information from Intrateam Communication in Lacrosse

Verbal intrateam communication has been shown to be important for effective team sports performance. However, in the sports anticipation literature, there is a disparity between the vast body of work examining the use of visual information and the limited research investigating the use of auditory or verbal information. This study examines skill-based differences in athletes’ use of intrateam communication to anticipate an opposing team’s actions in the absence of visual information. Skilled and less-skilled lacrosse players acted as defenders in a laboratory-based experiment where only verbal information from simulated teammates was available. Participants used sequences of calls made during an unfolding action to respond to an end call and predict the actions of the opposing team. Independent sample t-tests revealed that skilled players had quicker decision times and movement times compared to less-skilled players (p’s < .05). Findings demonstrate that information from teammate communication can be used for anticipation in sport.