Exploring the association between visual skills and sport-specific performance in team athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

IF 3.2 3区医学 Q2 PHYSIOLOGY

Frontiers in Physiology Pub Date : 2026-03-30 eCollection Date: 2026-01-01 DOI:10.3389/fphys.2026.1797347

Mulin Yang, Yuqiang Guo, Feng Yang, Kewei Zhao

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Visual skills are increasingly recognized as key contributors to performance in team sports, yet the strength and consistency of their associations with sport-specific outcomes remain uncertain. To address this gap, the present review systematically synthesized empirical evidence examining how different domains of visual skill relate to sport-specific performance among team-sport athletes.

Methods: PubMed, Web of Science™, MEDLINE, and SPORTDiscus databases were systematically searched from inception to October 2025 to identify studies relating visual skills to sport-specific performance in team-sport athletes. Risk of bias was conducted using a modified and validated tool for observational and correlational studies, and certainty of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE approach.

Results: Of 4,118 records identified, 22 studies (n = 1,113, male = 954, female = 159) were included, encompassing basketball, soccer, baseball, volleyball, handball, and other team sports. The relationship between multiple object tracking and sport-specific performance was large (r = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.30-0.71; p = 0.00), while visual attention (r = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.16-0.53; p = 0.00), and visual search (r = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.16-0.48; p = 0.00), demonstrated moderate associations. Simple reaction time (r = -0.31; 95% CI: -0.42 to -0.19; p = 0.00) and choice reaction time (r = -0.37; 95% CI: -0.58 to -0.11; p = 0.01) showed moderate negative correlations with performance, indicating faster reaction speeds were associated with better performance. Visual working memory, eye-hand coordination, and inhibitory control exhibited small effect sizes. In contrast, depth perception, the only visual-perceptual skill analyzed, showed trivial and non-significant associations (r = 0.09; 95% CI: -0.20-0.36; p = 0.56).

Conclusion: Visual-cognitive skills appear to show stronger links with team-sport performance, whereas basic perceptual skills contribute little. Evidence quality remains limited, and more robust, ecologically valid studies are needed to clarify causality and guide training applications.

Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251171665, identifier CRD420251171665.

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探索视觉技能与团队运动员专项表现之间的关系：一项系统回顾和元分析。

背景：视觉技能越来越被认为是团队运动中表现的关键因素，但其与特定运动结果的联系的强度和一致性仍不确定。为了解决这一差距，本综述系统地综合了经验证据，研究了视觉技能的不同领域如何与团队运动运动员的特定运动表现相关。方法：系统地检索PubMed、Web of Science™、MEDLINE和SPORTDiscus数据库，从成立到2025年10月，以确定视觉技能与团队运动运动员特定运动表现相关的研究。偏倚风险使用一种经过修改和验证的观察性和相关性研究工具进行评估，证据的确定性使用GRADE方法进行评估。结果：在确定的4118条记录中，包括22项研究（n = 1113，男性= 954，女性= 159），包括篮球、足球、棒球、排球、手球和其他团队运动。多目标跟踪与运动特定表现之间的关系很大（r = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.30-0.71; p = 0.00），而视觉注意（r = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.16-0.53; p = 0.00）和视觉搜索（r = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.16-0.48; p = 0.00）表现出中度关联。简单反应时间（r = -0.31; 95% CI: -0.42至-0.19;p = 0.00）和选择反应时间（r = -0.37; 95% CI: -0.58至-0.11;p = 0.01）与表现呈中度负相关，表明反应速度越快，表现越好。视觉工作记忆、眼手协调和抑制控制表现出较小的效应量。相比之下，深度感知，分析的唯一视觉感知技能，显示出微不足道和不显著的关联（r = 0.09; 95% CI: -0.20-0.36; p = 0.56）。结论：视觉认知技能似乎与团队运动表现有更强的联系，而基本的感知技能贡献不大。证据质量仍然有限，需要更有力的、生态有效的研究来澄清因果关系和指导训练应用。系统综述注册：https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251171665，标识符CRD420251171665。

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来源期刊

Frontiers in Physiology PHYSIOLOGY-

CiteScore

6.50

自引率

5.00%

发文量

2608

审稿时长

14 weeks

期刊介绍： Frontiers in Physiology is a leading journal in its field, publishing rigorously peer-reviewed research on the physiology of living systems, from the subcellular and molecular domains to the intact organism, and its interaction with the environment. Field Chief Editor George E. Billman at the Ohio State University Columbus is supported by an outstanding Editorial Board of international researchers. This multidisciplinary open-access journal is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics, clinicians and the public worldwide.