A comparison of perceived and actual ability level in expert and less expert athletes using a sport-specific task

While decisions and actions are commonly measured in assessments of sports performance, one's perception, including our perception of the environment and our ability level, ultimately determines the subsequent decision and action selected. Here, we explored whether expert and less expert soccer players can accurately perceive their ability, and if they can recalibrate these perceptions with on-task practice. Soccer players completed a sensorimotor interceptive task comprised two blocks: viewing (perceived ability) passes at various speeds and a separate condition of running and intercepting (actual ability) a pass at various speeds. Success was determined by a positive response (perceived) or successfully intercepting the pass (actual). Performance error was defined as the difference between perceived and actual ability levels. There was a significant main effect for time on task (<i>p</i> < 0.001), indicating improvement and recalibration in both expert and less expert groups. When introduced to a new sport-related task, athletes may initially overestimate their ability. However, athletes can rapidly reduce these overestimation errors, demonstrating an ability to recalibrate internal models. Expert players demonstrate superior real-time decision-making when compared to less expert players. Specifically, experts made fewer defensive (cautious) errors and displayed more aggressive and advantageous decision-making compared to less experts.