P. Mcleod et Z. Dienes, DO FIELDERS KNOW WHERE TO GO TO CATCH THE BALL OR ONLY HOW TO GET THERE, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance, 22(3), 1996, pp. 531-543
Skilled fielders were filmed as they ran backward or forward to catch
balls projected toward them from a bowling machine 45 m away. They ran
at a speed that kept the acceleration of the tangent of the angle of
elevation of gaze to the ball at 0. This algorithm does not tell field
ers where or when the ball will land, but it ensures that they run thr
ough the place where the ball drops to catch height at the precise mom
ent that the ball arrives there. The algorithm leads to interception o
f the ball irrespective of the effect of wind resistance on the trajec
tory of the ball.