EFFECTS OF TENNIS PRACTICE ON THE COINCIDENCE TIMING ACCURACY OF ADULTS AND CHILDREN

This study examines the development of perceptuomotor processes involv ed in coincidence timing tasks according to age and experience in tenn is. Tennis players and novices, 7 10, 13 and 23 years of age, were tes ted in a coincidence timing task which consisted of estimating the ari arrival of a simulated moving object on a target. The effect of three different motions were analyzed: constant velocity, constant accelera tion, and constant deceleration. Results showed that (1) timing accura cy improves mainly between the ages of 7 and 10 years; (2) tennis prac tice accelerates the development of timing accuracy; and (3) accelerat ion or deceleration of the moving stimulus had no effect on the timing accuracy of any of the tested groups, suggesting a continuous visual control of the trajectory. Theoretical implications for the developmen t of perceptuomotor processes involved in coincidence timing tasks are discussed.