ABSTRACT
Previously we studied the point of no return (PNR) in a laboratory simulation of a soccer penalty kick (Morya et al., 2003). By PNR we mean the moment beyond which the probability of the kicker being able to respond to an early dive by the goalkeeper – and wilfully put the ball to the opposite side – is < 50 per cent. The PNR for the laboratory simulation, in ideal conditions, was found to be about 250 ms before the shot (Morya et al., 2003). In more realistic conditions it was later found to be about twice this value (Van Der Kamp, 2006). Stress has been considered critical in the performance of professional players in a real penalty situation, but this problem has been rarely addressed (McGarry and Franks, 2000). The present objective, therefore, was to study the effect of stress, as promoted by a noisy and participative audience, on the performance of motivated volunteers in a simulated penalty kick task.
