Quantitative and Qualitative Indicators of Developing Anticipation Skills in Junior Wrestling Athletes

The present article analyses the possibilities of the usage of anticipation: the study of its mechanisms and processes of development. There is a particular interest in the anticipation issue in sport, where the probabilistic forecast of the situation is crucial for winning. The paper presents the results of testing methods for anticipation skills in junior wrestling. The main objective of the study was to find psycho-physiological and behavioral indicators to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the degree of anticipation. The skills formation procedure was based on the reinforcement of the correct choice of behaviour in simulated situations of decision-making using multiple choices technique. Stimuli were videos of simulated situations in wrestling. Simultaneous recording of oculomotor activity and registration of multi-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) was carried out. The results showed the effectiveness of the proposed method. After completing training the number of errors and the decision taking time span reduced. Expert assessment of the main qualifying factors showed a significant increase of the test group. On the psychophysiological level, there is a reduction of oculomotor activity in selecting the right answers, reducing the number of fixations, the number of fixations and saccades reverse on the text of questions and answers.