When Anthony Pluta is in the zone and steps up to the plate, everything around him disappears.
The roar of the fans turns quiet and it becomes a battle between batter and pitcher.
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e in the zone. ItB次元官网网址檚 almost like youB次元官网网址檙e not in the present. YouB次元官网网址檙e not thinking about anything and everything is just there and easy to see,B次元官网网址� said Pluta, who was a third-round draft pick for the Houston Astros in 2000 and continued to pitch for Major League Baseball affiliate organizations in Canada, Japan and the U.S. for 13 years. B次元官网网址淲hen youB次元官网网址檙e not [in the zone], you over think everything.B次元官网网址�
Now, the former professional baseball player-turned-University of Victoria masters student has discovered a way to use new technology to predict how players will perform to bat and quantify when athletes are B次元官网网址渋n the zone.B次元官网网址�
As part of the six-month project, Pluta used a Canadian-made portable electroencephalographic (EEG) headband, which measures brain activity. Participants included members of the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, the Douglas College Royals and a number of Vancouver and Vancouver Island-based elite high-school baseball players, who strapped on the headband before batting.
Three nationally-certified coaches rated the players based on pitch recognition, form, power and contact with the ball.
What researchers found surprised them.
The higher the batterB次元官网网址檚 brain activity in the beta range (16 to 30 hertz) B次元官网网址� a range typically associated with increased cognition and concentration B次元官网网址� the worse they performed during batting practice. Players with lower activity in the beta range hit better during practice, a range associated with a more relaxed state.
B次元官网网址淭he less thatB次元官网网址檚 going on up there (in your head), the better you are at batting,B次元官网网址� said Olave Krigolson, a neuroscientist with the university. B次元官网网址漎ou frequently tell athletes not to over think things and that would parallel this.B次元官网网址�
Knowing which players to put into a game and when is valuable information for coaches as well, said Pluta, an assistant coach with the Victoria Eagles.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 having the ability to say who has the best chance of getting a hit coming off the bench to potentially help me and the team win a baseball game rather than a gut feeling,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭his is something that is present and happening in the moment and gives me an immediate answer of which player to put in.B次元官网网址�
But their research doesnB次元官网网址檛 end there. The duo hopes to expand the project to collect more data and work with teams in a variety of sports to help predict performance.
