Pre-Post Motor-Cognitive and Shooting Performance Patterns in Security-Force Applicants During a Fixed-Order...

Area of Science:

• Sports Science and Performance
• Human Factors and Ergonomics
• Physiology

Background:

• Operational effectiveness for security forces relies on sustained motor-cognitive and shooting skills under physical duress.
• This study investigates performance changes during an acute physical load protocol in a security force applicant sample.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine pre-post performance variations in motor-cognitive and shooting tasks during a fixed-order acute-load protocol.
• To determine if detailed trial-level and spatial analyses reveal performance changes missed by aggregate scores.

Main Methods:

• Nineteen security force applicants underwent two testing sequences involving Hawk Eye testing, International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC)-based shooting, and the Jaciak Motor Coordination Test.
• Primary outcomes included first-shot hit rate and Hawk Eye error count; secondary outcomes involved timing, spatial distributions, and cross-task coupling.
• A descriptive, within-subject design was employed, with sequence order analyzed descriptively due to lack of a control group.

Main Results:

• Heart rate significantly increased post-Jaciak test, reaching 86-88% of age-predicted maximum heart rate.
• Model-based analysis revealed decreased odds of a first-shot hit post-load compared to pre-load.
• No statistically significant pre-post change was detected in Hawk Eye error probability, though first-shot hit rate decreased significantly in Sequence 1.

Conclusions:

• Acute physical load was associated with reduced first-shot shooting performance in this sample.
• No statistically detectable decline in cognitive performance (Hawk Eye errors) was observed.
• The study's descriptive nature, lacking a no-load control, limits causal attribution of performance changes solely to acute physical load.