Interpersonal Angular Relations between Players Constrain Decision-Making on the Passing Velocity in Futsal

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of interpersonal interactions between players on the regulation of ball passing velocity in the team sport of futsal. For this purpose 28 sequences of play, in which passes were performed between outfield players, were selected from an elite futsal competition and analyzed using TACTO software. Relative angles between attackers and defenders were used to examine interpersonal coordination tendencies that emerged during performance. Results showed that ball passing velocity was constrained by the rate of change of the angle created by the following vectors: “ball carrier-ball receiver” and “ball carrier-ball receiver’s nearest defender”. Passing velocity remained the same when that angular value remained within a critical threshold range between −18.16 ̊/s to 11.26 ̊/s. Beyond those critical threshold values, angular relations between participants seemed to enter into a new critical state requiring the emergence of a new passing velocity for performance success. The findings of this study allowed us to conclude that passing velocity during competitive performance in futsal was regulated by the rate of change of an angle established by the interaction between the ball carrier to ball receiver vector with the ball carrier to ball receiver’s nearest defender vector.