Premier League teams are using virtual reality to mentally train the next generation of star players for the demands of top-flight football.
Several of the nation鈥檚 leading sides have adopted the tech of Dutch company Beyond Sports, which delivers a computer-generated version of matches and allows players to view the action from any place on the field. It also works with Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven and national teams.
The footage, generated in real-time from data collected around the arena, resembles that of popular video game FIFA and does not place hefty demands on bandwidth or storage.
鈥淭he No.10 can now see the game from the No.9鈥檚 position and understand what he did wrong or right. They can become anybody on the pitch,鈥� business director Sander J Schouten told 老九品茶Cloud.
鈥淲hat we鈥檝e seen in the field is coaches change their opinions on certain situations after 鈥榖ecoming鈥� that person. The perspective you see from the sideline is not the same as on the pitch itself.
鈥淲e then started using game situations in a more general way, giving users three potential answers 鈥� pass to player A, B or C 鈥� at the end of a piece of footage which might last 10 seconds. We found that this updated spatial awareness rapidly and helped players to learn what to do in a given situation.
鈥淣ormally, the coach explains what he wants you to do in a three-dimensional situation on a whiteboard in 2D, which is really hard for the brain to cope with.鈥�
Beyond Sports, which cannot divulge the English teams it is working with,聽gave VR its broadcasting debut in February when Feyenoord met PSV in the Eredivisie: Fox Sports cut to the CGI both during the game and in the post-match analysis.
The below video is in the聽Dutch language
But it is the training benefits that are especially inspiring. In a published study conducted with Ajax, the firm tracked two groups of young players over the course of a year and found that those who used these VR training techniques improved their ability to select the correct option by 20 per cent while taking a second less to do so.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lifetime at the top level of football,鈥� explains Schouten. 鈥淚n transferring this first-team match data back to the youngsters, we found that their spatial awareness went up even more rapidly than with the first-team guys.
鈥淚t matures the brain pretty fast. Why is an older player better than a younger player? Because he鈥檚 more experienced: he鈥檚 been in that same situation, so he knows what will happen.
鈥淲hen a 13-year-old boy who has trained in this way becomes physically strong enough to cope with that high-speed situation, he already knows what to do.鈥�
LIVE: Feyenoord – PSV is op FOX Sports 7 te zien in virtual reality (via de FOX Sports-app).
鈥� FOX Sports (@FOXSportsnl)
Beyond Sports is also planning a move into scouting with a technology that goes far beyond basic match stats and YouTube skills compilations: assessment of spatial awareness and abilities which dovetail with a coach鈥檚 tactical philosophy.
鈥淢y long-term goal is that before a player is bought, a team asks us for an ISO certification to say he has the 鈥榚ye鈥�,鈥� says Schouten. 鈥淎nd with young players, there are a lot of talented kids out there with great foot skills that don鈥檛 have the 鈥榚ye鈥�. I think we鈥檙e pretty close to that already.鈥�
Beyond Sports is already working in cycling, while Schouten says it is also planning a move into the lucrative American football market after opening a base in Los Angeles.