{"id":14283,"date":"2024-01-20T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2024-01-20T08:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1403180"},"modified":"2024-01-20T08:00:14","modified_gmt":"2024-01-20T08:00:14","slug":"brain-training-a-new-frontier-for-football-and-vr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=14283","title":{"rendered":"Brain training: A new frontier for football \u2014 and VR"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On a cold winter\u2019s night in London, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard stood alone on the pitch. As football fans flocked into the 60,000-seat stadium, his teammates warmed up for the match by blasting shots against the goal. Odegaard had another plan. The 25-year-old wandered into a deserted patch of grass and began his routine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Suddenly, one training staff passed the ball towards his feet while another closed him down from behind. In response, Odegaard quickly glanced over his shoulder, checked where the defender was, and turned the other way. <\/span><\/p>\n

That was it: check, the shoulder, took a touch. Again and again, he repeated the routine. There was no pass, shot, or trick. It was all about that glance.<\/span><\/p>\n

They call the technique \u201cscanning.\u201d Odegaard is a master of the craft. In a single game last March, the midfield maestro registered 493 scans \u2014 a number experts called \u201cinsanely high.\u201d Yet there was a time when he couldn\u2019t manage even one. <\/span><\/p>\n

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It was 2018, and the Norwegian starlet had broken a bone in his foot. His football was over for the season. So, it seemed, was his scanning. Until he entered virtual reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Odegaard was introduced to the tech<\/a> by a compatriot. An Oslo-based startup called Be Your Best had developed VR software that generates scanning simulations based on real football matches. <\/span><\/p>\n

The concept tapped into an emerging phenomenon in sports tech: brain training.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s a skill. And it\u2019s going to become more and more important.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

With his body incapacitated, Odegaard welcomed the workout for his mind. After strapping on a headset, he entered the first-person perspective of a player on a pitch. With haptic controllers in his hands, he directed his avatar as the match progressed.<\/span><\/p>\n

As he played, performance metrics tracked three aspects of his scanning: the scan rate (his frequency of scans), scan timing (when he made crucial glances) and critical scans (his last look before receiving the ball). Additional measures assessed his situational awareness and decision-making.<\/span><\/p>\n

Research suggests it works. One study found that players who train with Be Your Best (BYB) improve their scan frequency and forward passing \u2014 the principal route to goals. It\u2019s also surprisingly fun, as I found out for myself.<\/span><\/p>\n