Welcome to the latest edition of the Reflexion monthly newsletter. This month, we’re taking a closer look at the world of VR-based sports training products and how VR technology can benefit athletes.
Virtual Reality (VR) technology has come a long way in recent years, and it’s now being used in a wide range of applications, including sports training. There are a variety of VR-based sports training products on the market that are designed to train specific sports skills, such as throwing or hitting a ball. The advantage of which is that it can provide a realistic and immersive training experience that simulates real-game scenarios. This type of training can help athletes develop better anticipation, reaction time, decision-making skills, and spatial awareness. Additionally, VR training can help athletes overcome psychological barriers that may prevent them from performing at their best. For example, VR simulations can be used to simulate high-pressure situations, such as a penalty kick in soccer or a crucial free throw in basketball, allowing athletes to practice in a safe and controlled environment.
One shortcoming of these technologies, however, is that while simulating game-like scenarios, the technologies fall short by being “not real enough.” For example, it is challenging to see the seams on a baseball or truly raise the stakes of a critical moment to that of a real competition. For this reason, products like Reflexion GO that train more foundational cognitive skills that underpin athletic performance are a highly viable alternative.
Research has shown that cognitive training can improve sports performance by enhancing the perceptual-cognitive processes that are critical for success in sports. For example, a study by McRobert et al. found that manipulating context-specific information improved perceptual-cognitive processes during a simulated anticipation task, which could have important implications for sports training [1].
At Reflexion, we believe that cognitive training is an essential part of any athlete’s training regimen. That’s why we’ve developed Reflexion GO, a portable cognitive training system that can be used anywhere, anytime. With Reflexion GO, athletes can train their cognitive skills including tracking, eye-hand coordination, inhibition, prioritization, and reaction time and improve their sports performance, all while having fun.
We hope you found this month’s newsletter informative. If you have any questions or would like more information about Reflexion GO, please check out https://reflexion.co/go.
Best regards,
Matt Campagna
Founder & CEO
1. McRobert AP, Ward P, Eccles DW, Williams AM. The effect of manipulating context-specific information on perceptual-cognitive processes during a simulated anticipation task. J Sports Sci. 2011;29(13):1427-1436. doi:10.1080/02640414.2011.610347
