Improvement of real soccer motor skills using virtual reality

• Published in: Interactive learning environments Vol. 32; no. 9; pp. 5766 - 5778
• Main Authors: Lozano-Tarazona, Alvaro M., Mauricio Rivera Pinzón, Diego
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 20-10-2024; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Control Groups; Environment; Motor ability; motor skills; Psychomotor Skills; Skills; Soccer; Training; transfer; Virtual environments; Virtual reality
• ISSN: 1049-4820; 1744-5191
• DOI: 10.1080/10494820.2023.2231498

This study is related to the transfer of the header motor skill in soccer from a virtual reality (VR) sport's training to the real world. A total of 61 children (37 females) between 9 and 11 years of age were distributed into three groups: a control group without training; a second group that was trained in an original VR environment developed by the authors, and a group that was trained in a VR environment created by a third party. Considering the available evidence, some principles of design were implemented in the authors' virtual environment to reach a higher transfer effectiveness. After the pre-test and post-test, results showed that the trained groups increased their header skills in a significant level in relation to the control group. In addition, the group trained in the original environment showed a higher performance than that of the group trained in the third-party's environment. This result is attributed to the element of design of pedagogical progression developed. In general, this study provides evidence in relation to the transfer of sports' motor skills using training environments with a virtual reality headset, making emphasis on the elements of design that can better contribute to obtaining a positive transfer.