Background and Aim. Success and failure in team sports are often influenced by athletes' decision-making skills, which depend on perceptual abilities and higher-level cognitive functions. Virtual Reality (VR) can recreate real-life sporting scenarios, helping athletes prepare for different situations and train their ability to read the game, process information, and make rapid, accurate decisions. This study investigates the effectiveness of VR training on decision-making accuracy and its far-transfer effects on cognitive functions underlying decision-making.
Methods and Results. Thirty youth soccer players participate in a within-subjects study during the competitive season. They are tested at baseline (T0), after 4 weeks of regular practice (T1), and after 4 weeks of additional VR-based cognitive training (T2). The intervention includes three weekly sessions, each presenting 15 in-game video scenarios via a head-mounted display. At decision points, videos pause, and athletes quickly verbalise their choices before visualising themselves performing the optimal action. A total of 56 videos are recorded from a first-person perspective using a 180° GoPro Max to reduce motion sickness; 20 unique videos are used at each time point to assess decision-making accuracy. Neuropsychological tests evaluating inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and processing speed are administered to examine far-transfer effects. At T2, participants complete questionnaires assessing embodiment, sense of presence, and the perceived usefulness and ease of use of the technology.
Discussion. This study assesses whether the training suits participants' expertise and is perceived as beneficial. It provides insights into designing effective VR-based cognitive training with a focus on far-transfer effects on cognition. Future research should examine how these effects translate to on-field performance.
Conclusions. VR-based cognitive training shows potential to simulate realistic game scenarios and enhance the key perceptual and cognitive skills that influence decision-making during matches, thereby affecting the final outcome.