Evaluating the impact of VR training on scanning frequency in national level youth football: insights into transfer and performance

Players’ perceptual-cognitive skills and exploratory activity are essential components of football performance. This preliminary study explored the impact of Virtual Reality (VR) training on perceptual-cognitive skills and its potential transferability to game performance in national level youth football players. Sixteen players (Mage=14.6, SD = 0.5) from a national level youth football academy participated: control group = 8 and intervention group = 8. The effectiveness of a short VR training program delivered over four weekly sessions of 20 min on scanning and passing skills during a small-sided game was assessed. No significant difference was observed between groups for the pre- vs post assessment of the frequency of scanning movements (F = 2.56, p = 0.132, η ²=0.155) although a 49% descriptive increase occurred in the intervention group following the virtual reality training (control = − 2% decrease). Passing accuracy was unchanged (p = 0.882) across evaluations in the VR-trained group versus the control group following the VR intervention. While no statistically significant difference was observed following the intervention, the frequency of scanning actions approximately doubled, coupled with a large effect size. The lack of statistically significant effects means that firm conclusions cannot be drawn regarding the transfer of scanning frequency to real-world game performance in SSGs, and recommendations have been provided to guide future studies.