“We became a virtual reality company once we learned that’s the best to teach and train not just athletes, but anybody – people who are pilots, surgeons,” Reilly says. “It’s simulated learning, [and we’re] incorporating that as a piece of the regimen within the training process.”
To date, EON Sports VR has convinced three teams in the MLB (the firm has a hitting app, too), collegiate organizations like the Big Ten Conference and even the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers to adopt its technology. And, the benefits have shown through almost instantly, Reilly says.
Reilly and crew put kids through a series of tests using over three days, jumbling up a regimen of 30 plays to keep them on their toes. Just like using the app, the students would have to decide, “‘Hey, I’m throwing to so-and-so,’ then identify the coverage,” Reilly says.
At the end of those three days, the EON Sports VR team was hoping to show a one or 2{0fab034ea82b07661647ea8532e9066bcdd529bddfd482414d4493f90063c904} increase in the students’ decision making as enough validation of the app’s effectiveness.
“Well, we saw in just those three days of tests, there was an up to 60{0fab034ea82b07661647ea8532e9066bcdd529bddfd482414d4493f90063c904} – and the group’s average increased by 30{0fab034ea82b07661647ea8532e9066bcdd529bddfd482414d4493f90063c904} – increase in their ability to diagnose what they’re seeing, make decisions, et cetera,” Reilly says. “So, you start think, ‘What is the compounding effect if you did that for four years, all throughout high school, and got to see your opponents’ defenses,'” Reilly asks rhetorically.
“That, if used in the proper context, is really powerful,” Reilly says, and EON Sports VR’s partners seem to agree.
“We used EON’s VR technology last year at Syracuse and had a ton of success with it,” Purdue University quarterback coach Tim Lester said recently in a statement, “especially when it came to getting our true freshman QB ready.”
Last year, UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone remarked in a statement that, “this technology allows us to prepare our quarterbacks not just for next week’s opponent, but prepares them for the NFL. We can now simulate any situation; the possibilities are endless.”
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