Perceptual Training in Ice Hockey: Bridging the Eyes-Puck Gap Using Virtual Reality.

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Perceptual Psychology
• Virtual Reality Applications

Background:

• Traditional training methods struggle to develop key cognitive and perceptual skills in sports.
• Identifying the largest exposed area (LEA) of the goal is crucial for ice hockey performance.
• A novel virtual reality (VR) application was developed to address this training gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify and train ice hockey players' ability to identify the LEA from various shooting perspectives.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of feedback-based VR training compared to non-feedback training.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-four professional ice hockey players participated in the study.
• Players were divided into a feedback group and a control group.
• Training involved a VR application designed to assess and improve LEA identification.

Main Results:

• The feedback group showed significant improvements in perceptual performance post-training, unlike the control group.
• Increased eyes-puck difference negatively impacted perceptual performance in both groups initially.
• This negative impact of eyes-puck difference was mitigated by VR training in the feedback group.

Conclusions:

• VR technology provides an effective tool for assessing and training the perceptual skill of LEA identification in ice hockey.
• A brief 15-minute VR training session substantially enhanced perceptual performance in professional players.
• The developed VR application is effective for training this vital perceptual skill.