Effectiveness of virtual reality games on the specific sport skills of adolescents

The aim of this study was to examine the basketball-specific skills of young individuals and the acute effects of virtual reality (VR) games.

Seventeen high school students aged between 14 and 16 years (mean 15.3 ± 0.85 years) who had not received prior basketball training and VR experiments volunteered for the study. The participants were divided into two groups: the VR group (VRG) and the court group (CG). Both groups engaged in 45-min basketball court training sessions twice a week for eight weeks, whereas the VRG additionally received 15-min sessions of VR basketball exercises twice a week. Before and after the 8-week intervention period, dribbling, slaloming, free throw, and stop shot tests and VR experiment surveys were administered.

The results revealed no significant difference in within-group pretest-to-posttest comparisons for the CG, whereas the VRG exhibited a significant improvement in repeated measurements of dribbling, slalom, and stop shot tests (p < 0.05). In the between-group repeated measurement difference scores, a significant advantage for the VRG was observed in the stop shoot test (p < 0.05).

In conclusion, the VR exercises conducted in addition to the 8-week on-court training were found to be effective in improving dribbling, slaloming, and stopping shot skills in basketball. Furthermore, although the VR experience questionnaire revealed that VR games are close to reality, it revealed that there is a need for improvement.