I recently tested the ViPER reality training system during a conversation with owner and former professional player and coach, Ciaran Toner. Ciaran suggested we jump on together and breakdown a topic to show how the system works and see where the benefits are. He is located in England and I am in the US, which highlights one of the many advantages of the system, and the topic we chose was building in a 4-4-2 against a 3-5-2 press. Although it's not essential for people to have the Oculus Quest 2 headset, you can also use the software with Windows. However, I decided to opt for the full immersive experience and used the headset for the conversation and tactical breakdown.
There are so many benefits of using VR in coaching the tactical side of the game. Often we use cones or magnets on tactics boards to provide players with a visual of what we are looking for, but that fails to take a high number of dynamics into account. Aspects like pressing distances, angles of support, and depth perception are almost impossible to re-create using an old fashioned tactics board. However, the biggest benefit that I see is the opportunity that it creates to have a dialogue with the player about what they see and experience throughout the game. Similar to what Ciaran and I discuss during our chat, ViPER allows you to take a collaborative approach to your coaching and have a rich conversation with the player or units around different scenarios in the game. I think that's something we want with our players at all levels of the game.
You can watch the full conversation and breakdown below and if you enjoy it, we have a special offer for MSC viewers below the video:
The link above will allow you to create a free account. When you login, you are instructions to download the Windows version (Mac OS capability is on its way). The Oculus Quest 2 headset is not included but is readily available 'off the shelf' at most major tech/online stores.
If you have a headset and want the Oculus version, you can contact them below: https://futureperformance.tech/contact
If you would like to access the promotion then, from your user account, you can select the '3 month' option under 'ViPER Coach' and on the payment page you can enter the promo code which is: MSC20OFF
This will give you 20% off but is only available for February 2022.
If anyone needs to email Ciaran with any queries then they can get in touch at info@futureperformance.tech