Development of VR-PACE Virtual Reality Technology for Diagnosing and Training the Skill Level of Hockey Players

Relevance: in the last decade, virtual reality (VR) technologies have been actively introduced into the training process in various types of sprints. At the same time, there are studies showing the inconsistency of VR for the formation of sports skills and their transfer to real conditions. But despite this, the use of VR can be useful for practicing specific motor skills and cognitive functions, for example, anticipation.

Objective: to develop VR-PACE technology (VR Technology for training Puck hitting And HOSKE skill Effectiveness) using virtual reality aimed at diagnosing and analyzing the skill level of a hockey player, as well as their training.

Methods: within the framework of the study, a simulation virtual environment was developed that simulates a hockey field (ice arena in Sochi) and sets four difficulty levels (four blocks) depending on the speed of the puck and the distance to it. The study involved 22 people, 13 of whom were professional hockey players (Mage=20±2.5), and seven were beginners in hockey (Mage=20±1.4).

Results: it was found that professional hockey players have a significantly smaller amplitude of head vibrations during the reflection of pucks, that is, they understand the position of their body well enough during certain actions, and they do not need to observe the full trajectory of the puck. There were also significant differences in the speed of response to the presented washers in the block with the fastest speed of presentation of 2 washers. The results obtained may indicate a better formation of technical and tactical, temporal and spatial factors in professional hockey players.

Conclusions: the adequacy of the developed tools for the analysis of professional skills of hockey players was demonstrated. It was also shown that the skill level of a hockey player is determined by the formation of a set of parameters, including spatial, temporal, technical and tactical abilities. This is manifested in the automation of a number of skills, as well as the optimization of motor responses: 1) higher and more stable amplitude of movements over the entire observation interval and minimization of unnecessary movements; 2) higher reaction speed to more complex pucks (close to real game situations); 3) concentration of attention on significant signals, anticipation.

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