Every person who is fond of gaming has probably heard such phrases before. In turn, many athletes may have already said this themselves. But these two perspectives are increasingly converging.
It is not just since the corona pandemic that esports has received increased popularity. Online games such as “Fortnite” or “League of Legends” have already gained enormous attention. Some battles are broadcasted live on TV.
And some world-class soccer clubs are creating their own teams to participate in EA Sports “FIFA” leagues around the world. It was only a matter of time before the first clubs considered whether and how gaming on the console could be usefully integrated into the training plan.
TSG Hoffenheim can be described as a kind of pioneer in this regard. The Bundesliga Academy has been following the principle of gamification for several years now.
Gamification, what is that? Wikipedia says about this: Gamification is the application of game typical elements in a non-game context.
Translated, this means: improving the skills required for sport through video games.
For example, paddling trains peripheral vision or information processing in the brain. Gambling also promotes improved concentration or faster decision-making in unforeseen situations.
An important characteristic that is used almost constantly both in gaming and on the soccer field is the speed of reaction. For field players, this comes into play when timing the slide, defenders block an opponent's shot attempt and as a striker, you can react faster when the ball bounces off the goalkeeper.
But a quick response is certainly most important for the keeper. With a brilliant parade, the team's support may or may not decide a game in their favor. When training goalkeepers, the effect on the computer is therefore particularly high.
TSG Hoffenheim is firmly convinced that gamification promises increased success in soccer. “All the things we need on the pitch can also be trained with action video games — scientific studies have shown this several times,” says Prof. Dr. Jan Mayer, sports psychologist at TSG and an advocate of integrating everyday life, primarily younger games into training.
“You can definitely make the players faster in your head,” Mayer explained on the Kraichgauer club homepage back in 2015. “We do tests at the beginning to see, for example, how good the players are at peripheral vision. If we then notice that there is a need for improvement, we offer the opportunity to work on it,” continues Mayer.
On the training ground, the people of Hoffenheim have set up the so-called “Helix” specifically for this purpose. This is a room with a 180 degree curved projection surface, approximately 8 by 2.50 meters in size. Training sessions organized here, sometimes several times a week, take place from professionals to junior academics.
Every few months, players are re-tested to determine their progress. Both the DFB and English Premier League clubs have already received suggestions for this concept.
Several games can play a role in the development of decisive skills even on the soccer field.
In Hoffenheim, these are also seemingly banal games, which involve training the “executive functions” - as they say in technical jargon. This includes information processing, forward thinking and decision making. Skill games or first-person shooters can also be beneficial. The latter requires the so important speed of action and peripheral vision.
A video game that naturally combines soccer and gaming is “Fifa”. The soccer simulator is particularly popular among young soccer players. Gambling is done on a smartphone on a bus or on an airplane. It is not uncommon for the console to travel with you.
While experts are repeatedly discussing whether “Fifa” or “Pro Evolution Soccer” is the more realistic game, “Fifa” has long since made it out of the living rooms and onto the big stage. Major tournaments are held, from the Bundesliga to the Champions League, and everything is also available virtually.
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TSG Hoffenheim is making use of the popularity of the “smartphone generation.” Hobby and work are combined.
No player (s)In must have more of a guilty conscience from/from the trainerIn getting caught paddling. On the contrary:
People talk openly about who the best player in the team is.
It is therefore no wonder that these innovative training approaches are met with great approval among active people. Mesut Özil, for example, founded his own esports team, and French World Champion Antoine Griezmann has already been photographed several times cheering on the battle royale game “Fortnite.”
And Zlatan Ibrahimovic writes in his biography of solutions on the playing field that he discovered while playing “FIFA”. Football on the console requires many qualities that are also required on the real field.
“All of these training effects that we want to achieve through gamification are trained in combination at FIFA,” says Mayer.
Looking to the future, it is expected that gamification in soccer will become increasingly important. Even now, under the given circumstances, which make it difficult for amateur athletes in particular to train together on the pitch, learning important skills on the console could be very important.
Research in this area is only just beginning. Of course, aspects such as gambling addiction, lack of exercise and neglecting social contacts or limiting social development, especially among children, should not be ignored.
There are plenty of critical voices about this.
However, controlled training according to a fixed plan á la Hoffenheim is definitely better than uncontrolled gambling at any time of day or night.
And let's be honest: Which person interested in computers who has already played FIFA with their friends wouldn't find it cool if gaming was also justified among the broad mass of sports enthusiasts in the future?
Nerd and couch potato or not.
We too have not been idle in recent months and have been inspired by “gamification” thanks to an honest training community and countless discussions with professional clubs.
That is why achievements will soon provide more motivation in training and performance tests will enable you to compare yourself and others.
However, we don't want to reveal too much at this stage.
You can be excited!
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