Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the day-to-day operations of university sport teams. During the lockdown periods, in-person team practices were prohibited for longer periods of time, leaving athletes only home-based training options with limited similarity to the cognitive or physical demands of sport. Some modalities, such as 360? videos, have been used to train performers cognitively previous to the pandemic, usually using VR headsets. Such videos can also be administered remotely via the use of cell phones. However, the feasibility of such training has yet to be examined. This was the purpose of the present study. In total, 36 female university soccer athletes from the US and Canada completed 5 training sessions with 20 360 degree videos each, targeting decision making skills by using an occlusion paradigm. After the final session, the participants completed a brief 9-item questionnaire. On average, the participants reported high levels (above 5 out of 7) of satisfaction, perceived transfer, and presence. Easiness to view the videos was rated at a mediocre level (4.5 out of 7). A linear regression analysis predicted 80.5% of the variance of satisfaction, with perceived transfer as the strongest predictor, followed by easiness to view the videos and presence. Multicollinearity did not affect the results. The findings demonstrated that cell phones can be used for remote 360? video training. Larger scale trials using controlled designs are warranted to confirm these findings. Limitations, potential improvements to the training, and future research directions will be discussed.
