Sports and technology have always gone hand in hand.
Virtual reality (VR) is one of the newer innovations, changing how athletes train, recover, and connect with fans. And it’s catching on fast—major industry players like the NBA, Copenhagen FC, and Leicester City are already getting on board and seeing major benefits.
In this ArborXR guide, we’ll explore how virtual reality is used in sports, covering its applications, benefits, and best practices for implementation.
How Is VR Being Used in Sports?
VR is evolving quickly, and we’ll no doubt see countless more applications of VR in sports in the months and years ahead. At the moment, there are three broad use cases for VR in sports that stand out as especially impactful:
- Training
- Recovery
- Fan engagement
VR Training for Athletes
One especially common use case for VR in sports is using VR to simulate real-game scenarios that allow athletes to sharpen their skills and decision-making without the pressure or physical strain of a live game.
For example, FC Copenhagen uses VR to enhance the cognitive skills of youth players. Through immersive training, players can focus on key mental aspects—like scanning the field, improving spatial awareness, and making quick decisions—all without the physical demands of actual gameplay.
Another significant benefit of VR is the ability to get real-time feedback from remote coaches. Trainers can analyze an athlete’s performance virtually and provide instant advice on technique, positioning, or strategy.
VR Sports Injury Recovery
VR creates controlled environments for injury rehabilitation, allowing athletes to perform tailored exercises without the risk of overexertion.
Returning to competition after an injury, especially serious ones like fractures or ligament tears, can be mentally and psychologically challenging. If left unaddressed, this aspect could ultimately affect performance. VR can help with the mental side of rehabilitation as well.
By exposing athletes to game-like scenarios, they can practice reacting to different situations. Over time, this helps them build confidence and feel more prepared when facing these challenges in real life.
Johnny King, a rehabilitation physiotherapist at Leicester Football Club, confirms they’ve been using VR for ACL rehab. Players practice field drills, passing angles, and match-day scenarios to speed up recovery.
VR Sports Fan Engagement
VR technology brings fans closer to the action, offering immersive 360-degree live streams and game highlights. Wherever they are, fans can put on a VR headset and experience events from the courtside or field level, making the experience more engaging.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Audi partnered with FC Copenhagen to provide fans with a virtual stadium experience. Since they couldn’t attend games in person, fans were able to use VR headsets to be virtually transported into the stadium.
Additionally, apps like Xtadium on Quest offer immersive sports viewing, allowing fans to watch live streams and highlights of various sports in 360-degree views.
Best Practices for Implementing VR in Sports
1. Set Clear Objectives
The first step in implementing VR for your sports organization is to define your objectives. What are you hoping to achieve? Are you looking to enhance the fan experience, or do you want to improve internal operations like player training or injury recovery?
This decision will influence many of the next steps, such as whether you’ll need a large-scale investment in VR headsets, which content developers to partner with, and how to shape your overall strategy.
It’s important to sit down with key stakeholders—coaches, management, marketing, and even players—to identify where VR can add the most value. Then, align your objectives accordingly.
2. Find or Develop Content
Once you’ve defined your objectives, you’ll have a clearer idea of what content you need and whether to source it externally or develop it in-house.
Let’s start with fan-facing initiatives—live streams, highlights, etc. These require custom content, so you’ll want to partner with a good 360-degree content producer like XPRLabs. They can provide guidance on the right infrastructure, strategy, and everything else you need to launch your project.
The decision between finding or developing content for internal programs will depend on the specific initiative. If you want to create content focused on your unique tactics and strategies, developing it from scratch might be the best approach.
However, for more general applications like fitness exercises, you could either create custom content or utilize ready-made content from trusted developers. FitXR, for example, is a great partner for both custom and off-the-shelf content needs.
Looking for a bit of guidance? Our XR directory is an excellent resource for finding some of the best content developers.. These vendors are vetted and have proven track records, so be sure to check it out to discover which one is right for your program.
3. Choose the Right Headset
Now it’s time to choose the headsets you’ll use. Several factors will influence this decision, so let’s consider a few key points:
- Comfort and Usability: Look for lightweight designs and adjustable features for longer use.
- Technical Specifications: Pay attention to resolution, field of view, and tracking capabilities to ensure an immersive experience.
- Content Compatibility: Make sure the headset supports the specific applications and experiences you plan to use.
- Budget: Weigh the features against the cost, including both initial and ongoing expenses.
Our supported device list is an excellent place to find the right enterprise-grade VR headsets for your program.
4. Find an XR Device Management (MDM) Solution
As you select your VR headsets, it’s equally important to consider how to manage them. Effective device management is crucial—otherwise, issues can arise quickly. Users might access unauthorized content, scaling new content can become challenging, and in the worst-case scenario, headsets could go missing.That’s where an XR MDM like ArborXR can be incredibly useful.
Here are some ways ArborXR can help you optimize your VR headset management:
- Device Management: Organize your devices into groups and perform bulk actions. For example, you can launch content on all headsets simultaneously. You can also track device status, monitor user views, and adjust settings in real-time from a distance.
- Content Management: Easily sideload content onto all your headsets, manage your content library, and benefit from powerful version control with release channels.
- Direct Access to DevelopersLink: Receive content directly on your headsets from any of our supported creators without leaving ArborXR.
- Multi-App and Single-App Kiosk Experience: Lock users into a single app using kiosk mode or allow access to multiple apps with ArborXR Home.
5. Monitor Program Data
One major mistake when implementing VR in sports is setting it up and then forgetting about it. It’s essential to monitor the program closely to see if it’s meeting your goals. If it’s not, be prepared to make adjustments for better results.
For fan-focused initiatives, depending on your deployment platform, check comments and engagement metrics like views and likes to gauge how well it’s being received and what can be improved.
For internal programs, you can gain insights by looking at how users interact with the content, especially how much time they spend in it. If the engagement isn’t meeting expectations, that might indicate the content needs some adjustments.
How can you uncover this? ArborXR can help. Our analytics tools allow you to track the time users spend in specific apps over time.
Change the Game with Virtual Reality Software
Virtual reality is changing the sports industry in amazing ways. By understanding its applications, benefits, and best practices, you can leverage VR to gain a competitive edge.
At ArborXR, we offer everything you need to create exceptional VR sports experiences, including direct access to top ISVs and a dedicated VR MDM. With ArborXR, you can manage and deploy your headsets, install apps and updates, and deliver kiosk experiences—all remotely and at scale.Want to see ArborXR in action? Get started with our free trial today.