For those who don’t play soccer but have played FIFA, you know about all the little training exercises that clubs use to brush up on their skills. Well, Portuguese club Benfica have introduced a new state-of-the-art technological training room that blurs the lines between video games and reality.
They aren’t the first club to have such a training facility. Both Borussia Dortmund and Hoffenheim of the Bundesliga have a similar system, but with lesser software.
In short, the 360s is insane. Players find themselves in a massive playing area surrounded by four walls that act as nets. The nets have moving LED lights to help improve players' accuracy, decision-making and reaction time. The software can even take data from games and replicates those situations in the simulator. Each player has their own system profile for training. Goalkeepers can also use it, as the system can simulate a variety of shots that range in speed, arc and curve.
At the end of drills, players are scored and over time can see their progression or regression in certain areas. The facility even has an automated ball retriever. Yeah, it’s awesome.
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