Acute responses to virtual reality soccer heading training in youth soccer players: a preliminary exploratory study

Abstract Background Soccer heading is an important technical element of football; however, in children and adolescents, it has raised concern due to possible health consequences of repeated ball–head contact. Therefore, alternative methods, including virtual reality (VR), are explored as tools that may allow standardized practice without direct exposure to ball–head impacts. The aim of this preliminary and exploratory study was to assess the immediate responses to a single VR soccer-heading training session in young soccer players, with emphasis on exercise intensity, heading accuracy in virtual and real environments, the head-movement speed parameter reported by the application, and affective responses, including enjoyment and flow state. Methods The study involved 24 young soccer players aged 12.4 ± 0.6 years. Each participant performed accurate soccer-heading tests in real and virtual environments, completed a 10-minute VR training session, and then repeated both tests. Participants also performed soccer-heading training in the real environment (RE), enabling comparison of physical activity (PA) between conditions. Exercise intensity was assessed using percentage of maximum heart rate and Borg scale. Enjoyment of PA was assessed using the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES), and flow state using the Flow State Scale (FSS). Depending on data distribution, Student’s t-test or Wilcoxon test was used, and effect size was estimated using Cohen’s d coefficient (dc) or the rank-biserial correlation coefficient (r rb ). Results Exercise intensity during VR training was higher than during analogous training in the RE: 63.89 ± 9.64% vs. 52.30 ± 3.27% of maximum heart rate ( p < 0.001; dc = 1.52). Perceived fatigue was lower in VR than in the RE (9.42 ± 1.35 vs. 11.42 ± 1.21 points; p < 0.001; rrb = −0.965). After training, accurate headers improved in the RE (18.63 ± 6.79 vs. 25.21 ± 5.20; p < 0.001; dc = −1.307) and VR (29.79 ± 10.66 vs. 39.21 ± 9.28; p < 0.001; dc = −3.244). Enjoyment of PA and flow state were higher in VR. Conclusions A single VR soccer-heading training session was associated with higher heart-rate-based exercise intensity and lower perceived fatigue than analogous activity in the RE. The session was followed by immediate improvements in controlled heading-accuracy tasks performed in both environments; however, these changes may largely reflect short-term adaptation and repeated exposure to the assessment tasks, and should be interpreted as acute cross-environment performance changes rather than confirmed evidence of training transfer. VR may be an attractive and well-tolerated supplementary tool for standardized heading practice, but its long-term training value requires confirmation in controlled studies.