"America's Team" needs to be equipped and pushing the envelope on cutting-edge technology at all times. Anything to get an edge against the competition, right?
That's precisely why owner Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys have become the first NFL team to invest in virtual reality training equipment. According to Fox Sports, the Cowboys have signed a two-year deal with Strivr, a virtual-reality training startup company.
Stricr's virtual reality training allows quarterbacks to get reps without risking injury or going overboard on practice time. But it works well for other position players, too.
"Before it was great with quarterbacks because of the live work and how applicable it is [pre and post-snap] and for running backs too, but now it's also for safeties and linebackers and O-linemen and cornerbacks," Derek Belch, an ex-Stanford kicker turned assistant coach and CEO of Strivr, told Fox Sports.
Belch hopes as many as six NFL teams partner with his startup company before training camp begins this year, but is overjoyed that the Cowboys have set the precedent by becoming the first franchise to sign on for 3D simulation training.
"It's an awesome feeling to have one of the biggest brands in the sports world become one of the first teams that jumps in," Belch added to Fox Sports. "I give [Cowboys head coach] Jason Garrett a lot of credit for being a visionary. He told me when we first met that he's been dreaming of something like this for 20 years. And then once he saw it, he said it exceeded his expectations."
The technology was used at major football programs such as Clemson, Arkansas, Auburn, and Vanderbilt, according to ESPN.
NASCAR is also dabbling in virtual reality ... but in a different capacity, as it's experimenting with virtual reality streaming broadcasts of its races.
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