Training Tips: Play more video games

Your mum and dad may have told you to stop wasting your time playing FIFA or other sports video games as a kid. But research into gaming has shown spending all of that time playing could really help you in your next football match.

One of the positive aspects of playing sports video games is it can train gamers on parts of a real-life match. The tactics, players and formations used in FIFA 18 are just like those used by real professional teams. Becoming familiar with these areas can help players to understand what they will see on the pitch. Video games can also help with focus and players can have a whole new understanding of positioning in a game.

Militaries around the world use video games to train soldiers. Games give players an idea of how to react and assess a situation. Sports games are the same and they can prepare you to know where to go on a football pitch in specific situations. Keep in mind that video gamers are not the stereotypes of overweight kids that they are portrayed as on television. Many professional athletes, like Lionel Messi, grew up playing video games and continue to do so as adults.

FourFourTwo magazine featured an article on English Premier League goalkeeper Tom Heaton’s use of video games to train before he plays a match. Heaton is an advocate of the game Sight Training for Nintendo DS. Although it isn’t a sports game that gives him tactical knowledge, it is a game that helps sharpen his vision. The game is now part of Heaton’s match day routine and it helps him focus before going out to warm up.

It isn’t just sharpening eyesight that games can improve. A player’s reaction time can be increased, so the next time you have to respond to an attacker coming at you, it won’t take you by surprise.

Of course, video games don’t replace proper football training and the skills you need to be a top level player. But it can help with improving certain areas of your real-life game.