Putting on the headset instantly transports me from a bland meeting room in central London to the very heart of a virtual football pitch, right at the centre circle of a simulated match. I have chosen to play as a holding midfielder, gripping a controller in each hand with my thumbs poised over the pass button, ready for the first cue.
A brief countdown ticks down, and the simulated build‑up begins. A virtual teammate receives the ball at the edge of the box, and my job is to anticipate the pass, move into space, and execute the appropriate return pass. Every subtle turn of my head, each glance to the left or right, is recorded by the system and fed into a detailed analysis engine.
The product, created by the Norwegian start‑up Be Your Best, is built around the concept of "scanning" – those rapid, almost instinctive glances a player makes to gather information about the positions of opponents and teammates before they receive the ball. Scanning allows a player to make an informed decision the moment the ball arrives, rather than reacting after the fact.
My first trial runs at a modest 80 % of game speed, giving me a chance to settle in. I move deliberately, feeling the occasional virtual tackle as I linger on the ball.
The system rewards me with a "critical scan" badge when I correctly assess the pressure and thread a pass through the defensive line. The positive feedback feels satisfying and confirms that the headset is measuring the right things. When the speed dial is cranked up to 100 % – the pace of a top‑level professional match – the experience becomes a stark reality check.
I can almost feel the rush of a real game as the virtual world accelerates. After that, I am tempted to try the 120 % setting, a feature that was added after Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard asked for an even more demanding scenario during his first session with the device.
Ødegaard is renowned for his vision, quick decision‑making and the ability to see space before anyone else does. His curiosity about the headset sparked a conversation with Andreas Olsen, the chief executive of Be Your Best, who recalls his own teenage years in the Viking FK academy in Norway. "It was mind‑blowing to me how some players seemed to have eyes in the back of their heads," Olsen told Sky Sports. "I didn’t have the language to describe it, I just knew I wanted to understand how they sensed where the opponent’s pressure was coming from and where the next pass should go." The scientific study of scanning dates back to the late 1990s when Norwegian professor Geir Jordet began investigating what players do in the ten seconds leading up to receiving the ball.
His research showed that elite players consistently exhibited higher scan rates during that crucial window. "Those ten seconds are critical," Olsen explains. "If you have already decided what you will do before the ball arrives, you are not surprised by the situation – you have already taken the pictures you need, and you just have to execute." One of Jordet’s most cited examples is Barcelona and Spain legend Xavi Hernández.
While Xavi was never the fastest runner, his mental speed made him appear instantaneous. "He made his decisions before he even touched the ball, and then the ball was already moving in the direction he had visualised," Olsen says.
"You can see it in footage – he always turned his back to the ball because he already knew where his opponent was." Scanning is not a new coaching buzzword. Former England midfielder Frank Lampard remembers his father shouting the word "pictures" from the sidelines when he was a child, urging him to take mental snapshots of the field. The concept has grown in importance as the modern game becomes ever faster and the amount of time a player can hold the ball shrinks. Data from the Premier League confirms that players now cover significantly more sprinting distance per match than they did a few seasons ago.
The rise of high‑pressing tactics and overall intensity means that physical attributes alone are no longer enough. "Arsène Wenger once said we have solved all the physical aspects of football – we know how to get faster and stronger," Olsen notes.
"But in a world where the sport is becoming more physical, we also have to consider how fast the mind works. Being the strongest and quickest is no longer sufficient." Defenders benefit equally from scanning.
Dan Micciche, a former England and Arsenal youth coach now working with Saudi Arabia’s national team set‑up, describes watching Italy’s centre‑backs Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci during the Euro 2021 semi‑final against Spain. "They were not sprinting; they were jogging, constantly scanning and repositioning. It was as if they knew where every player on the pitch was, which gave them a calm confidence," he tells Sky Sports.
Most coaches now accept that situational awareness can be trained, though some remain skeptical about the value of virtual‑reality tools. Micciche says, "The game itself is the best teacher, and the feedback from a coach observing the details is priceless. You can improve players by asking them open‑ended questions: What did you see?
Why didn’t you turn? Where was the space?" He warns that modern football culture often seeks instant answers, leading coaches to give directives rather than encouraging players to develop their own scanning habits.
Be Your Best has tried to address these concerns by programming the headset to measure not only how often a player scans, but also the timing of each glance and the quality of the subsequent decision. In a nine‑week pilot with Germany’s U‑16 and U‑17 squads, Olsen reports a 28 % increase in scan rates and coaches noting better positioning in 80 % of the participants. Individual success stories are also highlighted.
Manchester City defender Marc Guehi has used the technology, as has Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia, who even invested in the company. In 2023, Real Madrid’s versatile midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni employed the headset to learn the nuances of the centre‑back role during an injury crisis, helping the team keep a clean sheet in a 4‑0 victory over Osasuna and later posting about the experience on social media. From my own perspective, the headset’s appeal is clear. After a session I walk away aware that my scanning still needs work.
Ødegaard’s 120 % setting remains a future challenge, but the experience has already changed the way I instinctively check my surroundings, even when heading to the train station. The broader takeaway is that as football continues to accelerate, mental speed – the ability to scan, process, and decide in a split second – will become as prized as raw athleticism. Tools like Be Your Best’s VR headset offer a promising avenue to develop that skill, bridging the gap between scientific research and on‑field performance. Play Super 6 for a chance to win £1m!
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