The future of professional training is this: He used VR and AI and almost made it to the Super Bowl in his first year

Washington Commanders, finalist in the American Football Conference this year, lost 55-23 to Philadelphia Eagles and missed their chances to the Super Bowl. However, for quarterback Jayden Daniels, the season was an outstanding success, being named a leading candidate for rookie of the year (he is 24) and scoring some of the best numbers for a rookie in the history of NFL.

He may be out of the Super Bowl, but Jayden has impressed the public and critics. Many are taking notice because of how he has implemented technology to train, in a way never before seen at this level of sports: he has used a mix of virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

The system, called Cognilize, was created by German developers Verena Krakau and Christian Hartmann. With a cost of 2 million dollars, it was bought by Louisiana State University in 2023, home of the LSU Tigers, where Daniels played before being picked for the Washington Commanders at the NFL.

The system, originally designed for football (soccer) but repurposed for American football, works with a VR headset, using AI-driven feedback to analyse the subject performance in real time. It is a way to work reflexes: how quick and the player process information, shown faster than real-life speed, and react accordingly. And it can simulate every possible scenario in a match, using also graphics and sound making the subject feel as if it they are really there.

The quarterback impressed with his speed and pass accuracy, and it is a genuine question if he acquired his abilities so quickly thanks to this VR and AI technology, that could become a revolution in the way professional athletes train.