West Ham Women announced a landmark partnership with market-leading virtual reality tool Rezzil in a bid to become “one of the elite clubs in English football”.
In a game dictated by marginal gains, Virtual Reality and data analysis have slowly transformed the footballing landscape, and the Manchester-based company is one of the leading vanguards of the movement.
Rising to power at the peak of the pandemic, Rezzil provided solutions to the seemingly insurmountable problems facing players’ match fitness and sharpness. It has since come to be employed by elite-level clubs, academies and athletes around the world to build resilience in the final moments of high-pressure games.
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And the Hammers are the newest team to utilise the boons afforded via Virtual Reality, with Rezzil set to supply their cognitive development services to Paul Konchesky’s ranks, from performance enhancement, post-match analysis, rehabilitation, and virtual training solutions.
West Ham defied expectations in the first half of the season, going into the winter break just four points behind then-fourth place Manchester City and picking up 15 points from 10 matches.
But the impressive overperformances stagnated as successive league defeats rang in the new year. A plucky goalless draw against Arsenal staunched what threatened to become a rot. Now sat seventh in the table, West Ham face fifth-place Aston Villa on the weekend with valuable points up for grabs in the best-of-the-rest competition.
And West Ham’s newest supplier presents a golden opportunity for Konchesky and co. to get one over their mid-table rivals as the season progresses.
On joining forces with Rezzil, West Ham United Chief Commercial Officer Nathan Thompson expressed his delight and emphasised the opportunity provided to raise the performance levels of the club’s women’s team.
"Rezzil has revolutionised the way virtual reality and artificial intelligence is used in sports training,” he said. “Partnering with them offers an exciting opportunity to work towards becoming one of the elite clubs in English football and raising our level of performance.”
Andy Etches, Rezzil Founder, said “Rezzil is excited to partner with West Ham United Women. We take great pride in being at the forefront of athlete performance development, providing the best tools to help athletes achieve their full potential, and look forward to assisting the team in realising their performance goals.”
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