DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado Avalanche goalie, Philipp Grubauer is proving to be one of the National Hockey League’s very best.
Did you know, however, that the skills producing those results on the ice are actually being cultivated, sharpened and refined in his living room?
“Yeah, it’s basically for when you want to simulate a game-like situation but don’t have access to the ice,” said Grubauer.
Equipped with two controllers, once Grubauer puts on the virtual reality glasses and fires up the system, it’s basically like being in a real life game.
“It’s just like you’re in the crease. There are shooters in front of you, your glove, there are blockers, the puck comes from different angles,” exclaims the German-born goalie.
Founder and CEO of this technology, “Sense Arena” is Bob Tetiva. He has been tweaking and perfecting the system for the past four years. His motivation, he says, is the need for athletes to train their brains just as they do their bodies.
“If you look at the history of sports, it’s been all about physics. It’s always been about how many push ups and pull ups guys can do and how much weight they can lift or how fast they can run. There has been so little done for (athletes) the brain to improve cognitive functions,” Tetiva said.
Tetiva says that Sense Arena is currently being used by 10 NHL goalies including Grubauer. The company also has thousands of systems being used by athletes in 24 different countries.
