Bay Area-based VR outfit Strivr is working with the NFL to help train game officials in its Officiating Development Program, a training program aimed at collegiate officials looking to join the pro ranks. The ongoing effort is part of a larger relationship between Strivr and the NFL in which the league participated in a $5M Series A investment round, and seven individual teams including the Cowboys, Bears and Cardinals use the company for player training. Like those player-related applications, Strivr's work with prospective game officials is designed to provide additional game-like settings in the enhanced format, and in turn more practice repetitions. “This is about providing more mental reps, particularly when it’s difficult for these officials to have access to more games,” said Strivr CEO & Founder Derek Belch. “And a lot of it isn’t about just calling penalties. A lot of what we’re focusing on is zone assignments, pre-snap responsibilities and so forth.” There is no plan in place yet, though, for Strivr to work with existing NFL game officials.
GETTING MORE FOCUS: Strivr, meanwhile, is now de-emphasizing its VR work in fan experience apps to focus more fully on training. The company early last year created a dedicated Fan Experience and VR Production division aimed at creating fan-facing VR solutions, with initial clients including MSG, the PGA Tour and the Patriots, among others. There will still be a small amount of those projects, but Strivr has chosen to dedicate itself primarily to training-related VR efforts. And it has also begun to expand outside of sports, inking recent deals with Walmart and several other undisclosed Fortune 100 companies on VR-based employee training. Strivr VPs Brian Murphy and Logan Mulvey, who had led the fan experience efforts, remain with the company in other roles. “Performance training really demands our full attention,” Belch said.
