Real-Time Feedback Enhances Motor Learning and Motivation in Youth Team Sports Through Augmented Reality Tools

Xiaohua He¹li wei^2*

• ¹Beibu Gulf University, Qinzhou, China
• ²Zhejiang Pharmaceutical University, Ningbo, China

The application of augmented reality (AR) in sport training settings is a new way of enhancing motor skills acquisition and motivation among young athletes. AR systems can be used to balance between performance evaluation and adaptive learning through the combination of real-time feedback and immersive visualization. This paper explores the consequences of AR-based feedback on motor learning and intrinsic motivation in youth soccer and compares its influence with verbal feedback presented by coaches. Sixty 12-15-year-old players were randomly selected and stratified by hand using experience level to one of the AR feedback group or the control group. All the groups were trained on the same training drills in six 45-minute sessions in three weeks. Dribbling, passing, and shooting motor performance were evaluated at pre-test, post-test, and four-week follow-up. Meanwhile, motivation was assessed with the help of validated subscales of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (interest, competence, and effort). Statistical tests were performed as mixed-model ANOVA, post hoc tests adjusted with Bonferroni, estimates of the effect size, and correlation of motivation and performance gains. The AR feedback group demonstrated much higher scores in all categories of skills (p < .001), with the most significant impact documented in accuracy in shooting (Cohen's d = 1.38). There were also significant increases in motivation scores compared to the control group, and performance gains were positively associated with motivation gains (r = .45, p < .01). These outcomes demonstrate that AR-based feedback improves both the refinement of skills and interest, regardless of the level of experience of players. AR feedback is a promising, meaningful, and scalable way to remedy motor learning and intrinsic motivation in youth sports. Although the short-term retention outcomes are encouraging, subsequent studies must use longer-term follow-ups and take direct measures of autonomy and competence and relatedness to validate Self-Determination Theory processes further. The results indicate that AR technologies are pedagogically useful as innovative data-driven, motivationally enhanced sports training.