HOW DOES shooting zombies help AFL umpires improve?
This was Damian Farrow's quirky way of introducing virtual reality (VR) to the game's whistleblowers.
The former Australian Institute of Sport skill acquisition specialist officially started at the AFL in February, with a brief to improve umpires' decision-making.
Farrow, a world-renowned expert, joins Trends this week to discuss his extensive background, how he plans to make a difference in the AFL and how players can also benefit from VR training.
Find Trends on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify
Farrow has worked with some of Australia's best athletes, including Olympic gold medallist Mack Horton, but considers his greatest challenge coaching Beaumaris' under-14 girls' football team.
Part of that task centres on teaching those players how to kick, a topic he has some extensive views on and expertise in.
Trends is a podcast for the hardcore and average football fan who wants to learn more about what they're watching each weekend, plus what's going on behind the scenes.
Podcast summary
1:16 - What does a skill acquisition specialist do?
2:54 - Helping Mack Horton swim for gold
5:09 - My greatest challenge: teaching girls to kick
11:45 - The difficulties in improving an AFL player's skills
14:55 - How the AFL's umpires are performing in 2019
16:52 - "Some of the rules are, possibly, too grey or complex"
20:28 - Using GoPro technology to see what the umpires see
23:24 - Where virtual reality is superior to traditional training
28:40 - Neil Craig's forward-thinking ways in the early 2000s
