Training table tennis in virtual environment does not improves performance of children in real space

Abstract

Introduction: Motor development is associated with many physical, emotional and cognitive factors of children and virtual environments, such as active video games, maybe an innovative and motivating alternative. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a five-day of table tennis training in virtual environment on the performance of serve of in real space. Material and Method: Two groups (experimental and control) with children aged 9.32±0.6 years old participated in the study. The experimental group practiced the serve of table tennis in the active videogame daily for five days. After the intervention, all volunteers underwent a test in the traditional table and, and were verified the amount of hits each child. Results: no significant differences (p>0.05) in the amount of hits between the groups were found, as well as a low magnitude of the effect of the difference. Conclusions: The results suggest that short-term training of table tennis in active videogame does not seem to improve performance in the serve of children.