How Professional Athletes Use Video Games As Training Aids

"He gets behind the steering wheel console of his PC, puts on his real game face - without the helmet - and pays attention."

With sport-oriented video games becoming more and more realistic, professional athletes are beginning to sneak them into their training regiments in order to stay sharp and focused. For example, NASCAR drivers who can't test-drive actual racetracks use the video game versions to "learn new tracks or refresh their memories about courses they have raced on before."

Sure, there are some who maintain that video games are a distraction—even when simply used as an enhancement to existing training regiments—and could actually be harmful to an athlete's performance. But let's face it, how do you resist playing a game when you're a default avatar choice in it like some of the players featured in FIFA Soccer? [NYT]