Teams participating in this year’s Aberdeen International Football Festival have been given a pre-event boost with the news that AVC Media Enterprises is enabling all coaches to access  Tactx, the revolutionary new football animation software application on the UEFA Training Ground.  

Simple to use, allowing coaches to demonstrate drills, tactics and analysis using instant 3D animated graphics, Tactx is only available on the UEFA Training Ground, with free access being granted to coaches of all the teams participating in this year’s Festival.

AVC Media Enterprises, whose headquarters are in Altens in Aberdeen, designed and developed the software, working alongside Dundee based interactive entertainment studio Cohort Studios and a team at UEFA, to create a unique interactive solution designed specifically for football coaches and aimed at both the professional and grassroots players worldwide.

Allowing the user to demonstrate coaching drills, tactics and carry out analysis, TactX uses high quality 3D animated graphics that instantly visualise the desired formation. The software allows a distinctly authentic experience to be created, allowing a team to view an accurate 360° representation of what the coaching staff require them to undertake on the training field and ultimately on the pitch.

The 3D TactX ‘players’ are designed to achieve realistic movement, mirroring the motions of the human body. This was achieved through 3D motion capture, where sensors were fitted to professional footballers and data collected on their movements for development into their 3D counterpart.

Already being actively utilised by Fulham and Blackburn Rovers in the English Premiership, TactX is also being used by a number of grassroots coaches from around the world. It’s ability to be purchased via the internet from as little as €10 per month subscription fee, makes TactX an extremely flexible and accessible tool. It is available online from UEFA Training Ground.com – UEFA’s training resource site for the grassroots and professional game.

Lesley Little, AVC Director and driving force behind TactX, explains “In 2008, UEFA identified a need for a new, fresh approach to football coaching that could be integrated into the UEFA Training Ground, helping to nurture player development.”

“AVC has worked alongside UEFA’s Technical Team for the last 20 years, providing filming, production and editing services, to aid training and development. This allowed AVC to develop a tailored solution, utilising our background in sports education and close working relationship with UEFA, to offer a streamlined package that integrated the latest in 3D and digital development techniques.”

For more information, please visit www.uefa.com/trainingground/tactx or www.avcmedia.com. For a TactX demonstration, please contact Steven Hastie at AVC Media Enterprises on 01224 248007.