Growth spurts have been high-yielding occurrences for STRIVR general manager of sports training Andrew Wasserman.

The Coeur d'Alene native hadn't buckled a chinstrap before enrolling at the University of North Carolina where, after sprouting to 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, he walked on to the school's football program as an admittedly slow but sure-handed receiver.

A decade later, Wasserman, who also earned an MBA at Stanford University, is the beneficiary of another type of growth: the burgeoning business of virtual reality.

STRIVR, one of the world's foremost virtual reality solution companies, uses its VR platform for athletes to improve reaction time, pattern recognition, decision making and individual preparedness.

Since debuting at the 2015 NFL Combine, STRIVR has partnered with seven NFL teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, and about 20 high-major college football programs. Those numbers are expected to climb in 2017.

The Menlo Park, Calif.-based startup recently announced it raised $5 million in an initial round of funding. Of the company's 34 employees, three hail from Coeur d'Alene, including Wasserman, Phil Giesen (football operations and sales consultant) and Shawnee Baughman (senior operations associate).

Wasserman is often touring the country with the product, sitting down with NFL general managers, head coaches, coordinators and players, teaching them the nuances of the extensive virtual simulation within the strapped-on Oculus goggles.

"With STRIVR, you're preparing from the vantage point that you play. From the practice field to the headset to the middle of the game, you're seeing everything from the same perspective, and that has a real cognitive impact," said Wasserman, a 2002 graduate of Coeur d'Alene High who now lives in California. "It looks like you're on the field; it sounds like you're on the field.

“With traditional film, which is shot from above the play from the end zone and sideline, you can see everything. It can be hard to prepare that way because when you're on the field, your vantage point is totally different and way more limited."

Wasserman's longtime friend, Giesen, a 2003 CHS graduate, does the extensive, vantage-point filming that makes the program so effective.

Giesen solely works with the Minnesota Vikings, where he films three practices a week and edits footage. A Coeur d'Alene resident, Giesen often flies out to Minneapolis on Tuesday and returns on Friday.

Recently sharing the same backfield with star Vikings running back Adrian Peterson to film the views of quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Shaun Hill, it gave Giesen a hint of nostalgia. Seventy-seven miles away from the Vikings' practice facility, Giesen was a tight end and team captain at NCAA Division III St. John's before graduating with a degree in psychology.

Giesen sold medical devices before Wasserman brought up the prospect of a STRIVR representative in Minnesota. A year and a half before getting Giesen on board, Wasserman was a consultant for Bain and Company when his longtime friend, former Stanford receiver Kelton Lynn, put Wasserman in touch with Derek Belch, another Stanford alum and co-founder of STRIVR.

The growth has been immense since its genesis.

"STRIVR is in a real interesting phase," said Giesen, who earned his MBA at Ashford University. "Since it's started, the way we do things has already changed significantly and is even expanding into workplace areas. It's really cool seeing how it's developing."

Development is in Shawnee Baughman's wheelhouse.

A 2008 graduate of Lake City High, Baughman went on to earn undergrad and graduate degrees in Communications and Media from Stanford, and was the school's VR lab manager while Belch was in grad school.

She joined STRIVR in November in a creative director role, helping determine the types of VR solutions the company pitches to prospective clients.

Baughman wasn't aware the company featured employees from her small Idaho hometown.

"When I was doing my interview I was told there were other people from Coeur d'Alene working here," said Baughman, who is more involved in the non-sports enterprises of STRIVR. "It's a crazy coincidence three of us work for a Bay Area company."

Having extensively researched VR and trends the last five years along with some of the brightest tech minds in the world, Baughman believes the medium is only going to grow.

"It's my opinion that VR is here to stay and something we'll see more and more in everyday lives," she said. "We need to strive to make it more affordable for our everyday lives. Make it effective, mobile and affordable at the same time. We're already almost there.”