How do coaches and players choose the right solutions to invest in?

Introduction

The field of sports technology has seen an explosion of technologies aimed at enhancing player & team performance & understanding game dynamics. Wearable tech, automated cameras, GPS tracking systems, and sophisticated data analytics platforms are just a few examples of the innovations that have transformed how coaches & players approach training and match preparation.

While the abundance of these technologies offers exciting possibilities, it also presents a problem: how do coaches and players choose the right solutions to invest in? With limited time and resources, making informed decisions about which technologies will provide the most value is critical. Furthermore, despite their potential, these technologies come with limitations that must be acknowledged and addressed.

For the individual player in particular, finding actionable insights from isolated match clips or running statistics is often challenging. Without the benefit of the skilled support staff in professional environments, comprehensive analysis simply isn’t feasible to bring these data sets together to comprehensively review match performance.

Challenges in Technology Adoption

Despite the benefits of these technologies, there are several challenges to their adoption:

1. Data Overload - The sheer volume of data generated can be overwhelming. Coaches need to know which data is most relevant and how to apply it effectively.

2. Cost - High-quality technology solutions can be expensive, making it difficult for teams with limited budgets to invest in the best tools.

3. Integration - Combining data from multiple sources (tactical, technical, and physical) into a cohesive analysis can be complex and time-consuming. Platforms that facilitate seamless integration are crucial.

An Integrated Approach to Match Analysis

Bradley et al [1] first proposed the concept of a more integrated approach into match analysis, positing that the full performance picture is found at the intersection of Physical, Tactical, and Technical variables. Physical actions like high-speed sprints will have a Tactical purpose, such as counter-attack, and may consist of Technical actions like a dribble or shot. This holistic perspective allows for a more comprehensive understanding of player performance and game dynamics, and allows players and coaches to quantify game demands in an integrated way to better inform training practices.

Implementing an integrated solution requires the blending of multiple data streams. Coaches and players need to consider what type of data the tech solution can provide them & how it relates to performance. For example, Total Distance covered in a match can provide some insight into physical performance, but offers no insight into tactical/technical performance in isolation.

1. Tactical Data

Tactical data involves analysing the strategic elements of the game. This includes formations, player positioning, and movement patterns. Advanced video analysis tools can track and visualise these elements, providing insights into how teams and players execute their strategies. Tactical analysis is often time-consuming and difficult to implement outside of the elite game. 

At PlayerStat Data, our Soccer Intelligence suite of player & coaching data solutions provide industry-leading standard tactical performance data outputs, adding significant value to raw video feeds with layered tactical data.

2. Technical Data

Technical data focuses on the execution of specific skills, such as passing, shooting, and dribbling, with the key variables in this area varying greatly across positional groups. Automated camera systems have the ability to capture technical actions, and automate event detection for some technical actions such as shots. 

Our Soccer Intelligence data solutions comprehensively catalogs technical actions throughout a match across all positional groups, with granular measures & metrics collected for goalkeepers, defenders, midfield players and attackers.

3. Physical Data

Physical data encompasses metrics related to external load, such as distance covered, sprint speeds, and also internal load via heart rate monitoring. Wearable tech, like GPS trackers and heart rate monitors, provide real-time data on these physical aspects. By monitoring physical performance, coaches and players can manage their training load & optimise physical performance.

Integration

PlayerStat Data’s vision for data integrations exemplifies how an integrated approach can be implemented effectively. PlayerStat Data users currently benefit from comprehensive individual player technical & tactical data reports by submitting their raw video feeds to the platform. With future development, the process will be completely streamlined to ingest physical event data from any wearable tech solution, making it easier for coaches to derive actionable insights.

Integrating physical data into the system will allow the individual player to understand the context of their high-speed outputs, understand the tactical circumstances that elicited the response, and review how technical actions are executed in such circumstances. This will be achievable in the future with a GPS data import facility.

Example data outputs will include automated location maps of technical actions (shots, passes, carries, defensive actions etc.), distance between players in defensive shape, physical output during tactical actions (such as overlapping runs), just to scratch the surface.

These outputs are not just interesting, but can provide actionable insights into training design. By understanding the interplay between tactical, technical, and physical data, coaches can design more effective training drills that replicate the demands of actual match play. This ensures that players are better prepared for the specific challenges they will face in games.

Conclusion

At PlayerStat Data our mission is to revolutionalise performance analytics for youth & grassroots soccer organisation & their players, and a key step in that journey is to provide more contextualised data capturing all aspects of performance. 

With the recent launch of our Soccer Intelligence - Player application, our users are already benefiting from comprehensive technical and tactical data outputs, supported by instant access to their match clips. With future developments, physical data imports will further expand the diverse suite of metrics made available to our users. 

As the field of sports analytics continues to evolve, the ability to seamlessly integrate and analyse diverse data sources will be key to unlocking new levels of performance, and PlayerStat Data will continue to bring those cutting-edge solutions to those outside of the professional game.

PlayerStat Data are specialists in soccer player development data solutions. Through our Soccer Intelligence suite of data products for coaching staff and players, soccer operations outside of the professional game can now access elite, professional level player performance & development data insights – all delivered directly to clients’ devices.

We are levelling the player development data playing field & by taking the already-collected match video footage from our clients, we unlock 1000s of performance data insights & outputs to give the clearest, objective data view of performances & development pathways. Email info@playerstatdata.com for more details.

References

1. Bradley, P.S., Evans, M., Laws, A. and Ade, J.D. (2018). ‘Context is King’ when Interpreting Match Physical Performances, Medic & Scientist Magazine.