Sunday, August 8, 2010

Video, stats can tell player a lot about his performance


Evansville Courier & Press, August 8, 2010


We do a lot of video analysis with our players at the University of Evansville, which I believe to be one of the best teaching tools available. We have what I see, what the player sees, and the truth (the video), because the video never lies. Players can analyze their performance like a scientist opposed to only looking for personal highlights.

Statistics are hard to refute. Most American sports are fueled by statistics to determine success, and where soccer doesn't have a lot of the box score-driven numbers that you find in baseball or basketball, here are some stats or data that we ask our players to track on video:

Passing percentages: Total number of passes and passes completed.

Passing frequency: Number of passes forward versus the number of passes sideways and backwards shows what kind of possession the player was involved in. If the ball only goes sideways and backwards, their passing wasn't involved in creating penetration. Forward passing helps get our team into attacking sequences in the opponent's half of the field and/or in behind the opposing defense.

Passing charts: Much like a shot chart in basketball, our players track from video where their passes started from and whether they were completed and to whom. This shows them which areas of the field they primarily played in.

Very similar to the hustle stats in basketball, we also create statistics that allow us to place value on specific attributes for each position. This not only places more value on a player's specific role, but offers the opportunity to measure whether that player is successful.

Hustle stats include:

50-50 balls and second balls: 50-50 balls are any ball that is played in the air that gives a player a 50-50 chance to win it, such as a goal kick or goalkeeper's punt. A second ball is where the ball goes immediately after a 50-50 ball is won (if you lose a 50-50 ball in the air but win the second ball, your team has possession).

Wide service: The number of crosses passed by players from the flanks.

Penetrating passes: Those that are played with the intent of penetrating the opposing defense.

Fouls: The number of times a player has committed a foul on the other team. We want our players to play hard but with a minimal amount of fouls. With so many goals scored off of free kicks, the fewer fouls you commit, the fewer free kick opportunities you give.

Statistics are a great way for players to learn a lot about the game, whether it be from tracking themselves or watching another player. The FIFA World Cup gave players and fans the opportunity to watch the best players in the world, and FIFA's website (www.FIFA.com) has some great data to evaluate performances at the World Cup.

I felt the top player was Xavi for Spain, and there is enough data to back that up. Xavi was the playmaker for the world champions, and the 669 passes he completed were 100 more than the next player. He also covered more ground, averaging over 7 miles a game. The combination of those two statistics show how influential Xavi was for Spain.

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