Ian Franks / Mike Hughes
Soccer Analytics
Successful Coaching Through Match Analysis
Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd.
© 2016 by Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd.
Auckland, Beirut, Budapest, Cairo, Cape Town, Dubai, Hägendorf, Indianapolis, Maidenhead, Singapore, Sydney, Teheran, Wien
Member of the World Sport Publishers’ Association (WSPA)
978-1-78255-749-4
info@m-m-sports.com
www.m-m-sports.com
ISBN 978-1-78255-749-4
This book has been very carefully prepared, but no responsibility is taken for the correctness of the information it contains. Neither the author nor the publisher can assume liability for any damages or injuries resulting from information contained in this book.
First we would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of illustrator Rachel Apted whose coloured figures brought the practices in this book to life. Also we acknowledge George Marjanovic whose work was an inspiration for some of these illustrations. Second, we recognize the contribution and expertise of Chris Franks (trainer and physiotherapist at the Vancouver Whitecaps F.C. and Fortius Sport and Health Clinic, Vancouver) to the chapter in the book that focuses on the warm up activities that players engage in at the beginning of a coaching practice. Third, the research into soccer match analysis would not have been possible without the creative genius of Paul Nagelkerke (systems analyst) who developed the computer programmes and video interface that were used in the data collection process. We also acknowledge the hard work of the graduate students who aided in the collection of match data at both UBC and Cardiff Metropolitan University. Finally we are indebted to Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Sport Canada for funding the research into soccer match analysis and coaching analysis.
This book is dedicated to Emilly, Brynn, Hayden, Kieran, Siena and Sebastian who are all well on their way to completing 10,000 hours of active yet enjoyable deliberate play and practice.
This book explores the analysis of soccer and uses the results of this analysis to develop realistic and progressive practices that will improve the performance of both the player and the team. An historical perspective of past research is maintained when describing the logical and systematic methods used to notate the game. Analysis of the coaching practice itself is also considered whereby the behaviours of the coach are scrutinized and evaluated. Research from human decision making and motor skill acquisition is directly applied to the coaching process and therefore technical and tactical practices are designed to accommodate these findings. It is expected that this book will provide the reader with an understanding of how to develop their own coaching practice and improve their coaching style with the aid of match analysis. A comprehensive bibliography is provided for students of the game who wish to delve further into the science of soccer analysis and soccer skill acquisition.
This book is intended to be informative for all levels of coaches, from the recreational novice who has the responsibility to develop young players to the experienced coach of senior players. Part 1 provides a window into the notional analysis of soccer. It logically explains how one might develop a system of analysis and then gives a brief summary of the results from analysis. Special attention is paid to the studies that have provided information on set pieces and crosses. Part 2 illustrates how decision making is a critical process in soccer and provides a unique method of using this to advantage when coaching. For example, defending is broken down into a series of decisions all players on the team should be involved in no matter what their position. In part 3 we emphasize the need to have progressive realistic practices that maximize transfer of training from the practice field to the match. Several examples of functional training are given along with progressive practices that move from an isolated technique in a specific area of the pitch to a full phase of match play. In addition, combined attacking techniques are coached in realistic situation-specific practices and then they are progressed back into small-sided games. Part 4 provides the coach of developing young players with a brief summary of research findings and recommendations into the acquisition of motor skills as they pertain to teaching and coaching soccer skills. Then practices that adhere to these recommendations are described for several techniques. In part 5 we briefly introduce some guidelines for warming up players before training and games. Several practices are then described that could be used to begin the coaching session with an emphasis on game-related activity. This section also describes several fun conditioning games that can be used to end the coaching session. Part 6 defines the entire coaching process and illustrates how match analysis fits into the overall scheme of this process. Furthermore this section gives the coach some guidelines as to the preparation, organization and execution of a successful practice session. Within this framework of the coaching practice we emphasize the need for coaches to engage in self-reflective practice. Coaches must gather feedback on their own coaching behaviours in order to improve the delivery of information they provide players. In order to maintain an easy reading experience for the coach we have chosen not to follow the regular convention of citing references within the body of the text. However, in part 7, we do provide an extended bibliography of classic studies and recent research that directly relate to research used in writing this text. This section will aid the student of soccer to begin a more rigorous and detailed investigation into various aspects of soccer analysis and soccer skill acquisition.
Ian Franks, PhD, gained his full English Football Association Coaching Award in 1975. He was intricately involved in developing the Canadian Soccer Association’s Coaching Program in the early 1980s and was head coach at the Olympic Soccer Training Centre at the University of British Columbia from 1980 until 1983. Professor Franks then took a position as director of the Centre for Sport Analysis at the University of British Columbia and conducted research into the computer analysis of international soccer matches. Since joining the faculty of the School of Kinesiology at UBC, he has published over 150 research articles, 22 book chapters and 5 books in the areas of sport analysis, skill acquisition and movement control. Professor Franks is also a Fellow of Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology as well as the National Academy of Kinesiology.
Mike Hughes, PhD, is an emeritus professor of sport and exercise science at the Cardiff Metropolitan University and has conducted research into match analysis for over 30 years. He has worked with National Sports Great Britain teams as a notational analyst in squash, hockey, soccer and badminton. He has published over 160 research articles, written and contributed to 24 books and organized 18 international conferences on sport analysis. His areas of expertise include modeling, sport system perturbations, tactical and technical game analyses as well as individual movement analysis. Recent research includes work on performance indicators in soccer, racket sports, basketball, cricket, women’s squash and statistical techniques in the analysis of soccer. Professor Hughes is the founder and current president of the International Society of Analysis of Sport (ISPAS) as well as being the founding editor of the International Journal of Performance Analysis of Sport. Professor Hughes is a BASES (British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences) accredited sport and exercise scientist and a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society.