{"id":724,"date":"2020-07-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/data-analysis-keeping-an-eye-on-the-future\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:14","slug":"data-analysis-keeping-an-eye-on-the-future","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/data-analysis-keeping-an-eye-on-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Analysis: Keeping An Eye on the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Jul 31, 2020 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Data Analysis: Keeping An Eye on the Future<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Data & Innovation<\/a> <\/div>\n
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Views from the worlds of the NBA, rugby league and international netball.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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What does the future hold in store for your sport when it comes to data?<\/h4>\n
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By John Portch<\/h6>\n

We posed variations of that question to three practitioners – a head coach, a director of performance & sports science, and a performance manager – to chart their thoughts on the evolution of data analysis, what can be gleaned from study visits, and if there is any hope for injury prediction tools in the near future.<\/p>\n

Here is what they had to say on the matter.<\/p>\n

Using data to track how performance evolves<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On occasion, as Jess Thirlby, the Head Coach of England Netball explains, data can be used by players and her coaching staff to track where the sport is going heading into the cycle for a major competition.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think looking at those trends and where the biggest differentiators are and, therefore, where we focus energy is a really interesting piece,\u201d says the Head Coach who took the reins of the England Netball Roses last summer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at rule changes and what impact that has on the game; we\u2019re also looking at winning and losing margins. I think we\u2019re in a great place now.\u201d Thirlby\u2019s team are the reigning Commonwealth champions – arguably the most prestigious competition in the sport – and are well-placed to challenge for future honours after decades spent as also-rans as the powerhouses of Australia and New Zealand ruled supreme. That Commonwealth gold, delivered in beating the Australians on home soil at the 2018 Gold Coast Games, was a high watermark that Thirlby is tasked with matching.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor the last five or six years are getting a lot closer,\u201d she explains, while also emphasising that the fine work of England Netball extends back more than a decade. \u201cEngland used to fall into that bronze medal playoff on the back of a losing margin most probably of at least ten or more goals against Australia or New Zealand and I think we\u2019ve made a massive impact in that area now, but we need to be comfortable and better at living in that space.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI still don\u2019t think we\u2019re there and if and when we reach more finals, we\u2019ve got to be good enough to compete in those finals, not just make a final; and what you often see with a team that hasn\u2019t lived in that space is that they then fall away and it\u2019s not competitive.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What worked in 2018 will not work at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and data will form an integral part of continuously establishing what it takes to win. \u201cWe need to be getting ourselves ready, not just to get in a final but\u202factually then\u202fbe able to go goal to goal; that\u2019s definitely something I use to shed some light on.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Questions to ask yourself on a study visit<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the San Antonio Spurs\u2019 Director of Performance and Sports\u00a0Science ,\u00a0Xavi Schelling has conducted numerous study visits to elite sports organisations across the globe during his six years with the team.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Spurs, who are one of the most respected organisations in world sport, have a good handle on best practice in performance, but that does not dim their eternal curiosity. \u201cIn English, you\u202fsay the grass\u202fis\u202falways\u202fgreener\u202fon the other\u202fside\u2019,\u201d says Schelling with a smile. \u201cYou visit\u202fsomeone else and\u202fthey have this\u202ftoy, that toy or\u202fsome other\u202ftoy and\u202fa recurrent question is:\u202f\u2019why we\u202fdon\u2019t have it?\u2019 We\u202fdon\u2019t have it\u202fprobably\u202fbecause we\u202fdidn\u2019t need\u202fit\u202for\u202fwe\u202fdidn\u2019t have that question yet and\u202fwe have enough questions\u202fof our own already. Let\u2019s\u202ftry to answer\u202fthe questions\u202fwe already have in\u202fplace and\u202ftry to minimise the amount of technology,\u202fbecause, if you keep\u202fadding\u202fstuff to your\u202froom, and collecting new data, it\u2019s\u202fgoing to\u202flead to a\u202fparalysis\u202fby\u202fanalysis; you have\u202fso much to\u202fdigest that you\u2019re not capable of acting\u202fproperly upon that information, nor\u202fsystematically\u202fbecause there is\u202ftoo much to comprehend.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s\u202fbetter\u202fto keep\u202fit tight, efficient,\u202fso that everything is\u202fpart of your\u202fday to\u202fday operations\u202finstead\u202fof having a lot of assessments\u202fthat you can\u2019t implement\u202fbecause you have no time. Learning and growing with the organisation enables\u202fyou to implement progressively what is needed instead\u202fof copying whatever\u202fthey have in another\u202forganisation.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In that case, what question does Schelling ask himself on a study visit to, say, the English Premier League or Australian Football League? \u201cThere are two questions\u202fthat are key for\u202fme regarding data management and technology, and\u202fI\u2019ve\u202fbeen lucky enough to visit\u202fsome of the top\u202fsporting organisations\u202fin the world,\u201d he begins in reply. \u201cBut the most important\u202frecurring questions\u202fare what\u2019s\u202fthe workflow? When the\u202fplayer\u202fwalks\u202finto the facility, what is\u202fthe\u202fday for\u202fthem, from the\u202fplayer\u2019s\u202fperspective? With whom\u202fdo they interact in terms\u202fof\u202fpeople? With which technology\u202fdo they interact? And\u202fhow\u202fdo\u202fplayers, and staff,\u202fdigest the information that is\u202fbeing collected? What\u2019s\u202fthe level of interaction with staff and technology? How\u202fdo they\u202fdigest the information? Is\u202fit reported on-demand or available for everyone once a day, week or\u202fmaybe\u202fit\u2019s\u202fnever.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe other\u202fquestion is: what\u2019s\u202fyour\u202fcriteria for\u202fimplementing new technology? Technology not just\u202fbeing a\u202fdevice but a\u202freporting tool, for\u202finstance. What is\u202fyour\u202freason for\u202fintroducing whatever\u202ftracking\u202fsystem you use?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that knowing the\u202fperspective of the\u202fplayer\u202fand\u202fknowing your\u202fcriteria gives\u202fyou a very good\u202fpicture of what is\u202fthe\u202freasoning\u202fbehind\u202fwhoever\u202fis\u202fleading the\u202fdepartment. You can extrapolate that question to, \u2018OK, if you are more focused\u202fon front office or\u202fmore focused\u202fon coaches, then it\u2019s\u202fuseful to ask what\u202fthe daily workflow is like for\u202fa coach?\u2019\u202fBecause that will give you lots\u202fof information. \u2018Is\u202fthis\u202fcoach\u202fsomeone who, likes to have every morning a report on his desk on yesterday\u2019s session? No, this\u202fis\u202fa guy who likes\u202fa tablet or\u202fa video or\u202fhe hates\u202fnumbers\u202fand\u202fjust wants\u202fone meeting?\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Or\u202fthe front office, how are\u202fdecisions\u202fmade in the front office? Is\u202fthis\u202fa collective\u202fdecision or\u202fa\u202freport-based\u202fdecision?\u2019 If you try to ask whoever\u202fyou visit: \u2018OK, tell me how the\u202fstakeholder\u202flives\u202fone\u202fday and\u202fhow\u202f you implement\u202freports, technology or\u202fdevices,\u202fit\u2019s\u202fgoing to give you a good\u202fpicture of how organisations\u202fare\u202frun.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When will we finally be able to model injury?<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Athlete availability and game readiness are priorities for performance teams, with recovery and injury the greatest physiological concerns. But how close is sport and data to being able to predict injury occurrence?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think we are a fair way away from being able to model injury,\u201d admits Andrew Gray, the High Performance Manager of Wests Tigers, who has worked with a number of teams across Australia, and is the Founder and Director of the Athletic Data Innovations consultancy. \u201cI don\u2019t know if that will ever happen and I have issues with modelling injury. The variability in the data and the fact that not enough injuries occur these days to give any data model enough power there.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I do think we need to do is understand\u202fchange. Using tech and data to understand\u202fchange and then using experience to understand what that\u202fchange might be from and then intervene on the\u202fchange; I think that\u2019s what\u2019s most important.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you intervene on the\u202fchange then you\u2019re more likely to keep the right path rather than just waddle through injury\u202fand think the model is\u202fgoing to take\u202fcare of everything. If you\u2019re modelling for\u202fchange and you\u2019re working on each individual player\u2019s area of weakness, then I think over time you\u2019re\u202fgoing to keep a better path and\u202fcreate more resilient, robust athletes. Hopefully, they\u2019re also\u202fgoing to take more responsibility for their own preparation.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Looking for more performance insight?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Performance<\/em> 21<\/em> is available for download now and leads with a selection of insights lifted from our At Home With Leaders podcast series, which has featured the likes of England Rugby\u2019s Eddie Jones<\/strong>, the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 Mark Shapiro<\/strong>, and Chelsea\u2019s Emma Hayes<\/strong> speaking directly from their home offices.<\/p>\n