After more than 3 incredible years this will be my last week at
@InterMiamiCF
.
I'm proud of the analytics structures we've put in place and I feel so lucky to have been able work with a wonderful staff and under one of the best sporting directors in the game in
@19Hendy19
.
Excited to announce that Jan 31-Feb 1 will be the inaugural American Soccer Insights Summit hosted in Houston, Texas by Rice University. Speakers will range from academics to soccer analytics industry veterans and senior front office staff.
Two excellent conferences from
@StatsBomb
and
@catapultsports
this week in London - organisers on both sides put together seamless events with great talks.
Three big takeaways on the current state of analytics from the week:
The pushback from the analytics community to physical stats - in all sports not just hockey - feels like a fundamental misunderstanding of the direction analytics is going.
We should be asking how the physical and biomechanic interacts with tactics and player value.
Listen I love stats and information & it rarely hurts, but I need every NHL broadcast to know that I have NEVER wondered how many miles a skater has traveled or what their average speed was during a game
From The Archive
At the 2022
#StatsBombConference
, Inter Miami Director of Analytics Sam Gregory delivered his talk titled "What I've Learned Building An Analytics Department"
@GregorydSam
Had a great time on
@chrisgill_UK
's podcast talking about soccer analytics, my work at clubs (and now a federation) and how to break into the industry.
โ๏ธNEW VIDEOโ๏ธ
Happy to share the latest instalment of the podcast, a great chat with
@GregorydSam
, the current Director of Analytics for US Soccer.
Sam is fairly new to this role but is in the process of building out a strong analytics department and has a wealth of experience
It was inevitable that we were going to start seeing clubs identify the value of hiring someone from the analytics world as a Sporting Director.
Hard to think of anyone better placed and prepared to make that jump than
@Mladen_Sormaz
- congratulations!
๐ค Barnsley Football Club is pleased to confirm the appointment of Mladen Sormaz as our new Sporting Director, the first appointment of its kind in the Clubโs history.
Really well-done video here from DW Kick Off highlighting the way racial bias affects how we watch football with a summary of some of our work from "Pace and Power".
Southamptonโs Natasha Patel has been appointed Director of Analytics for US Soccer, working with their menโs, womenโs and youth teams.
@tp0603
@SouthamptonFC
#SaintsFC
Mark was one of the people who embraced data the most at the club and challenged us to improve when the data wasn't giving us what we needed.
I learned so much from working with him and sure he will be a huge asset to where ever he ends up next!
My time with
@InterMiamiCF
has come to an end. I wish everyone involved with the club the best of luck moving forward. Looking forward to taking some down time before starting the next project.
An amazing achievement for Austin and in particular
@BrettUttley
in his first year as a professional head coach - one of the smartest soccer minds Iโve ever worked with.
Congratulations Brett!
2. Womenโs football analytics is growing at an incredible rate, for this first time this week I met aspiring analysts whose goals werenโt just working in football but specifically working in the womenโs game.
Registration is now open for the 2025 American Soccer Insights Summit!
Early registration features a 10% discount and is available until December 1, or until we sell out. Student-priced registrations are limited, so students are encouraged not to delay registration.
Link in bio
1. Relying on one data source to make recruitment decisions is a thing of the past - all the best modern data infrastructures are combining multiple data sources/providers.
3. We all understand communication and translation is important but the key to make big strides to data isnโt just getting decision makers onside with using data but actually refining that decision making process itself considering risk, biases, value etc.
I understand that the stats mentioned here "miles skated" and "average speed" aren't going to answer these questions. But aligning the models we use in analytics with player physical outputs and capacity are crucial in understanding how we can develop better athletes.
๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
Lexington Sporting Club is thrilled to announce Darren Powell as the ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ of our USL League One squad! ๐
Read about the signing here ๐ฐ:
#LexGo
@analyseFooty
@mixedknuts
@Banouby
Last year I discovered one lap around Wembley is exactly 1km - which is fun because you can see how quickly you are gaining or losing vs all of the people running the opposite direction of you
@Robertson_SJ
@StanParker_
@duthieg
So many interesting questions to consider off the back of this paper and a useful framework for thinking about these areas of research as player movement data sets become larger and more complex - great work ๐
Hard to sum up the legacy of Christine Sinclair but there is no one who has done more for Canadian soccer than her - an absolute legend.
Don't think it's an exaggeration to say without her Canada doesn't host 2015 Women's World Cup or 2026 Men's World Cup.
๐๐
@JeffDSalisbury
I presume eventually they would ask for money but I was just tipped off by a parent whose child said that this account had offered them a trial and follow up.