The Ins and Outs of Sports Analysis: What Works for Teams and Their Rivals

Match analysis is an important part of any team and their rivals' performances. Teams use information collected during matches to help them improve, while rival teams can use match analysis to learn new strategies and tactics or to simply scout potential threats and weaknesses within the team and their style of play. However, not all match analysis methods are created equal, which means teams can vary in how useful the data they collect really is to them when it comes to improving performance and winning games.

What to look for when analysing players

The simplest way to analyse a player is to use a bit of shorthand. Are they big? Young? Experienced? With that, you can figure out how valuable a given player will be over time. A rookie small forward who’s never played professional basketball might not seem like much—but if he’s young and hungry, it’s easy to predict he’ll improve quickly. An ageing veteran centre will likely fade in effectiveness more slowly. Finally, don't discount experience in your analyses; while raw talent always matters, having more experience on your team gives you added flexibility and an advantage against other players whose careers are still just beginning.

Where to find data online

Finding data to fuel your competitive analysis will depend on your chosen sport. For example, tennis stats can be found on live websites such as TennisTV or at their source in sites like the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) or Women's Tennis Association (WTA). The same goes for other professional leagues—for example, Major League Baseball's website is a trove of stats from all 30 clubs. Whatever you find, make sure you know where it’s coming from and have access to more than one source. If you suspect foul play in any way, that’s a major red flag. If you feel uneasy about potential bias when doing your own research, feel free to ask others who follow that sport to get some insight into whether there are any better options out there.

How to use data when analysing games

Now that you’ve been watching for a while, you probably have a few specific things that stand out to you as being especially important when it comes to analysing performance. But how do you put that into data? There are actually several ways, but let’s use shots on Cric Gator goal as an example. If a team takes 15 shots on goal during a game (and allows 15 against), how do we say which team is better? The best way to account for differences in shooting efficiency is by using a metric called expected goals, or xG. Using expected Cric Gator goals ensures that we can take into account both the quality of chances created and those allowed across all games at once.

How to analyse games with data as a starting point

There are a lot of ways to analyse games using data. Some use it as a starting point and some use it as a foundation on which to build. However, regardless of your method, there are key principles you should follow when analysing matches. At its core, analysis is about discovering whether past performance is indicative of future success or if another set of factors has come into play. If you can come up with new insights into how things work in your chosen sport (and apply them effectively), you're one step closer to putting yourself ahead in any game situation.

Which stats matter most

Sports analysts crunch numbers to come up with all sorts of stats. But some states matter more than others. One way to tell which stats really matter is by looking at which ones show up in newspaper articles, on ESPN, or any other outlet that covers a sport. It's these types of stats—also known as play-by-play data—that provide insight into how a team operates during actual games. Examples include touchdowns per game, first downs per game, and punt return yards per attempt. While it may seem like you have to be an advanced maths student to understand these statistics, once you know how they're calculated, they’re easier to understand than you might think!