Figuring out how and why to use performance metrics while coaching can be challenging. Here are three ways that tracking performance metrics can help your team improve.
If you are a football fan, you have probably heard the term “analytics” at least once or twice a game over the last few years. Any key play or 4th down is sure to be accompanied with “if you go by the analytics, you have to take a shot here.”
With so much interest in analytics, we decided to take a deep dive into the data and explain three ways that tracking performance metrics can help your team improve.
Performance metrics refer to the data tracked to determine the success of a business or a project. In terms of sports, performance metrics can be analyzed individually and on a team basis, but the overall concept remains the same.
Performance metrics can be the difference between winning and losing. If you understand the data, you can develop training plans for athletes or tweak your current schemes to prepare for an upcoming game. The first step is understanding what it is you should be focusing on.
On an individual basis, performance metrics refer to things like speed, acceleration, distance covered, or strength. You may want to record different data based on the position you are analyzing.
For a running back, you may be more concerned with acceleration and speed, and for a player on the offensive line, you may care more about their speed out of their stance and strength.
Once you identify the metrics that you want to key in on, you can then use the data that you collect during practice and games and cater them to specific athletes. This is the best way to develop smart goals for individual athletes.
When applied to a team, the concept is very similar; however, the key difference is that you do not single out a particular athletic metric like speed. When applied to a team, the key is to focus more on trends than a specific athlete and try to add all their stats.
For example, some key performance metrics for a team could be their tendency to go for fourth down attempts. Another metric could be their tendency to go for two-point conversions.
When coaches apply performance metrics to the team and individual, the data you collect is invaluable and will lead you to make the most informed decisions on and off the field.
Below are our top three ways that tracking performance metrics can help your team improve.
One of, if not the most, essential benefits of performance metrics is that it offers a coach objective data to make decisions. Tracking metrics allows you to identify trends for your team and opponents.
Football is a game of chess, not checkers. As a coach, you always want to ensure you are one step ahead of your opponent. Tracking performance metrics helps you avoid being predictable.
On the same note, tracking trends helps you make real-time decisions when the game matters the most!
In addition to tracking trends during the game, you can use metrics to develop game plans and shape practice to get the best out of your players. We’ve all heard the age-old adage, “practice like you play.” Tracking this data gives you the tools to better understand “how you play.”
Once you have this data, you can start to develop what schemes to use against your opponent and determine whether or not your players are recovering correctly throughout the week of practice.
The season is long and can be very taxing on your players’ bodies. By tracking recovery, you can determine what days are best for your hard practices to ensure your players are ready for game day!
Tracking metrics may seem very overwhelming at first, but with advances in technology, there are several ways you can track metrics without having to do it yourself.
Our Athlogic software does just that. It provides near real-time data that puts you back in the driver’s seat and lets you focus more on coaching than crunching numbers.
If you would like more information on tracking metrics or how Athlogic can help you and your team, the team at Athlogic is happy to help.
