Adidas MiCoach to track player performance in MLS All-Star game

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland....html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2012-04-10

I just, I've got nothing to say

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

Something tells me that this has already been used in military applications...
If I was a conspiracy nut, then I would look at this technology's deployment in the sports world as the beta test. See how it works in a real world setting and determine how comfortable people are with it. Then I would jump to the conclusion that this is just a step on the path to making this technology part of everyday apparel and government tracking. If I was a conspiracy nut, that is.

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

Several sports and brands have done similar things. UnderArmour and Nike have both done things. I think UA even did something with the NFL combine last year.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPV_BhHZcQ8"]A Look Inside the UA E39 - YouTube[/ame]

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

Why is such a popular opinion on this site to be against new ideas/technologies?

I'll never forget a year or so ago the genius on this site who told me he was smarter than stats, and only used ones that agreed with him.

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

It's not just this site, it's soccer in general. The reason we're weary of statistics is because the statistics we have aren't good. When we talk about sport statistics, the gold standard is baseball.

There are a remarkably small, finite number of situations that can happen in baseball, and each has happened hundreds if not thousands of times before. There are only 7 different configurations of baserunners, 9 innings, and 3 possible number of outs. Broken down, each at bat is one of 189 possible situations. Even with bases and balls put in, each pitch is one of only 2,268 possibilities. Top 4, man on first and third, 2 balls, 1 strike has happened a sufficient number of times that we know exactly what statistics should suggest happens and when something out of that ordinary happens, we can check it.

Soccer, on the other hand, has a seemingly infinite number of different situations. With 22 men on the pitch, each occupying a space of (say) 1 sq yd, there are 8,150 different places a player can be. Assuming there are only 2 people on the pitch, there are over 15 million situations. Put in a third player, you're talking over 122 billion situations! When you finally put in the numbers for all 22 players, you're talk over 8*10^23 possible situations. For those of you less mathematically inclined, that's over 800 Septillion different positions the players can be in, not at all accounting for the fact that the ball is in any of those positions, and in three dimensions.

Soccer stats will always suck because the game can't be broken down like that.

Not sure where to post this. SoccerAmerica's Paul Gardner says that Adidas is going to implement a new live soccer metrics, performance tracking system during the MLS All-Star game.

MiCoach is a “professional soccer team tracking system, the next step in player performance analysis technology ... [which] provides coaches with real time performance metrics on the field of play, including player position, power output, speed, distance covered, intensity of play, acceleration and GPS heat mapping.”

I believe his blog is open to the public at:
http://www.socceramerica.com/article/46309/the-latest-greatest-hi-tech-bs.html

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

I disagree. If Messi has a burst of speed and splits multiple defenders for a goal, I think it would be cool to add stats which includes his acceleration in comparison to the defenders.

For the fans perspective, I think stats could be used for segments like Sports Science or some other video breakdowns that are used in other sports. I think it could also be used for substitutions and tactics too.

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

Stats aren't useful because so far there aren't any to look at. Goals, assists, ground covered..is that it so far?

More stats equals more information, and more information can't be a bad thing. Even in baseball a manager still goes with his gut. The stats are there to guide him, not do his job.

Count me in as not seeing the problem with this.

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

A pretty successful GM in Oakland would disagree with this assessment

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

One reason why I would be debating too much use of such technology, for example, is because it makes refs more and more obsolete and in consequence reduces the elements of luck and tackling in the game. It starts with offsides, "Wembley goals" and instant replays, and in the end everything becomes so over-meassured that you can't compare it to the soccer games you'd play in the backjard anymore. Not to mention the difference it would create between wealthier leagues and poorer leagues, etc.

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

Or, more importantly (at least to IFAB) makes the game look nothing like what a 1st Division Lesotho tie would look like

http://www.mlssoccer.com/all-star/2...-star-game-be-worlds-first-smart-soccer-match

Here's the league's release on it.

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

A) We're not talking about that. The discussion is about tracking stats. Tracking stats doesn't affect "luck" or whatever you thought you were talking about.

B) Properly tracking goals is not a bad idea regardless of the fact that you can't do that in your backyard. Your backyard games don't have millions of dollars on the line.

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

So stats do the entire job in baseball? You sure? You should check that.

Side note, but you have to like the fact that a commercial was kicked off youtube for possible copyright violation.

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

Just to give an example: If you put a chip in the ball and a chip in every shoe than you could also track which player is first on the ball. That could have an impact on the judgement of fouls etc. and therefore reduces the element of luck of the payer that gets away with a foul. The more refined technology gets, the less human will it make the game if you implement everything that is possible.

A) As soon as everything can be tracked and shown on TV, discussed by fans and media, the pressure on FAs and refs grows to make use of the data. As soon as the ref is not just a human trying to judge the situation but a computer assisted soccer-bot, the game looses one of the things that make it exciting.

B) I simply do not agree with this, but still see your point. In my opinion however, the players are of course on a higher level and the equipment is better in top-flight football, but the game should still stay the same.

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

keep the goalposts in the ground ...

... that pretty successful GM in Oakland went with the stats over everything else, and you know that.

Pretty bad example.

I mean, I could get to the ball first and at the same time snap your leg in multiple pieces. Also, "getting the ball" doesn't mean it isn't a foul.

Allow me to help... here it is...

Re: 2012 Jersey/Kit/Uniform Leaks?

Billy Beane, using statistics alone and ignoring 'gut', won 103 games for a cost of $41m. The Yankees won the same number of games at a cost of $125m.

There's an argument to be made there, so let's not pretend that your opinion is the cut-and-dry "fact". (Just like I won't pretend that Beane's opinion is cut-and-dry fact)

WTF is Coyote Kisses Corp?