I'm looking to create or download a form that records each touch a player has during a game in regards to maintaining possession. Not a typical tryout evaluation form but something with specifics like- Received pass -- dribbled --- turnover tackled to win ball -- pass -- complete 50/50 win -- dribble -- pass -- turnover Basically how you get the ball: received, tackled, 50/50 what you do with it: dribble, pass, shoot the result: complete, turnover, shot This is effort to show players how effective they are at maintaining possession during a game or practice. Obviously there are other factors that this won't show- mainly, off the ball movement, which plays a huge roll in possession but I think this type of data would be helpful. Am I missing anything?
I created a similar list: Minutes played Passes completed Tackles won Interceptions 50/50 balls won Shots away from GK (drawing a distinction between "shots on goal", because we have a lot of shots that go right to the keeper) Defenders beaten off dribble Dangerous crosses I like your "received pass" because that is not a gimme by any means. This list kind of came about as a worksheet for parents. A different way to watch your kid/the game. I think it would give them a better idea of what their kid does on the pitch.
That's exactly what I'm planning to do with it- have the parents check the boxes for each touch their kid makes..
You are missing location on the field. I suggest that you only record touches in the opponent's half of the field. That is a simple objective way to eliminate all meaningless possession. You are also missing some value for effectiveness. Effectiveness is largely subjective, except for tracking assists and goals.
Not sure I can trust parents to grade "effectiveness" of their child's actions. I could be wrong. For example, yesterday, we were playing a "scrimmage" type game (7v5, half field). At first the CBs would start play from midfield, going in on goal, and they were making risky passes. I suggested they pass back and forth to each other—to draw defenders out—I wonder how a parent would score that on effectiveness.
Some parents would inflate their child's score just out of habit without any relationship to play. I generally don't rely on even another coach's opinion. (It isn't a matter of trust--so much of what we see is difficult to describe.) I certainly would not trust a parent's evaluation as a rule.
Seems to me that if you want a truly objective evaluation, a game would not be ideal since the opposing player is not a constant. Eg- A kid facing a fast competitor in 1v1 will have a harder time than a kid facing a slow competitor, so to compare the stats of each would be apples to oranges. That said I think it's good to track these game metrics for stats purposes. But if to use in evaluation, I would think you'd want to look at each kids performance in a controlled environment.
maybe...but I'd expect the player after losing 2 or 3 1v1 to the same kid to have a page that looked like this recv - 1v1 - tackled recv - 1v1- tackled recv -1v1- tackeld recv - pass - complete - recv -shot (maybe a give and go?) recv - pass - complete - 50/50 - pass - complete (I was smart, the donkeys I play with kicked it away as did the opposing donkeys but I got it back and was smart again ) If it doesn't, you need to have "a talk". Sometimes it's helpful if you can show the black hole they lost the ball 30 times. The 1 time their 1v3 worked is Hawking radiation - nobody expected it and it doesn't really change the larger story that they are where possession can not escape
Only during tryouts does a development coach compare players to other players. Otherwise the coach compares the players to themselves looking for improvement. Science defines talent in terms of rate of improvement, not current performance. The most talented individuals are those that improve the fastest compared to their peers.
I think I understand. Though, even if you take a particular player and assess him over the span of 10 games, there still may be high variability in stats due to the randomness of the game situation. I would do something more controlled, in a practice. Pass him 10 balls, what % does he bring under control? This % should increase over time. Do a pass/shoot test - what is his % accuracy? Esp if parents are doing this, will be very hard to get good data. They want to watch their kid, that will be their natural inclination, not to jot down stats. So if they do it I think there will be many gaps in the data. Though I do agree that it would be a good exercise for the parents to gain more understanding.
If the parents have the wherewithal to get this data that would nice, but I doubt they can/will do it with much integrity, esp in a game where they will be intently and emotionally watching their kid. Maybe it is better to videotape the game and then coach or assistant can take their time in assessing each player. Can stop, rewind, etc with ease.
Ultimately what many coaches do is make subjective judgments of a players performance. Especially during tryouts, they may be systematic about their observations and records, but it doesn't change the subjective nature of the judgments. If a coach is unable to make a subjective judgment about a player's performance, then I don't see how that coach is going to be able to interpret data in any meaningful way. When people talk about analyzing data, I can't help but recall the fiasco of the English FA theory of long ball attacks 40 years ago by Charles Hughes, Charles Reep, and others. I have worked with accounting experts and others forming opinions based on data and statistical analysis and I have coached and played soccer. I don't believe there is any overlap in the two activities. For example, there is a record somewhere of exactly how far every US player in the last World Cup Finals ran during each match. I am a firm believer that how far someone runs is meaningless. What is important is when and where you go. The data isn't useless because it can be used to manage fatigue. But it is useless regarding judging how well someone played.
I liken the distance covered data to someone driving around LOST. The person that covered less miles wasn't a worse driver—she just knew how to get to where she was going.