News Collingwood Football Club using "big data analytics"

[good4footy]

Why do people always make comments like everything is mutually exclusive? Like doing one thing precludes another?

So much this. "We need serious change".....nek min et... "Hang on they are making changes to excuses / cover things"

I am more shocked that we haven't been using this sort of system already. It smacks of large ego's who think they don't need analytics because they 'know better' or ineptness to not do everything possible to get results.

 

[BringouttheGimp]

Wait...our coaching panel have been going off "gut feel" all this time?

I just...I....ugh.

We can trick the coaching panel by paying em Monopoly money they're that thick.

 

[General Soreness]

It is an interesting one. Thats a very basic pull quote, but it does suggest we had sign-off on the story and maybe Collingwood media would have been consulted.

Normally when you are doing this kind of thing you have contract protections requiring no publicity or use of name or trademark without approval from your contract partner. Analytics can be cowboy heavy though so nothing is guaranteed.

A fellow technical officer at my university had this problem recently. The university was looking to acquire some sports analytics hardware and my friend would be responsible for it. They had settled on one supplier and asked for a quote, and happened to check the supplier's website and found (surprise surprise) the supplier had already loaded our logo onto their website as a "valued partner" and put out a release.

Analytics is the coming thing here though. I posted last year about this time on it, Collingwood had a big presence at a sports analytics conference in Melb and it was clear we were heading in this direction both on field and off. I'm told we had a decent presence there again this year, and it was only a couple of weeks ago.

https://www.analyticsinsport.com/australia/

Thanks for the reply. That the club might have had some say in the story getting published doesn't surprise me really, so I don't find that point very interesting. That data is being used more and more isn't really a surprise either - it's just an example of a trend that's been growing for a long time. What I would have found interesting is some clues to the sorts of questions that I am interested in.

 

[76woodenspooners]

And given that data includes biometric data such as heart rate associated with athlete performance and health, may well be in breach of both the Health Records Act 2001 and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 without even knowing it.

It's a simple matter to de-identify the data. Anybody qualified to look at the results of the data will know to do that?

 

[legendstatus]

Listening to Treloar on the run home about rotation was really interesting
Basically said he didn't want to come off after being on for 5 mins and told the runner to go away but was forced to get off because of sport science data ( something like that )
FMD what's happen up this game.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Bad Horse]

It's a simple matter to de-identify the data. Anybody qualified to look at the results of the data will know to do that?

De-identification at the analysis stage doesnt usually absolve you of responsibility for protection under the health records act in relation to obligations for data security, data quality and data retention nor for informed consent. Have to check but dont think it is as simple as de-identification cures all ills. Its just people assume it does. obligations accrue from collection, and even if the collection itself is de-identified (which it cant be if its doing its job here) still you have those basic requirements.

Hypothetically if the data is exported to a third party host, without adequate protections enforced on data security, quality, integrity and retention, you have a problem. Also, may have to demonstrate that the informed consent contemplated the data export.

In addition, if you have subjects under 18, you are in very murky waters.

 

[76woodenspooners]

I think de-identification doesnt necessarily resolve you of responsibility for protection under the health records act at least in relation to obligations for data security, data quality and data retention. Have to check but dont think it is as simple as de-identification cures all ills. Its just people assume it does.

We are dealing with an industry that goes on national television and says things like "Travis Varcoe is out for two weeks with a hamstring injury" so it appears that the players have signed away their privacy rights under the Health Records Act?

 

[WatsamattaU]

I've spoken to many people in the industry about analytics in the clubs and it's still quite primitive. The Bulldogs are miles ahead of everyone in this space as they have access to a whole university's worth of students and staff.

Hawthorn is probably second and then there are the likes of Collingwood, Essendon etc who have analysts but aren't doing anything ground breaking.

Most of the small Melbourne clubs have no interest or have no money for this and the coaches go off gut feel.

There is a lot of exaggeration when clubs say they utilize analytics because in reality the quality of analysis is miles off the standard used in the business sector.

 

[Mongo Ming]

Not sure how "stats and data" teach our coaching staff how to not:
*coach blokes to chain handballs into an ever closing corridor of opposition players
*Go into our shells every time we kick a 5-6 goal burst
*allow ridiculously easy opp goals once a shitty chip kick goes over our "rebounding wall"

FFS.. any risk of us getting a ruck coach or a skills coach that can actually kick himself?

Stats can kiss my Perineal raphe.

They may show us Mayne was the worst trade in history.. but that ship has sailed.

That article sounds like the best propaganda piece since those North Korean "super hovercrafts."

 

[MagpieJoel]

So, basically we've out sourced our data storage to a third party increasing capacity and retrieval speed.

Yeah probably.

 

[MagpieJoel]

Not sure how "stats and data" teach our coaching staff how to not:
*coach blokes to chain handballs into an ever closing corridor of opposition players
*Go into our shells every time we kick a 5-6 goal burst
*allow ridiculously easy opp goals once a shitty chip kick goes over our "rebounding wall"

FFS.. any risk of us getting a ruck coach or a skills coach that can actually kick himself?

Stats can kiss my Perineal raphe.

They may show us Mayne was the worst trade in history.. but that ship has sailed.

That article sounds like the best propaganda piece since those North Korean "super hovercrafts."

Again, why do you assume one precludes the other? Why can't you also coach better at the same time? The sort go response is folly.

 

[DrDavoren]

So we have money to spend when it comes to looking at stats but we wont spend money on ruck coaches or a bigger better recruiting team etc.
Priorities not right if you ask me.
Sure spend money to get any advantage you can, but make sure you are covering all the basics first.

Spot on if we are fair dinkum we should flaunt our wealth and spend big where others can't or won't. Sure you pay more tax but so what, we need the best ruck coach to take advantage of Grundy and Cox, we need a miracle worker or skills coach to get better kicking and skills in general.

Couldn't care less if we have a CFC tiddlywinks team or not we need to get this great club great again playing football and winning premierships.

Make it happen

 

[Mongo Ming]

Again, why do you assume one precludes the other? Why can't you also coach better at the same time? The sort go response is folly.

Huh?

 

[MagpieJoel]

Huh?

Using data analytics does not mean you can't also coach better, or teach skills better. It doesn't stop us doing other things.

 

[Mongo Ming]

Using data analytics does not mean you can't also coach better, or teach skills better.

Agree.. unfortunately it hasn't up to this point. As the "biggest club in the land" if we weren't accessing the best data and translating it into real game day results up to this point, what the hell has the FD been doing? Doing tequila laybacks in the boardroom? Sounds like spin to make it look like admin are actually doing something constructive.

 

[Obese Arachnid]

Wouldn't it be easier to just sack the coach?

FMD talk about trying to pull out any rabbit.

 

[MagpieJoel]

Agree.. unfortunately it hasn't up to this point. As the "biggest club in the land" if we weren't accessing the best data and translating it into real game day results up to this point, what the hell has the FD been doing? Doing tequila laybacks in the boardroom? Sounds like spin to make it look like admin are actually doing something constructive.

I take the view that it's just another piece of the puzzle. There is more to do to pull it altogether. But I won't criticise this just because we aren't doing other things (yet) that we need to do.

 

[swoop42]

Big dong analytics would do a better job of clearing out the corridor thus allowing for an easier passage up the middle.

 

[Mongo Ming]

I take the view that it's just another piece of the puzzle. There is more to do to pull it altogether. But I won't criticise this just because we aren't doing other things (yet) that we need to do.

I want to clarify I'm not arguing with you on this. I agree we need to use whatever it takes in this professional sport environment to get a competitive edge. But gee whiz there's a few other areas we need to concentrate on first.. and why is this being announced prior to all the review results? That's what gets me suspect on it being a smokescreen.

 

[Mongo Ming]

Big dong analytics would do a better job of clearing out the corridor thus allowing for an easier passage up the middle.

Does Ron Jeremy run that company?

 

[Vicky Park]

Our data is not 'big'. Its just data. Nothing wrong with it being analysed, but I'm feeling a bit of a con going on here, from a company aiming to screw us over.

 

[swoop42]

The reality is even if we get a 1% boost in performance because of this mob other clubs would soon follow suit and any advantage would be lost.

Great coaches, first rate development, a happy environment and intelligent recruitment is what will make the difference.

 

[MagpieJoel]

I want to clarify I'm not arguing with you on this. I agree we need to use whatever it takes in this professional sport environment to get a competitive edge. But gee whiz there's a few other areas we need to concentrate on first.. and why is this being announced prior to all the review results? That's what gets me suspect on it being a smokescreen.

I don't think it was announced. I'd suggest that the company we are using simply put out a media release.

 

[Chameleon75]

Our data is not 'big'. Its just data. Nothing wrong with it being analysed, but I'm feeling a bit of a con going on here, from a company aiming to screw us over.

Data can illuminate or obscure, it's how it's analysed. Having more data doesn't help if it's mostly white noise that makes it harder to identify the bits of the data that are critical, sometimes it's best to be discriminating lest you get drawn into the Forrest and trees scenario.

 

[neilk]

Interesting. I do support for Pure Storage in Australia so might some trips to the Holden centre.