Sports Performance Analysis
Analyzing sports activities represents a critical element in the future success of the team and its performance. Performance analysis in sports serves as an instrument for the coaches to determine the effectiveness of the players, their strong and weak sides, potential tactics, and others. According to Nelson and Groom (2012:687), ongoing analysis helps to generate “vital information for the prescription of training and rehabilitation programs.” Thus, analyzing the performance of the team, and sometimes of the opposing team, provides valuable data for further coaching techniques and about the aspects that require additional attention. The purpose of this paper is to observe qualitative and quantitative analyses of sporting performance, and reliability, objectivity, and validity in sports performance evaluation.
First, it is crucial to identify the essence of sports performance analysis, its purpose, and its value in football. The emergence of the necessity to analyze performance in sports came when the amount and type of practice became significant components in the success of a team (Hendry and Hodges, 2013). In such a way, the coaches had to find the best training methods that would also be optimal for the players to achieve high results.
As a result, the analysis of performance became an integral technique, in which actual performance is analyzed “through observation of the performance which could be live or post-competition” (O’Donoghue, 2014:4). Hence, coaches started to see value in conducting observation and analyzing the findings because it generates useful suggestions.
It is also essential to understand that performance analysis is widely used in different types of sports. The primary purpose of the examination of performance is to gather evidence that will be utilized to make decisions about training and practice (O’Donoghue, 2014). Moreover, performance analysis contributes to overcoming the limited recall of coaches, in case they rely only on personal observations (O’Donoghue, 2014). In other words, various qualitative and quantitative analysis methods are actively used to withdraw information that will be valid and accurate, which helps coaches and athletes to make different decisions.
Quantitative Analysis of Sporting Performance
Quantitative analysis provides objective information gathered from monitoring and evaluating sporting performance. The quantitative examination of performance in sports includes match statistics, charts, and diagrams portraying the events’ locations, and other useful aspects of the game (O’Donoghue and Mayes, 2013). Collected numbers and activities help to determine the areas of the sports performance that require additional focus and to come up with the most effective playing tactics.
Different quantitative methods allow collecting such data as the number of passes made and the number of passes reaching a player, which can be converted into a percentage (O’Donoghue, 2014). Thus, conducting this type of analysis generates a substantial amount of information that the coaches and other parties involved can use for the benefit of the team’s future performance.
Different approaches to quantitative analysis exist in the field, and one of the most used ones is notational analysis. Notational evaluation represents an objective technique of recording the critical elements of performance so that they “can be quantified validly and consistently” (Nelson and Groom, 2012:688). It is crucial to gather structured feedback through notational analysis because it can provide the answers and recommendations for the fundamental aspects of the game.
Today, working analysts use both hand and computerized notation systems, which allows conducting tactical and technical evaluation and movement analysis, and developing a database and necessary models (Hughes and Bartlett, 2015). Thus, the notational method of quantitative analysis offers numerous advantages for coaching and helps to collect large volumes of information. However, it is crucial to remember about possible errors that can occur with the usage of applied software and that this approach can miss on environmental and other significant factors in the game.
Another approach of quantitative analysis in sporting performance is time-motion. This type of evaluation focuses on the quantitative side of the characteristics of the player’s activity and movement throughout the game and “seeks to understand the physical component of sporting performance” (Nelson and Groom, 2012:688). Hence, the time-motion method emphasizes the significance of the individual’s movement patterns and aims to examine the physical capabilities and weaknesses of the player. The Time-motion technique involves various tools that help to conduct precise analysis without missing any details.
With technological advancements, professionals started to incorporate such tools as satellite tracking, multiple procedures for automatic monitoring, and different electronic devices (Carling et al., 2012). The Time-motion method is a practical technique that can provide reliable and pertinent data. Still, this type of analysis focuses on a single player, which implies substantial time and labor resources involved.
Qualitative Analysis of Sporting Performance
In comparison to quantitative analysis, qualitative evaluation provides subjective observations and has been criticized because of potential inaccuracy and the presence of personal bias and emotions. Qualitative analysis of sporting performance includes such methods as individual interviews, ethnography, focus groups studies, and observations (O’Donoghue, 2014). Hence, the coaches or other observers evaluate the team’s or player’s performance based on their knowledge and preferences, which can create prepossessions and generate subjective findings.
Still, qualitative analysis can be interpretive and naturalistic, offers “a detailed description of how athletes make sense of their world”, and accounts “for the athlete’s subjective experience” (Poizat et al., 2013:310). Qualitative methods of evaluating performance in sports allow seizing more complex moments and aspects of the game and the players and noticing the insights of the changes and significant movements.
Qualitative analysis is widely used along with quantitative methods in sports performance observation. According to Nelson and Groom (2012), qualitative evaluation remains to occupy a substantial part in coaches’ activities, and they highlight its significance. In other words, many coaches believe that this type of analysis can provide the aspects of athletic performance that might be invisible in the quantitative findings.
It is also suggested that coaches continue to integrative qualitative observation methods because it offers detailed feedback, integrates the points about biomechanics and motor development, and touches tactical and behavioral aspects (Nelson and Groom, 2012). Therefore, the qualitative analysis offers an understanding of numerous elements involved in athletic performance, which makes it practical within the field. However, besides being subjective, qualitative approaches also imply dependency on the observer, their knowledge and expertise, emotions, and personal position.
Professional coaches and observers aim to provide useful qualitative analysis and feedback, which can be done through the four stages. A practical qualitative assessment includes preparation, observation, evaluation and diagnosis, and intervention (Knudson, 2013). Thus, throughout the four stages, it is possible to conduct adequate analysis and develop improvement strategies. Moreover, it is beneficial to integrate various technical tools throughout the observation and evaluation stages.
For example, recording the videos can be a useful technique because it allows to have access to the sequence of events and activities and “facilitates qualitative analysis of motion technique” (Baca and Grober, 2020:185). Hence, this four-stage model allows going through necessary steps of performance, and includes knowledge and relevant strategies, different types of observation, helps to identify strengths and weaknesses and come up with appropriate strategies.
Reliability and Sports Performance Analysis
Other crucial elements in sporting performance analysis are reliability, objectivity, and validity. As far as different examination techniques do not involve “fully automated data capture,” it is possible that errors throughout data collection can occur (O’Donoghue, 2007:35). Both quantitative and qualitative analysis methods are not protected from problematic issues with those criteria. The errors can have a significant impact on the information’s reliability and objectivity, which deters the results of the analysis. Besides, such aspects as the observer’s memory limitations or constraints of viewing the environment can also limit the findings’ reliability, which generates more obstacles (Cobb et al., 2018).
Reliability in sporting performance analysis implies the consistency of the outcomes, and validity focuses on whether the instruments measure the desired aspects. Thus, it is critical to establish the validity and reliability of the findings while formulating analysis methods and techniques to reduce potential burdens and ensure the best suggestions derived from the analysis.
One of the possible solutions for establishing those criteria is employing professional coaches to conduct an analysis. It is crucial to ensure that the information is reliable, objective, and valid to avoid potential risks in future performance, to enhance the team’s efficiency in the right direction, and to produce trustworthy outcomes. Different statistics of measuring reliability and validity are used in the field. The reliability statistic that shows “the known group difference between two different types of pair of observation with no overlap in values” gains the characteristic of valid and reliable (O’Donoghue, 2007:40).
Another practical tool for evaluating the content is the introduction of small-sided games (SSGs), which also aims to ensure validity and reliability (Cobb et al., 2018). Consequently, with the help of various testing tools, it is possible to measure the reliability of the collected data. In conclusion, qualitative and quantitative analyses serve as practical assessment tools in sporting performance and, despite their limitation and the challenges they impose, they are critical to use for the coaches.
Reference List
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Carling, C., Bloomfield, J., Nelson, L. and Reilly, T. (2012) ‘The role of motion analysis in elite soccer: contemporary performance measurement techniques and work rate data.’ Sports Medicine, 38(10) pp. 839-862.
Cobb, N.M., Unnithan, V. and McRobert, A.P. (2018) ‘The validity, objectivity, and reliability of a soccer-specific behaviour measurement tool.’ Science and Medicine in Football, 2(3) pp.196-202.
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O’Donoghue, P. (2014) An introduction to performance analysis of sport. London: Routledge.
O’Donoghue, P. (2007) ‘Reliability issues in performance analysis.’ International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 7(1) pp.35-48.
O’Donoghue, P. and Mayes, A. (2013) ‘Performance analysis, feedback and communication in coaching.’ In McGarry, T., O’Donoghue P. and Sampaio, J. (eds.) Routledge handbook of sports performance analysis. London: Routledge, pp. 173-182.
Poizat, G., Sève, C. and Saury, J. (2013) ‘Qualitative aspects in performance analysis.’ In McGarry, T., O’Donoghue P. and Sampaio, J. (eds.) Routledge handbook of sports performance analysis. London: Routledge, pp. 309-320.