Blog 7- My Placement

 

My placement was due to take place with Oldham Athletic and one of their junior teams after I had emailed and asked if there was potential to volunteer there. They replied swiftly initially and put me in touch with the relevant person to sort this out and soon we were talking about the process of hopefully getting this all in place.

Unfortunately it then took another 6 weeks before they got back to me again as they got furloughed over the Christmas period so at the end of January we started the ball rolling with what was needed to make this happen. After the reading and signing of some policies (Equality policy and social media code of conduct) and sending them proof of my DBS, it was again a few weeks before I heard from them again and this time it was a request to complete an online safeguarding course from the operations and safeguarding manager.

A couple weeks and zoom meetings later and we finally had the ball rolling. We had a measuring play philosophy decided and a link was sent via a Veo database that contained footage to be analysed at u15s.

 

The first thing to do after receiving this was to set up my buttons for use when analysing via NacSport.

Unfortunately, due to welfare reasons, I am unable to share footage but what I can share are some of the results from the data that was analysed from a match vs Bolton on 12/10/2020:-

Playing out from the back- 

Analysis-So it can be seen from this analysis that when Oldham played out from the back, its was predominantly from central areas.

Improvement- We could key who receives the ball as well so that we can see any regular patterns of play eg CB-CF or CB-LW etc. I also made the mistake of not keying whether it was successful or unsuccessful which would have been extremely useful.

Defending

Set press- 

Analysis- Oldham used a set press quite consistently all over the pitch, with the % in the bottom third most likely higher due to the area of the pitch. They were also successful roughly 2 in every 3 defensive plays.

Improvement- Stating how the press was successful, a tackle, ball out of play or an interception an also maybe add in players as well.

 

Goalkeeper distribution-

Analysis- Oldham's keeper was very happy to use either method of playing the ball out and didn't favour a particular method. He played the ball successfully on most occasions.

Improvement- Who did he play the ball to? Were his successes/failures between both methods or predominantly 1 method.

Throw ins-

Analysis- Oldham are very successful with their throw ins but this could be down to the main area they took them which was in the defensive third.

Improvement- What areas were successful, what action took place that led to a success or not i.e. passed back to thrower, turned, played forward to another team mate.

1 v 1 and Aerial duels-

Analysis- Very even outcomes from both duels but that unfortunately is all this really tells us. Not much insight at all.

Improvement- Needs more detail, area of the pitch, method of  success etc for 1 v1 and outcome after success for aerial eg won 2nd ball, shot on goal etc.

Video Analysis

To be able to back your statistics and charts up with actual footage goes a long way to helping the athlete understand as it gives the information an added dimension of being more visual. Groom and Cushion (2004), suggest that video analysis is a very useful tool for development for athletes and coaches, in four key areas for athletes:-

• Improvement of tactical and technical knowledge
• Development of critical thinking
• Improvement in decision making
• Increased confidence

and three areas for coaches:-

• Development of an effective style of play for the team
• Enhancement of their own coaching practice and professional development
• Ability to review matches in depth

 The following videos are examples of analysis with the aid of video for Arsenal Ladies using NacSport

Weakness- Passing in the final 3rd

Strength- Passing and movement in defensive and transitional 3rd

Strength- Quick to close down when out of possession

References

• Groom, R. and Cushion, C., 2004. Coaches perceptions of the use of video analysis: a case study. Insight, 7(3), p.3.