Below is a round-up of some of the latest and greatest tweets from this week. I don’t go into too much detail here but I encourage you to check them all out in your own time.
1. Understanding Regression in Football
This is probably my favourite piece from the last week. A very clear explanation of regression in football and why it is important. Regardless of the level you work out you should at least understand the principles behind this piece. http://blogs.thescore.com/counterattack/2013/11/12/the-state-of-analytics-newcastle-krul-and-the-difficulty-in-understanding-regression-in-football/
2. Weak statistical standards implicated in scientific irreproducibility
The article claims up to one-quarter of studies that meet commonly used statistical cutoff may be false. http://www.nature.com/news/weak-statistical-standards-implicated-in-scientific-irreproducibility-1.14131
3. Good Crickets Analytics blogs are hard to find. Not anymore…
James Grayson, who writes brialliantly on football has started a cricket blog. If you have any interest in stats and cricket you should keep an eye on this site. http://jameswgraysoncricket.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/distribution-of-runs-off-the-bat-in-test-matches/
4. Playing by the numbers. How a American Football coach uses the numbers.
Really brilliant video of a coach in America who has examined the numbers on 4th down and applies his strategy despite going massively against conventional thinking. http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9970245/grantland-channel-coach-never-punts
5. New Book: The Research Process in Sport & Exercise Health
In this book, a team of successful researchers from across the full range of sub-disciplines in sport, exercise and health discuss real pieces of research, describing the processes they went through, the decisions that they made, the problems they encountered and the things they would have done differently. http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415673501/
6. Big data and footballs search for the holy grail
When will a professor of politics be the next director of football?, “Everton’s head of technical scouting James Smith, and both made the point that football clubs arguably might do better to ditch the 25th man of their squad and spend that player’s wages on analytics.” http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/06/big-data-and-footballs-search-for-the-holy-grail/
7. Journal of Sports Scientists
The latest issue of the Journal of Sports Scientists is out I picked out this study looking at how fatigue influences physical and technical skill. Match-related fatigue reduces physical and technical performance during elite rugby league match-play: a case study. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2013.803583#.UoeXWhq-2M4
8. The Making of Les Bleus: Sport in France, 1958-2010
Not an analysis book here but rather a history of a sporting renaissance and the influence of government. Haven’t read it myself but looks interesting. Historian Lindsay Krasnoff looks at this sports crisis in postwar France and the French government’s attempts to remedy it. http://newbooksinsports.com/2013/11/14/lindsay-krasnoff-the-making-of-les-bleus-sport-in-france-1958-2010-lexington-books-2012/
9. How England Beat New Zealand (2012)
Not a repeat result this time but an excellent analytics piece looking back at the defeat last year. http://thegainlineblog.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/first-in-best-dressed-how-england-beat-the-all-blacks/
10. Interview with Mark Upton – Coaching & Performance Development Consultant.
Mark Upton works with coaches/teams/organisations seeking to enhance their coaching effectiveness through understanding and implementation of skill acquisition principles, learning environments, performance analysis processes and coaching technologies. Mark understands how players learn, there are always loads of tips you can pick up from his work and apply to your analysis feedback. http://footblogball.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/interview-with-mark-upton-coaching-and-performance-development-consultant/
