“Cheers coach!“
“The interesting thing about coaching is that you have to trouble the comfortable, and comfort the troubled.” – Ric Charlesworth
Being a Professional footballer is one of the most obvious dreams of young boys and girls across the UK. I can happily say that thankfully, I reached a respectable standard of playing football and I give 80% credit to my former coach.
Parents enroll their children in teams and coaching schemes at such early ages starting from as young as 4 years of age. Only swimming surpasses football when it comes to the statistics of children ages 5-10 participating in a sport according to (“Children’s football participation in England 2010-2018 | Statista”, 2018).
The role of a Football coach has not always been the easiest or the most glamorous role. However, a good coach gets rewarded when they coach a player to the big time clubs such as Chelsea.
The role of YouTube, Online Blogs and WhatsApp messenger
Not only did life become easier for coaches, but also, players like myself in the past started to understand concepts better through the YouTube videos and articles which were posted in WhatsApp group chats for specific positions.“When England advanced to the 2019 Women’s World Cup finals, Phil Neville revealed how his extensive use of WhatsApp had forged a special bond with his players” (John, 2018)
The use of WhatsApp messenger allows players to understand their role on the pitch and prepare for what drills to expect at training instead of being met by daunting new drills. Therefore, the training session will flow smoother.
Gone are the days of the typical whiteboard and the coaches drill book from the 1960’s, they have become items of yesterday. Due to the rise in online coaching tutorials and weekly blog articles such as Soccer coach weekly which showed examples of various drills.
The digitalisation of coaching allows players to carry on training when they leave the training facilities because they can look online and go through video demonstrations.
Heat mapping and GPS tracking
One of the biggest impacts that the digital economy has had on football management and coaching is the introduction of technology such as player heat mapping. “A player’s heat map is a 2D shaded-surface plot that represents the locations on the pitch that the player “visited” most frequently” (Moura, Santana, Vieira, Santiago & Cunha, 2015 p.228)
Source: (“Squawka | Football News, Stats, Quizzes & Predictions | EPL”, 2020)
Heat mapping and GPS has allowed football coaches at all levels to analyse the position of their player. In addition, other analytics such as where they have sprinted or walked in areas of the pitch. This development has allowed the management and coaching staff to work on individual accurate training plans. therefore, training sessions are prepared around different players and their individual requirements.
Source: (Hughes, 2017)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS7yX4KlOLQ
Finally, due to how available these products are becoming, sports vloggers and YouTubers are making videos to explain how these products work. An example of this is from the Four-Four two sports magazines. They wrote a blog explaining how the GPS vests will help coaches and players (“How to use a GPS vest to monitor your fitness”, 2019).
What does the future hold for football management?
The future of management and coaching is bright and according to (“21 Jobs of the Future”, 2020) coaching is one of the ‘3 C’s’ of future employment. However, some may view it as the end of an era and the start of technology takeover. This worries a lot of people, especially those in the management team who may fear that their role may be taken from them by the likes of artificial intelligence. Since entering ‘the new machine age’. The use of AI seems to be a conversation in multiple industries.
So, what next? We are already witnessing major transition in coaching, this is due to developments in technology. I believe many jobs will vanish in the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, this can be prevented if computers and humans find a way to work hand in hand to produce the best results.
In addition, former Spanish star, Esteban Granero formed an AI company called Olocip. His company aims to use AI models to help clubs:
- prevent injury to players.
- make better transfer decisions.
- develop better tactics
If the company is successful, then it will not only be the sports science side of coaching who will suffer, but other specialist coaches such as talent scouts and recruitment. Although Granero stated “We are not seeking to replace people working in clubs, only help them” (Wright, 2020). After all, if I was in a management or coaching role, alarm bells would start ringing. So, my advice to all managers and people in coaching positions is – be adaptable to new technology!
Thank you, I hope you enjoyed reading my blog-post
Mark Afedzie-Hayford
References
Boyle, J. (2019). Karamoko Dembele and Armstrong Oko-Flex train with team ahead of Hearts clash. Retrieved 10 February 2020, from https://www.footballscotland.co.uk/spfl/scottish-premiership/celtics-karamoko-dembele-armstrong-oko-16291143
Children’s football participation in England 2010-2018 | Statista. (2018). Retrieved 6 February 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/421058/football-sport-involvment-children-england-uk/#statisticContainer
COPA 90. (2020). Retrieved 10 February 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS7yX4KlOLQ
How to use a GPS vest to monitor your fitness. (2019). Retrieved 10 February 2020, from https://www.fourfourtwo.com/performance/training/how-use-a-gps-vest-monitor-your-fitness
Hughes, I. (2017). This tech Catapulted Leicester and Real Madrid to glory. Retrieved 10 February 2020, from https://www.businesscloud.co.uk/news/this-tech-catapulted-leicester-and-real-madrid-to-glory
John, E. (2018). Sport enters the WhatsApp age and dreads ever being asked to leave | Emma John. Retrieved 13 February 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/oct/03/sport-whatsapp-messaging-team-bonding
Moura, F., Santana, J., Vieira, N., Santiago, P., & Cunha, S. (2015). Analysis of Soccer Players’ Positional Variability During the 2012 UEFA European Championship: A Case Study. Journal Of Human Kinetics, 47(1), 228. doi: 10.1515/hukin-2015-0078
Squawka | Football News, Stats, Quizzes & Predictions | EPL. (2020). Retrieved 5 February 2020, from https://www.squawka.com
Watson, S., & Clarke, D. (2019). Everything You Need To Know For Coaching Youth Soccer – Soccer Coach Weekly. Retrieved 12 February 2020, from http://Watson, S., & Clarke, D. (2019). Everything You Need To Know For Coaching Youth Soccer – Soccer Coach Weekly. Retrieved 12 February 2020, from https://www.soccercoachweekly.net/product/tony-carrs-everything-need-know-coaching-youth-soccer/
Wright, N. (2020). Esteban Granero aiming to bring artificial intelligence into football. Retrieved 14 February 2020, from http://Wright, N. (2020). Esteban Granero aiming to bring artificial intelligence into football. Retrieved 14 February 2020, from https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11932406/esteban-granero-aiming-to-bring-artificial-intelligence-into-football
21 Jobs of the Future. (2020). Retrieved 14 February 2020, from http://21 Jobs of the Future. (2020). Retrieved 14 February 2020, from https://www.cognizant.com/perspectives/21-jobs-of-the-future?utm_source=Youtube&utm_medium=Cards&utm_content=Cards+Desc&utm_campaign=ThoughtLeadership
Digital Business Models 
A really interesting blog post mark! It was interesting to hear about your personal experiences in football and the ways that you have seen and experienced the changes to the game throughout your life. Technology is certainly making the job of sports coaching easier, whilst making the sport safer for players. It is seemingly important for people of all job occupations to familiarise themselves with technology and as you have suggested it is vital people learn to utilise this technology or face being left behind. Do you think that in any cases, the introduction of cutting-edge technology can give some sports teams an unfair advantage? Are there any controls that should be put in place to control the introduction of technology into football?
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Hi Matt, thank you for reading my blog post, I hope that you thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Having my own personal experiences with football coaches definitely enhanced my knowledge on the job role. In addition, watching the transition from hand held video cameras to GPS trackers was very interesting. I definitely believe that technology has given certain teams an advantage over their competitors. The reason I say this is because, as much as management teams can access new technological products, only the elite can afford exclusive pieces of equipment such as cryotherapy pods which speed up player recovery time. In the case of control measures, I think it is too late to try and limit the teams with more money, especially because a lot of the money comes from outside the UK. I have a strong feeling that in the next 20 years, the technology in football will be beyond current human belief!
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Excellent work, Mark. I’d be curious to know your thoughts on the recent introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to professional football and whether it might be an example of technology in football going too far. There are many apologists for VAR, most of whom argue that it makes unjust or controversial decisions by human referees reviewable and reversible, but its detractors are potentially more numerous. They argue that VAR is changing the game for the worse because it gratuitously punishes minor transgressions such as accidental handballs or marginal offsides and because it slows the game down. Do you see VAR as an example of technology in football being used excessively?
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Hi Felix, great to know that you enjoyed my post. I totally agree with your point about the introduction of VAR in football. Personally, I think the VAR has not been perfected or thought about enough. Currently, there have been many teething problems and incidences with VAR. Therefore, I believe if these issues are dealt with correctly, such as for what incidents Var should be used for, such as only for penalty shouts and offside shouts. So, at the moment I do feel like VAR is being used excessively and slowing down the game to an unenjoyable tempo.
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Hi Mark, I’m quite interested in the technology in football. I didn’t have opportunity to play as a professional football player because of my study and the football environment in China, but I played for my college in Lanzhou University. I’m also a crazy fan of the game Football Manager for more than 10 years. I follow some Chinese coaches in Weibo, a Chinese version Twitter, where they usually post some heat-map and other data about my favorite team Real Madrid and Inter. Last month I went to Madrid and visited Bernabeu Stadium, where I found it’s not only a traditional football stadium, but also a stadium with many high technology. I believe that the success of a football team belongs to the effort of players, staff and also the technology. I know many clubs began to employ data analysts to help improve the players’ performance, but I don’t know how this works exactly. Do you have any idea about this?
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Hi Derik! Great to see another Football manager enthusiast! Yes, indeed I have knowledge about the analytics behind player performance. Many different aspects of a players game can be analysed now, whether it’s top speed of the player or average distance per game. Technology allows analysts to see the players strong points and weaknesses through reviewing video footage and analysing the heat-map.
An example could be a performance analyst talking about Karim Benzema and how he does most of his running in the opposition third. Therefore, the analyst might suggest that he works harder when he’s tracking back because observation of the heat map or even heart rate decline would indicate that he does not move very fast unless Madrid are attacking. This will allow him to work on this in training and develop this area of his game.I hope this has answered your question.
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Hello Mark, this is a fascinating blog post. It is incredible to see the level of impact technology has had on football and many other aspects of life. Personally, the exciting part is the introduction of technology to create perfection in the field of football management, making the game enjoyable while simplifying the work of the manager. It has created some form of employment as I understand the You Tubers you have mentioned receive payment for their channels and content creation. The production firms will also need a workforce to meet the demand for the vests. However, my point of concern is the use of the GPS vests, are there any side effects to the player? Are there any measures taken in matters the production of the vests to assure player safety?
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Hi Yan, thank you for your comment. As far as I know, the GPS vests do not hold any threat towards players. The only issue is possibly comfortably. Apart from that, I believe that they are perfectly safe.
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Great Post! I hadn’t realised how much technology was being integrated into football coaching. I can understand that it can help with tactics and performance but I’m unsure how far it can go. Football requires skill but it’s also a psychological game that requires leadership and motivation which is hard to delegate through technology. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how they will tackle this in the future.
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