Meritocracy - Dorrance and Harbaugh.

Regular readers of this blog know I am a fan of the University of Michigan.  More than a few of the quotes found on these pages can be directly attributed to former and present Wolverine coaches and players.  With the hiring of Jim Harbaugh as head football coach at Michigan comes a wealth of new material headlined by the word meritocracy.

1. an elite group of people whose progress is based on ability and talent rather than on class privilege or wealth.

2. a system in which such persons are rewarded and advanced:

A recent quote from Coach Harbaugh:  Meritocracy- Process to determine an elite Team. Progress determined by Talent, Execution & Effort

Now, Coach Harbaugh is not re-inventing the wheel as Anson Dorrance's Competitive Cauldron approach is well documented and has proven wildly successful for his teams. Coach Harbaugh is returning the topic to the fore and in using the use of the word meritocracy in defining what the Competitive Cauldron is in reality. 

If I had the staffing to chart every detail of training and games I would like to, I would adhere closely to a meritocracy approach.  First of all, I love statistics.  Yes, I actually do.  This will seem strange coming from someone who doesn't even keep simple statistics like assists or goals scored for his teams. Heck, I rarely know the in-game score unless a scoreboard is present.  Just ask my players. I am constantly having to ask referees the final score after matches because I have no idea.

The reason why I am not overly concerned about assists and goals scored is because I view them as a product of so many other areas of the game that can be charted or documented.  Statistics on the quality of one's first touch, the number of lost possessions directly attributed to a specific player and where on the pitch these occur are much more useful to me.  I want to know how many crosses a defender allows / denies and how many un-pressured services we allow. 

I am anxious to see the Wolverines take the field next fall after a spring and fall camp of Harbaugh "charting everything" and posting each days and cumulative results on the locker room walls for all to see.  It's a form of internal program pressure on the athletes to determine who the "winners" are amongst them.  These are the people Dorrance and Harbaugh want on the field of competition against opposing teams.  Winners, that's what a meritocracy is all about defining.

Analyzing an individual soccer player in the context of team play.

I love to problem solve. I am sure this is why my two favorite sports are basketball and soccer. Both offer abundant problem solving opportunities on individual and group levels. Statistics kept in both sports seek to quantify individual and team performances. Sabremetrics has taken statistics to a whole new level. However, almost all statistics are ball related and that's where I feel analyzation of player performance through statistics leaves something to be desired.

Consider there are 22 players sharing 1 ball during a soccer match. It stands to reason the vast majority of time a player spends on the pitch is without the ball. What I have set about doing is to define the relationship between on-the-ball statistics and off -the-ball actions and  how this impacts the game. I believe the place to start this process is to define principles of play in the game. In order to do this I believe it essential to consider the three elements of play - penetration, depth and width.

Penetration without the ball can happen in a number of ways.

1) A target player in front of the opponents back line.
2) Off-the-ball runs at or through the opponents back line.
3) A player in an offside position

There also needs to be a means of gauging the effectiveness of each action. Did the action have a positive, negative or no discernible impact on possession of the ball?   For the lack of better terminology I consider this in the context of Attacking Unity.  In this regard the action must also be viewed in terms of uniqueness and duplicity. That is, was the action singular and performed as Intelligent Support or as an act of unaware individualism duplicating the actions of a teammate? Was there a positive impact on the teams spacing?

Penetration with the ball happens in two basic ways.

1) Running with the ball
2) Passing the ball

Maintaining possession of the ball is obviously the king consideration when penetrating with the ball However, there are variable acceptable levels of risk associated with these actions. What is accepted, even expected, in the attacking third of the field might be far different than what is considered prudent in the middle or defending thirds of the field.

There is quality of decision making to be considered as well. Was running with the ball the correct decision or should the player have chosen to pass to the feet of a target player or into space to a teammate making a run?

So much to consider and we have yet to even begin looking at width and depth in relation to attacking play.  Or the defensive side of play, at all.  Tomorrow I will take a look at the element of depth and associated principles of play. Remember, we are just beginning a process here. I'm not quite sure where it will end, but have in mind to analyze my son's play through video review. For comparison's sake I will likely analyze some of his teammates play as well. My intent is not so much to create a new realm of soccer statistics as it is to discover the quality my powers of observation.

Shot on goal

The official definition;

A shot on goal is a shot that is on net.  The results of a shot on goal must be either a save by the goalkeeper or defending team or a goal scored by the attacking team. A shot that hits the post or the crossbar without being deflected by a goalkeeper or defender and that does not cross the goal line is not a shot on goal.

 

Statistics: Quality of 1st touch

Unlike traditional American sports soccer does not keep many standard statistics for evaluating player performance. Sabremetrics has yet to find its way to grass roots soccer. Over a decade ago I began tracking what I refer to as "Quality of First Touch" statistics as a means to measure a players readiness to participate at a given level.  I utilize a simple +/- system for tracking Quality of First Touch.  What I am looking for is the players ability to gain and maintain possession with his first touch on the ball. I do not extend the evaluation to what he does beyond his first touch (shoot / pass / dribble). The focus is solely on a players first touch on the ball.

What I discovered was a varsity level player generally requires a Quality of First Touch of 80% or higher.  In a really good program that number might approach 90% +  to be a starter.   I do "spot checks" of this statistic when scouting or watching soccer matches and this has held true throughout the years.  I conducted such a survey again last night and the results remained startlingly consistent.  The best players are the ones with the best Quality of First Touch.

As a coach, if I have a limited positions being contested by multiple players, I will often utilize Quality of First Touch statistics from tryouts and training to decide who wins those spots and who will be cut or relegated to a lower level team.

Players who are first to the ball, who win a lot of 50 / 50 balls but do so with a poor Quality of First Touch are not really winning the ball at all. They are creators of more 50 / 50 balls.  Some coaches place a priority on players winning 50 / 50 balls and there is certainly value to winning 50 / 50 balls created by the opposing team.  If it is your player or team that is creating a lot of 50 / 50 balls, chances are the lack of Quality of First Touch is a major contributing factor.

This all relates back to the recent posting on Pace of Play. If a team wishes to increase their pace of play it must be accomplished by increasing the Quality of their First Touch.  This can be done by teaching them to play smarter through preparing to play properly so as to provide the best possible chance to have a high Quality of First Touch.  Sometimes this involves slowing down a players physical pace of play so it is aligned with the players capabilities in mental pace of play. 

The key to Quality of First Touch is found in a players ability to prepare properly before executing his first touch on the ball. Players whose primary focus is on being first to the ball often fail to have a plan for what they want to do with the ball once it is won. This can lead to frantic, if not panicked, play often resulting in poor Quality of First Touch and creation of yet another 50 / 50 ball to be won. It's a vicious cycle that must be avoided at all costs.