Total Football, we have all heard this phrase being used. It’s bounded around by commentators and coaches as if it were a phrase that depicts a supreme playing method, or a flowing attacking tactical approach to the game.  In its purest form, Total Football is proactive and not based on counter attack, and also uses on positional interchange and hard pressing.  A player who moves out of position is replaced by a team mate, and retaining the team’s intended formation.  In this fluid system, no outfield player is fixed in a nominal role; anyone can be successively an attacker, a midfielder or in defence. The only player fixed in a nominal position is the keeper. 

The foundations for Total Football were actually laid by Englishman Jack Reynolds  who was the manager of Ajax on 3 occasions, from 1915 to 1947 (as well as being held in a Nazi internment camp).

Total Football’s tactical success depends largely on the adaptability of each footballer within the team, in particular the ability to quickly switch positions depending on the on-field situation. The theory requires players to be comfortable in multiple positions; hence, it places high technical and physical demands on them.  In a nutshell, it is hard to achieve.

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Fancy getting rewarded?  You can get extra time added your subscription when you refer Statzpack to a friend (or foe!).  When they sign up, you get extra time on your subscription period.

How do you do this?  Easy.  When you are logged in to the Manager website click on the Profile tab, drop down and click on Refer. From there you can invite friends by email or by facebook. Simple.

HOW  =  Log in to Statzpack, go to the PROFILE tab, select REFER and add your friends email addresses – start getting FREE Statzpack.

Any Questions?

• > Do I have to be a paying user to make a referral and get a bonus?  No.
• > Does my friend have to purchase Statzpack? No.
  > What do I get? You can very quickly add a lot of time to your subscription. If a friend signs up to an annual service you will get 2 extra months added to your subscription – even if you are only a Trial user.

To coincide with the 2011 NSCAA Annual Convention we are proud to announce the release of the latest version of Statzpack v2.0 with the following features.

• works on iPhone/iPod/iPad
• 5 -7-9-11 a side team size
• in flight game stats as you record
• revised pricing service range
• improved website dashboard analysis
• improved game scheduling interface 

So if you are a current user, or want to take a trial download the FREE Statzpack app from the iTunes store today.   Plus, this does not mean we will slowing up our development of the system.  We have much much more in the pipeline for 2011.And, if you sign up before end of January, you can avail of a 30% discount.

Statzpack will be at the NSCAA Convention at Baltimore, Md.   We are supporting an educational session on the NSCAA schedule. ‘Collecting Stats in Youth Soccer. Is there any value?’

Dynamo Select were looking for a way to track team statistics and analyze those stats post-match to develop their players and plan training sessions. The club also needed to track playing time for each individual player to ensure equal playing time for the coach, and to communicate this data to the player’s parents. Andrew Naudin is the manager of Dynamo 95-96, a Division 2, U15 boys soccer team from Houston, Texas. He came across Statzpack at the end of 2009 and hasn’t looked back.

“As well as tracking performance measures, a very simple output that the system gives us is a record of the amount of time each player has on the field. It’s calculated automatically. It’s very important for me as a coach, the players and the parents that we have this information and with Statzpack it’s all there for you, you don’t need to manually input the info, no pen and paper, or spreadsheets.” says coach Andrew.

For the 2009-2010 season, Andrew purchased an iPhone and subscribed to StatzSoccer. According to Andrew, Statzsoccer, with it’s easy to use interface and ability to customize stats collection based on Dynamo Select 95-96’s needs, made it easy to track and share data with individual players and easy to show parents stats and information on their child’s progress as a player.   

“After a few practice sessions with the App we quickly became familiar with the user interface. The support team at Statzpack dealt with all our questions, and importantly listened to our ideas for the App. With the data being sent up to the website done in the background, it was pretty cool to see the data build up on the website. We have saved hours with this system.”

Not only does StatzSoccer enable Andrew to track the teams stats live on the field, it also automatically syncs with the Statzpack.com website where the data is presented in charts and tables, making it easier for players and their parents to understand. All the tables and charts are produced for you.   With StatzSoccer each individual player can be given a login and the Dynamos intend to use this feature next season so that players can log in and see their own stats.  For Andrew and the Dynamos team, StatzSoccer not only addressed their issues regarding stats recording, the automatic syncing of the data with the website also allowed players and parents to become more involved with and gain a deeper understanding of player performance. 

So we asked Andrew what his most favorite features of Statzpack were:

1) Ability to use the product on the field in real time.
2) Records playing time for each individual player
3) Individual player login allows players to view their own stats
4) You can create custom actions, allowing him to record whatever stats they want.

Statzpack wishes the Dynamos 95-96 U15’s Div. II team the best of luck for the upcoming soccer season!

So let’s test your awareness.  Watch this video and let us know how you get on.

It’s said that an average coach will see around 55% of what actually happens in the game, and that same average coach will remember 35% of the events one day after the game.  We’d say that was pretty good.  Often coaches aren’t even quite sure what the score is during a game.   We’ve all been there right?   So looking back over a season how do we really do?  It’s pretty  clear, if we dont record the game stats, the probability is that we won’t remember them, and we sure will not be able to share them.   As coaches we just dont have the capacity to accurately ‘remember the data’. We’re human, after all.

Statzpack are proud to announce ourselves as corporate members of the NSCAA - National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The largest association of coaches in the world is well known for it’s coaching education and annual national convention, attended by Statzpack in Baltimore last year.  The Soccer Journal is an official publication of the NSCAA, produced exclusively for soccer coaches. Keep your eyes peeled for Statzpack in The Soccer Journal in coming months.

Statzpack exhibited at this years Grass Roots Football Live over 4-6 June 2010 at the NEC, Birmingham. Here are a few pics.

What do you get if you combine a 17 year old Man United fan and our new App, ManU Tracker.  Answer = a lot. So here are the stats that this user – David – recorded using our new App.

Now available in iTunes, the ManU Tracker iPhone App.  For all Manchester United fans and soccer stattos who love to follow the game and track their own player stats we’ve made the perfect App.  You pick the team colours.  You pick the team from the available squad.   Get half time and full time stats summaries and you can even post the summary to the web to share with your friends. All for less than a cup of coffee.  All powered by Statzpack.