Set yourself up on Statzpack

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Uploading your team badge/crest

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Adding a New Game

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Adding a Customised  or Tailored Action Set of Stats

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Using the Matrix Analysis /  Excel Export Function

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Gameshare – sharing your soccer stats with your team and supporters

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I was struck by how open Mondays night game was, and how there seemed to be so much space when attacking (particularly for Man United, and particularly towards the end of the game).    Gary Neville mentioned that the pitch is really big at Old Trafford in his recent biography, and anyone who has been lucky enough tovisit it will tesify it is a large field.  This made us want to investigate…. according to this website (though dated in 2007.. gives us an idea):    http://soccerlens.com/premier-league-pitch-sizes/3683/     – it’s the second-biggest pitch in the league… in fact, it’s 786 square yards bigger (by area) than White Hart Lane where Tottenham, the defeated team play!  Spurs ground is small, close, intimate – probaby more theatre than the Theatre of Dreams.  I don’t think it’s a coincidence that United tend to drop off rather than press when they’re not in posession, and are so effective on the counter-attack using all that space with quick decisive, youthful, direct attacking soccer. 

Soccer Standards?

And this to a US sports coach may seem odd, where standard field sizes are more defined, for example American football fields are a set  360 by 160 feet.  Rugby league is played on a field 112-122 by 68 metres. In Rugby Union (yes there are two variants) the field of play on a pitch/field is as near as possible to a maximum of 144m long by 70m wide. In Lacrosse, the field of play is 110 yards (100 m) long and 60 yards (55 m) wide.) 

The length of a full-size soccer pitch must be between 100 yards (90 metres) and 130 yards (120 metres) and the width between 50 yards (45 metres) and 100 yards (90 metres). It is not allowed to be square.  These dimensions apply everywhere in the world.   The pitch is rectangular in shape. The longer sides are called touchlines. The other opposing sides are called the goal lines. The two goal lines must be between 45 and 90 m (50 and 100 yd) and be the same length.  The two touch lines must also be of the same length, and be between 90 and 120 m (100 and 130 yd) in length.  However, in international matches, the goal lines must be between 64 and 75 m (70 and 80 yd) long and the touchlines must be between 100 and 110 m (110 and 120 yd).   Still, there’s a lot of allowance there for size differences of a soccer field. huge differences. 

Lets take Field Hockey for example, a similar sport to Soccer where 11 players per team are on the field at one time, typically on grass – okay, with a few more sticks of course.  Their governing body dont allow for any misunderstanding, as laid down by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in the “Rules of Hockey”.   As follows:

 The pitch is a 91.40 m × 55 m (100 yd × 60 yd) rectangular field. At each end is a goal 2.14 m (7 feet) high and 3.66 m (12 ft) wide measured from the inner sides of the posts and crossbar, and an approximately semi-circular area 14.63 m (16 yd) from the goal known as the shooting circle (or D or arc), bounded by a solid line, with a dotted line 5 m (5 yd 6 in—this marking was not established until after metric conversion) from that, as well as lines across the field 22.90 m (25 yd) from each end-line (generally referred to as the 23 m lines) and in the center of the field. A spot 0.15m in diameter, called the penalty spot or stroke mark, is placed with its centre 6.40 m (7 yd) from the centre of each goal.

So why the broad acceptance of the variance in field sizes for soccer? Any idea?

We have released a new version of the Statzpack App, version 2.3 – now available in iTunes.  Take a quick tour of the App in this youtube video.

This version allows you to see custom actions in the real time summary and as usual is free of any cost.

Get the update by visiting iTunes or via the App Store on your iPhone or iPad.

You can earn some cash by becoming an advertising affiliate for Statzpack.

We have an excellent product and provide A+ customer service to our clients on a global basis.  Our customers include schools, colleges, soccer clubs, scouts and leagues.   Whether you are an individual, a blogger, a soccer club, league or team placing our adverts on your website can generate you extra cash. 

Soccer Affiliate

We pay high commissions for the sale of our products. For every new paying customer you provide, we pay $30.  Sign up to be a Statzpack Affiliate.  If you have any specific questions send them to affiliates@statzpack.com.

As high quality and as slick the iPhone 4 screen is, it doesn’t compare to that of the iPad when it comes to size.  And yep size matters.  Being able to see more of the screen when you record soccer stats with Statzpack improves accuracy and speed.

Tracking Soccer Stats Gets Easier

A quick look shows how much more of the screen you can see when using a stylus.

Over the past year or so there has been an increase in the availability of stylus’s for smart-phones. So what about a stylus for the iPhone?  Apple don’t sell them directly, but you can get your hands on them online for around $10-15 and there are various types and quality.

So with the help of our sports studies intern Aileen we carried out some research to find out ‘would the use of the stylus improve the Statzpack experience?’  The answer was.. YES!  In general when using a stylus approximately 25% more of the screen is visible.  The central advantage is the use of a stylus increases greater visibility of the screen and hence improves recording accuracy and speed.

We then tested 5 different types of stylus and we concluded that the best stylus to use with Statzpack was a basic soft touch stylus.  Not only can you see more of the screen it was the best stylus type for the action selection in our App.

And we have 10 stylus’s to give away. If you would like to get your hands on one of our stylus’s for free just email freestylus@statzpack.com and we will mail one out to you.

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 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.

A quick google search for ’soccer statistics’ pulls up an interesting article in the New York Times from 2008.  With quite an impressive comment section as well.

According to the by-line “Carl Bialik examines the way numbers are used, and abused.”  The article is somewhat well written, explaining how teams are using much more advanced statistical tracking programs such as Pro-Zone, and what the right applications are for those programs.  Also, chalking up pure luck to the success of many soccer teams (which is completely false in my opinion.)

The benchmark for sports statistics is Sabremetrics, and the book Moneyball, written by Michael Lewis.  In it, Lewis describes the rise of the Oakland A’s baseball team through the use of complex statistical analysis to best predict the outcome of a match.

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game is a book by Michael M. Lewis, released in 2003, about the general manager of Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics, Billy Beane, and his rather unconventional approach to running that organization. The central premise of Moneyball is that the collected wisdom of baseball insiders (including players, managers, coaches, scouts, and the front office) over the past century is subjective and often flawed. Statistics like 60 yard dash times, RBIs, and batting average that are typically used to gauge players are relics of a 19th-century view of the game and the statistics that were available at the time - ArmChairGM

The divide between soccer and baseball is the fluidity of the game.  Baseball can be determined by a few variables (pitcher, batter, count for instance) whereas in soccer, there are hundreds of variables which come into play each time a statistic is kept.

Critics state, “Statistics cannot accurately predict the score of a game, because numbers alone cannot predict a player’s performance.”

Exactly, we all know that.  Anyone who thinks stats can predict the outcome alone is foolish.  Soccer is a game that is often decided by a few events which result in a goal or a defensive lapse conceding a goal to your opponent.

If you know your right back is not able to string passes out of the backfield to the midfielders, then maybe it is time for a switch.  Most teams do not keep track of stats, so they don’t know the time to replace a player, and when to keep him in.

The important idea to remember is a combination of statistics and a coaches intuition can greatly improve your chance at winning, or fielding the most successful team out of your given options.

They say that women are better multi-taskers than men but when it comes to recording stats during a game it’s vital to cut down the number of tasks regardless of gender!  Many people who start to use Statzpack for the first time tell us, ‘I really found it hard to record the stats and watch the game’.  Well that’s probably because you can’t do both at the same time.  You’ll certainly find it hard to cheer on your team and record meaningful accurate stats.  Even more difficult if you are actually coaching or one of the team is your child J.   It’s important to create for yourself an ‘observation environment’ away from vocal crowds or from your buddies chatting about the night before.  Ideally you should have one person with you who is tuned in the game and will help you with game info during the match.  Arrive early so you do not get stuck sitting in a row where you have to let people in and out past you or in a place where your view can be obstructed. And if needed where a hat that says ‘Do not disturb’ on the front.  Or even as one user from Vancouver, Canada told us  ‘It’s easy, I just sit up on the bench, away from the guys, plug in my earphones, kick into Bruce Springsteen, watch the game, and record the stats.’  Good idea, just watch the battery level on the iPod touch!