The Insight Circus: Winning with Strong Analytics and Seamless Communication
Effectively communicating data-driven insights in a scalable and straightforward manner to coaches, athletes, and sport staffs
If you are new around here, here’s why I started writing.
Fresh off a trip to the UK, I had to give myself a few extra days for this post. Here are some photos from my trip across the pond, including three Premier League matches and Six Nations Rugby - England v. Wales!
I am usually at one to two sporting events a week, but this experience was special - my first Premier League matches ever, and my second rugby match (first was at Newlands in Cape Town in March 2019). I got to see different size stadiums, match ups, and get close to the action on the pitch.
Driving Strategy Using Analytics on the Field
Speaking of the action on the pitch, I mentioned in the last blog that I’d write out some thoughts on my experience communicating with athletes, coaches, and staffs. This is not an extensive breakdown, but a helpful guide to consider.
The goal is clear - effectively communicating data-driven insights in a scalable and straightforward manner is crucial for their impactful use and understanding across the organization. You can build models, reports, and dashboards all day, but if they are not used, what’s the point?
In today's dynamic sports arena, the integration of data-driven decision-making has shifted from being a mere luxury to an absolute necessity. Teams, leveraging the capabilities of data analytics, now wield an exceptional ability to discern patterns, trends, and insights that may otherwise slip through the cracks. This provides them with a substantial competitive advantage, akin to possessing exclusive insights into the game's playbook.
Here’s a few helpful ways to think about this:
Build rapport with the team (coaches, athletes, staff)
This is easier said than done, but requires meeting them where they are in the data process and helping them understand that it is ‘a’ view, not the only view. My main focus when building rapport is doing as much third party research as possible and learning what I can about the sport, especially if it’s my first time looking at it. Rapport building requires the humility of knowing what I do not know and making sure that I’m creating a trusted relationship.
Determine the key questions and timeline
What is top of mind for the leadership? Sometimes they will provide the list - maybe missing too many free throws or not executing all their plays - while other times, it’s up to you to do some fact finding.
Another key factor is to answer is the cadence of analysis, whether it be a more strategic or tactical question. For example, a decision on which player to draft in next year’s draft has a longer, more strategic process, while adjustments for tomorrow’s matchup should be quick to digest and easy to understand.
Visualize data
Visuals can help expedite the process of decision-makers grasping patterns, trends, and relationships within the data, but also put it into context for them. The simpler, the better when it comes to building out visuals, especially for staffs that are under a tight time window or adjustment framework.
Concise summaries
Deliver concise summaries that highlight the key findings and actionable insights derived from the analsyis. These summaries, easy to understand, zero in on the most relevant information for decision-making - and in an agreed upon format of the people you are supporting.
Data plays a pivotal role in empowering coaches and staff with actionable insights, elevating team performance and decision-making to unprecedented levels. Real-time data allows for swift strategic adjustments during matches, enabling teams to seize opportunities and address weaknesses on the fly. By embracing data, coaches and staff receive an additional view of their team's dynamics, enabling them to make informed decisions that contribute to the formulation of winning strategies. That being said, communication of data and insights are the key to success in making them tangible. While this AI generated image above of ‘a coach reviewing data on her team performance in 2024’ shows great visuals, the reality that a coach is going to be diving into the data like this is pretty rare.
Takeaways
Each team is going to have its own policies and processes in place, so it’s important to have that context to start. If you are part of a team, make sure to lean on your teammates for feedback and strategies to navigate the organization. To summarize:
Building rapport involves meeting the team where they are in the data process, emphasizing that it's just one perspective among many, and requires humility and trust in the relationship.
Determining key questions and timelines involves understanding the leadership's priorities and the strategic or tactical nature of the analysis, whether it's a decision for the next draft or quick adjustments for an upcoming matchup.
Visualizing data plays a crucial role by creating simple visuals that expedite decision-makers' understanding of patterns and trends, especially when time is tight for adjustments.
Delivering concise summaries is the grand finale, providing easily digestible insights tailored to the team's preferred format and ensuring decision-makers have the right information at their fingertips for effective decision-making.
Have a great week and thanks for reading - to reward those who made it to the end - here’s a clip of American Express Stadium in Brighton singing “Hey Jude” at my first Premier League match ever to close out the post.