Big Data in Sports

Growing up an athlete, sports never seemed like something that I would consider to have an analytical side. As the field of Big Data grows, so does people’s abilities to use it on the field itself, the field of sports that is. Sparked by the recent Michael Lewis movie “Moneyball”, people are much further intrigued by the capabilities of analytics in the world of sports.

The attached article outlines some ways that the field is growing. It talks about the English Premiere Soccer team Arsenal, the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and other sports, taking different approaches to create unique statistics within the game allow teams to gain new perspectives overall. In reality, their statistical approaches span beyond the field of play. Things such as nutrition (both through diet and hydration) and sleep habits are two easily trackable areas that have a profound impact on performance.

Another example within the article is about how soccer teams install sets of 8 cameras within the stadium to track every player’s movements and their interactions with the other players. In the past, most stats have to do with the player in possession of the ball, but these cameras allow things to be tracked away from the ball which still end up extremely meaningful to the outcome of the game.

Big data in sports will continue to grow and expand in many different ways. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2015/03/25/big-data-the-winning-formula-in-sports/#32d83bce34de