In softball, accurate data never lies.
Accurate data doesn’t lie. But choosing which data to look at and how might be a different story. And as the stats pile up – so does the confusion. Where to start? What is important? What has changed? Which are trends and which are outliers? The questions are endless and often result in many players and coaches defaulting to the good old favourite stat: wins and losses, and then following their instincts as to the contributing factors leading to this stat.
Analytics and numbers are becoming ever more present in sport and igniting a change in the way players play and coaches coach.
Knowing a player’s tendencies in offense.
In softball, by knowing a player’s tendencies in offense, a defense can be structured to better combat them. Strategic adjustments can be made in defense to ensure the best possible opportunities to get them out. Knowing what pitches or sequence of pitches are effective against which batters could turn a game. Shifting traditional defense placings slightly by closing a batter’s most targeted areas in the field could also provide a pronounced advantage.
Knowing a pitcher’s tactics.
Alternatively knowing a pitcher’s tactics can provide an opportunity for the offense to anticipate and dominate. A batter, taking the plate to a pitcher whose strengths and tendencies she is familiar with, will be more confident and more likely to score. As a team, strategic plans can be adapted to increase the likelihood of success.
Work on weaknesses until they become strengths.
Moving away from scouting and looking in the mirror, data provides players and teams with the baseline needed to improve their strengths, but also to work on their weaknesses until they become their strengths. The opposition will inevitably target weaknesses so improving these now that they are out in the open becomes crucial to success.
The numbers never lie.
You don’t know what you don’t know…until you do. Instincts and experience are invaluable and often right, but they are also subjective and biased. What you think you know might not be the case and may be the difference between a win and a loss. The numbers, on the other hand, don’t lie and are completely objective, providing a solid foundation for scouting opposition and improving performances. Numbers can not replace quality coaching and the intangibles that a coach brings to a team, but it can provide the foundation needed by a coach to elevate a team’s performance and success. It is a major strategic advantage.
Contact us for a powerful and efficient way of providing this advantage without spending enormous time or resources. We provide programs with the ability to create opponent libraries with teams and players past performance reports and searchable pitch video used to develop pitching plans, hitting against pitcher plans, and defensive positioning plans.
We perform so that others may too.
