How important are stats?

[julray]

Makes sense

You fail to realize at the club level, it is usually Tommy's Mom, or the Short Stop's Dad (which may very well be a head coach or assistant) inputting data. Garbage in, garbage out. Was that an error? Was that a sacrifice? What was the situation. Moreover, most scorekeepers (not unlike most coaches) couldn't tell the difference between a rise and a high fastball, and the data points you cite above are not typically recorded in club level stats. Why? Because the integrity of the data is unreliable.

I don't fail to realize, but on our club parents have access to the in game stats through gamechanger. Typically this prevents some of the bias involved in score keeping. Scorekeepers are accountable as well. You speak of integrity! How much integrity is involved in a coaches gut feeling? LOL. Gut feelings that are influenced by favoritism and bias. Stats help with integrity, takes the emotions out of a coaches decision. Again not the be all end all, but a very important tool.

 

[uncdrew]

Mental errors are NOT errors for scoring purposes. It doesn’t matter if she should have or could have made the play with or without ordinary effort. If she got a late jump, misjudged a ball or sat down played with dandelions, these are NOT scored as errors. Three girls converge on a ball and all watch it hit the ground is a hit. CF dashes for the fence and turns around to watch the ball land right on the spot she was just standing also a hit. RF loses ball in the sun, another hit.

It's not that hard. NCAA and NFHS publish their scoring rules. If followed it take most of the judgement out of the scorers hands. All this “In my opinion she should have gotten that so I’m going to score it an error” are exactly why HS and travel stats are totally worthless.

That's how I score a game, and it does result in the fearful type kids sometimes looking decent in the fielding stats. And of course another case of using both stats and observations.

 

[uncdrew]

GC isn't just about keeping stats, it lets family "watch" the game remotely in real time. It's downright addictive. And the audio play by play is absolutely awesome to listen to in one ear when you're working, especially when the computer butchers names...

It's the #1 reason I love Game Changer and will input data during games. My wife can't attend most games due to the needs of our other kids. She (and even they) love following along in Game Changer. It's fun to watch on your phone when you know all the girls on the team.

 

[julray]

Who's keeping your book? 99% is an awfully large percentage to rely on someone who likely doesn't know how to keep stats. Before you say they know what they're doing, ask what a wild pitch is and I guarantee thy'll get it wrong. Unless they look it up of course.

Yes he said he was keeping the books, since he is also making the lineup that's not something he has to worry about, ?

Regardless, lets say he had a designated bookkeeper, and let's say they only got the play right 95% of the time. Which is more accurate over an entire season, coaches memory influenced by bias, or statistics which are 95% correct? I know where I'm placing my bet

 

[uncdrew]

Yes he said he was keeping the books, since he is also making the lineup that's not something he has to worry about, ?

Regardless, lets say he had a designated bookkeeper, and let's say they only got the play right 95% of the time. Which is more accurate over an entire season, coaches memory influenced by bias, or statistics which are 95% correct? I know where I'm placing my bet

... and, for those people with the time and inclination, you can modify game changer after the game.

Many coaches of travel teams don't have much to do on the 3 hour break between games. Only takes 10 minutes to review a game in Game Changer and make edits.

 

[_MIA_]

Here is the thing. If two kids differ by a small amount in any certain statistic it isn't going to make a huge difference whether they bat 3rd or 4th, 7th or 8th, etc or one plays CF vs RF,etc. If the difference is huge then yes changes should be made but in that case only the most blind (or biased) coach isn't going to notice the difference without the stats. If the coach is biased, and your kid is getting screwed, why stay on the team?

 

[julray]

... and, for those people with the time and inclination, you can modify game changer after the game.

Many coaches of travel teams don't have much to do on the 3 hour break between games. Only takes 10 minutes to review a game in Game Changer and make edits.

This is exactly what I am talking about!! If a coach will go through the trouble of modifying stats(which can be tracked and controlled by permissions) to support their decision.. just imagine what's going on in their head and with their decision process when there's nothing to hold them in check.

 

[julray]

Here is the thing. If two kids differ by a small amount in any certain statistic it isn't going to make a huge difference whether they bat 3rd or 4th, 7th or 8th, etc or one plays CF vs RF,etc. If the difference is huge then yes changes should be made but in that case only the most blind (or biased) coach isn't going to notice the difference without the stats. If the coach is biased, and your kid is getting screwed, why stay on the team?

Agreed..

However kids can't change teams mid season, At least where I come from. And coaches who only rely on their own perception are generally influence by their own emotions. Like I said, same sh#@ different pile. Finding a coach with integrity should be on the top of anybody's list

 

[_MIA_]

Agreed..

However kids can't change teams mid season, At least where I come from. And coaches who only rely on their own perception are generally influence by their own emotions. Like I said, same sh#@ different pile. Finding a coach with integrity should be on the top of anybody's list

Changing teams midseason for anything other than abuse is bad, I agree. In that case you just have to suck it up (by the time you figured you were getting screwed the season would probably be half over anyway).

However the point of this thread was whether statistics should be used and while I say sure you can do that (if you trust the statistics) I am not how much of a difference it will make in the team performance if the coach was on the up and up and has a clue as to what they are doing. The other question, which is an important one, is if you do use statistics to set your lineup, what sample size do you use? Too small and you could end up chasing your tail, too big and you miss opportunities.

 

[uncdrew]

Agreed..

However kids can't change teams mid season, At least where I come from. And coaches who only rely on their own perception are generally influence by their own emotions. Like I said, same sh#@ different pile. Finding a coach with integrity should be on the top of anybody's list

Around here you can switch teams mid-game.

Honestly, it's pretty wild. Doesn't happen a ton, but I've watched girls switch teams mid-season.