Keep your receipts, coaches!
Keeping detailed records is an essential part of being a coach, whether you’re managing young players or an experienced team. Not only does this help you better understand your team’s dynamics and performance, but it also protects you if any issues arise with parents or players. This blog will walk you through exactly what records you should keep and how to use tools like ChatGPT to analyze and improve your coaching.
Why You Should Keep Records
There are two primary reasons why keeping thorough records as a coach is essential:
- Analysis: By tracking attendance, performance, and behavior, you can make better, data-driven decisions for your team. Records help you identify patterns in practice attendance, who’s consistently contributing, and even pinpoint areas of concern, like a player who disrupts practice.
- Protection: There’s always a chance that someone—be it a parent or player—will raise a complaint. Keeping accurate records can protect you by providing evidence to back up your decisions. Parents might embellish stories, or a player might complain about playing time. Your documentation ensures you have the necessary proof to support your decisions.
Analysis: How to Use Records for Team Analysis
By keeping detailed records, you can improve your decision-making. Here’s how:
- Attendance Patterns: Who’s consistently attending practice and games? Are there players who frequently miss practice or arrive late? Keeping attendance records helps you recognize patterns and plan your practices accordingly.
- Performance Analysis: Who’s scoring the most goals? Which goalie has the most saves? By tracking player stats, you can make more informed decisions about your game strategy.
- Practice Planning: With records showing which players or positions attend practice on certain days, you can tailor practices to ensure the right skills are being developed when key players are present.
Protection: Protecting Yourself in Case of Complaints
It’s possible that at some point, a parent or player might make a claim against you. Having records to back up your coaching decisions and interactions can clear your name and protect your reputation. Document incidents such as:
- Behavioral Issues: Document when a player isn’t following instructions or is disruptive during practice. If these issues persist, having a record of the incidents helps you communicate effectively with parents.
- Medical Concerns: Keep track of injuries or any medical incidents during practice or games.
- Parent Communication: Record key conversations with parents, especially around playing time or behavioral concerns. This ensures that any decisions made have been communicated and documented.
This documentation will serve as evidence if you ever need to defend yourself against a complaint.
What to Record as a Coach
The key elements to record include:
- Attendance: Not just whether a player attended, but also notes on their performance (good or bad) during practice or games.
- Incidents: Keep track of any behavioral or medical issues, such as a player not following instructions or an injury that occurred during practice.
- Game and Practice Details: Document who attended, what drills or tactics were covered, and any incidents that may have occurred.
- Conversations with Players and Parents: Record key discussions about performance, injuries, playing time, or behavioral issues.
- Digital Communication: Keep emails and Zoom recordings, especially for important meetings or discussions with parents and players.
Make sure to archive all this data and store it for a reasonable amount of time in case you need to refer back to it.
Tools for Record Keeping
You can track much of this information in Excel or use specific apps that help with player performance.
- Excel Templates: Use Excel to track attendance, performance notes, and incidents.
- Apps for Playing Time: Apps like SubTime help track players’ time on and off the field. Many of these types of apps can generate downloadable reports, making it easy to store this information with other season data.
A Step-by-Step Example of Using ChatGPT for Analysis
I recently faced some behavioral issues with my U13 soccer team and wanted to analyze if there were any patterns regarding certain players or combinations of players. I uploaded my attendance records (using initials instead of the players’ names) and other data into ChatGPT and asked it to analyze specific points for me. Here’s exactly how I used ChatGPT and the results I received.
What I Submitted to ChatGPT:
I have some behavioral issues with my U13 soccer team. I’ve been tracking some data points on the players, their interest in playing past middle school, their practice attendance, and game performance. I’d like you to analyze my data and answer the following:
1) Are there any patterns or combinations of players/coaches that result in negative or positive outcomes?
2) What is the average number of players that show up on certain days of the week?
3) What is the average of each position I can expect to see by day of the week?
I included some important notes for context:
* I’ve marked if players completed homework regarding their goals and interest in playing beyond middle school.
* Practices from March 11 to March 14 were during spring break, so attendance was lower than usual.
* I track the quality of practice or game with a score of 1 (good), 0 (neutral), or -1 (bad) in the quality column.
* There are two columns for primary and secondary positions, which should both be considered in the analysis.
* Players have also noted whether they want to play in high school or beyond. If they want to, I’ve marked them with a “1.”Response from ChatGPT:
Based on the data you provided, here are the findings:
1. Patterns of combinations of players/coaches and quality outcomes:
* Players with the most positive impact: JC (0.46), ML (0.43), RP (0.43), SG (0.34), BF (0.34).
* Players with negative impact: HD (-0.44), EW (-0.25), VZ (-0.22).
2. Average attendance by day of the week:
* Highest on Monday (100%) and lowest on Wednesday (63%).
* Tuesday and Thursday have similar average attendance (~72%).
3. Average position attendance by day of the week:
* Goalies and head coaches have perfect attendance on Mondays.
* Midfielders generally attend consistently across all days.
* Defenders and wings have lower attendance, particularly on Wednesdays.7. How I Used the Information
The data analysis helped me make several key decisions:
- Captain Selection: I typically rotate four captions throughout the season: three of the team’s choosing and one of my choosing (see How to Handle Problematic Players and Build a Strong Team Culture to learn why). I allowed my team to nominate captains, and I used the players with the most positive impact (the highest positive correlation from the data) to help me choose a captain of my own.
- Addressing Behavioral Issues: I closely monitored players with negative correlations and found that one particularly “shy” player was quietly disrupting others during drills. Once I recognized this pattern, I was able to address the issue directly.
- Practice Planning: I adjusted my practices to ensure that key players in specific positions, like defenders, received more tailored training on days when they were more likely to attend.
Final Thoughts
Keeping detailed records not only helps you make more informed decisions about your team but also protects you in the event of a complaint. Whether it’s tracking attendance, documenting conversations, or using data analysis tools like ChatGPT, being organized with your records can make all the difference in your coaching experience.
With the right tools and approach, you can improve your coaching and foster a better environment for your players.
