Utilising Technique Analysis: A Case Study

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A prevalent perception of the performance analyst is he is the “stats guy”.  That is only one part of it and a small part at that.  The bigger part is the utilisation of video and its use as a powerful feedback tool for coaches and players.  A recent Visual Performance Analysis article has provided some other roles a performance analyst can undertake.

The one thing that rarely gets a mention is technique analysis.  Whereas statistics looks at technique effectiveness (what we do – skill outcome), technique analysis looks at the actual technique itself (how we do it – skill movement).  I undertook a technique analysis for my Technique Analysis module.  I worked hard at it and I learnt a lot about the process.  The end result as a 5,000 word essay and three feedback videos for the three players involved.  I gained consent from the three players to publicly show the video, as seen below:

The video is simple to understand because it is geared towards players.  However, there are some great feedback and interventions in there that can really help the player improve their technique.  That is of course if they proactively work at it in training and the coach can provide drills that focus on technique.

Clearly there is a lot of preparation, work and detailed technical knowledge behind this.  For example, understanding what the coach or player wants out of it dictates what to analyse and the resources that is committed; describing a model spike technique is that backed up by biomechnical principles and research; calibrating the video so distance can be accurately measured and limiting parallex errors so angles can be reliably measured; software skills to stack and synchronise the two videos and the video editing skills to produce the video itself.

Technique analysis should be utilised more often because it is another avenue to enhance performance. David Brailsford, Performance Director of British Cycling and General Manager of Team Sky, spoke about the principle of marginal gains.  This is where you improve every aspect of performance by 1%, the aggregate gain is massive.  Technique analysis will give coaches and players and massive gain in its own right.