Prozone

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U.S. Soccer Development Academy

Prozone analysis

The U.S. Soccer Development Academy programme is designed to provide the optimum developmental environment for the nation's top youth soccer players and Prozone are proud to support the programme.

Prozone has been providing performance analysis services since the launch of the Development Academy in the autumn of 2007 and the programme has dramatically changed the elite youth soccer environment. Providing more than just a competitive league for the nation’s top 77 clubs, the programme is focused on improving the every day training environment for elite players, so they can fulfil their potential as international, professional or collegiate soccer players.

"We saw a lot of growth in the programme the first two years, and on many levels it has exceeded our expectations,” said Development Academy Director of Scouting Tony Lepore. “Still, we are constantly evaluating our progress and identifying areas where we need to get better. We want to take the opportunity this year to implement more market training centres, build an increased focus on everyday training environments, strengthening our scouting network even more and increase its value and connection to our national teams programmes."

All Academy teams and players receive direct feedback and evaluations from the National Team staff including an exclusive analysis of their performances via Prozone MATCHVIEWER. The coaching staff monitor the progress of players and the development of the programme as a whole by using Prozone’s TREND analysis and establishing benchmarks by which improvement can be made season on season.

The TREND data is also used to quantify that the academy itself has been a success so far. Evaluation of progress and KPI's were taken from Youth leagues in Europe for which we had benchmarking data. As the programme enters its 3rd year it has already dramatically impacted the player developmental process in the US. In 2008 more than 100 players from academy clubs we included in US Youth National Teams.

Lepore’s observations are supported by the TREND data from the first two years of the Academy programme, demonstrating that the level of play has improved since the first year of the programme, as analysis from the Winter Showcases in 2007-08 and 2008-09 has recorded improved passing efficiency, more one touch passes, more sophisticated passing tactics and improved shooting accuracy.

The Academy programme has also proven to be a successful platform to identify players for national team and collegiate teams. Each Academy team was observed at least 20 times by a National Team scout in 2008-09, resulting in more 250 players from 59 different Academy clubs being selected for a youth national team camp since the programme’s launch in 2007.

Development Academy coaches can access post-match analysis reports of their team and identify the strengths and weaknesses of any individual player or unit. This objective statistical data can then be used to enhance the coaching process to gauge the team’s improvement in certain areas of play. The data can also be used to scout opponents, allowing coaches to identify strengths and weaknesses in their opponents — including specific tactical aspects of play.

“Prozone can give a player detailed information, which I think is valuable for a coach to impart,” said Bob Mouillon, director of coaching for AFC Lightening SC. “Rather than [a coach] telling them, they can see for themselves when you can isolate a player or a series of events during a game and show them. It’s more of an individual thing. Rather than having the whole team watching you, you can go to a player, your back four or your midfields and say, ‘Look at this ball that went past you. You didn’t quite work and you weren’t first to the ball.”

U.S. Soccer Development Academy Technical Director John Hackworth added;

“Prozone is an invaluable way for coaches and players to go back and try to analyze a game now that they get some very useful statistical information and some concrete data that they can use in their own development.”

MATCHINSIGHT; Prozone’s self-coding system is available as an affordable software licence for all Academy teams interested analysing their performances in other games.

For more information contact Prozone direct.

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Image courtesy of isi Photos

Copy courtesy of US Soccer

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