Data Analytics Scouting (DAS)

Format: Hybrid (live sessions + guided labs + project)
Total Duration: ~150 hours over 3 months (≈12–14 hrs/week)
Access Included: Sample Wyscout datasets, dashboard templates, and dedicated ASRA support staff

Who it’s for

Scouts, analysts, and coaches who want to turn raw football data into recruitment and performance insights, fast dashboards, clean reports, and data-driven shortlists that coaches trust.

What you’ll be able to do

• Source & clean data from Wyscout; model tidy datasets.

• Calculate core metrics (xG/xA concepts, possession/pressing proxies, role-specific KPIs).

• Build interactive dashboards in Tableau and Power BI (club/league benchmarking).

• Produce data-driven scouting reports and shortlists with clear selection criteria.

• Create a repeatable data strategy (naming, versioning, QC, backups).

Course Structure

Module 1 / Data Foundations & Tooling (50 Hours)

Introduction & setup (data literacy, foldering, version control)
Getting started with sources (Wyscout exports, API/CSV basics)
Data cleaning pipeline (CSV → Power Query/Query Editor, joins, unions)
Data model design (players, matches, events, competitions)
Metric basics (minutes-normalised rates, per90, possession-adjusted)
Tool primers

• Tableau: connections, joins, calculated fields, parameters

• Power BI: Power Query, DAX fundamentals, measures, relationships
  Timeline to insights (from raw tables to a first mini dashboard)
  Preparing to deliver (exporting, sharing, workbook hygiene)
  Summary & review → Module completion

Assessment: Clean a multi-league dataset and ship a 1-page KPI dashboard (Tableau or Power BI).

Module 2 / Performance Metrics & Dashboards (50 Hours)

Implementation (build weekly ops workflow)
Advanced KPIs (shot quality/xG concepts, expected threat, chance-creation chains)
Pressing & possession proxies (field tilt, PPDA concepts, territory)
Role archetypes & benchmarks (position profiles, cohort/age curves)
Advanced dashboards

• Tableau: actions, level of detail (LOD), small multiples, story points

• Power BI: DAX time-intelligence, bookmarks, tooltips, field parameters
  Databases & profiles (player/team profiles, thresholds, flags)
  Data + video linking (URL deep-links back to Wyscout/InStat clips)
  Quality control (sanity checks, outlier handles, reproducibility)
  Summary & review → Module completion

Assessment: Publish a league benchmarking dashboard + 1 position profile (Tableau &/or Power BI).

Module 3 / Recruitment Analytics & Reporting (50 Hours)

Introduction (briefs, stakeholder mapping)
Similarity & clustering (no/low-code): cosine similarity, k-means concepts via BI tools or add-on scripts
Shortlisting (filters, thresholds, weighted scoring, Price’s-Law impact focus)
Visuals for scouts (radars, percentile bars, shot maps, pass networks—BI-friendly)
Case study (replace a departing player in League X; budget & age constraints)
Data strategy (governance, backups, handover packs, SOPs)
Deliver like a pro (exec summary + deck + interactive dashboard handoff)
Summary & review → Module completion

Capstone: End-to-end recruitment brief: data model → dashboards → shortlist (5–8 names) with video links (Wyscout/InStat) and an exec report (10–12 slides). 1:1 viva (15–20 min).

Hardware & Software Requirements

OS & laptop

• Windows 10/11 (recommended) for native Power BI Desktop.

• Mac users: Tableau runs natively; for Power BI, use Parallels + Windows 11 (Apple Silicon) or a Windows secondary machine.

• Specs: 16 GB RAM (32 GB ideal for large extracts), 512 GB+ SSD, modern CPU/GPU.

Tools

• Tableau Desktop/Cloud (trial or licence)

• Power BI Desktop (Windows) + Power BI Service (Pro trial optional)

• Excel/Google Sheets for quick wrangling

• Wyscout/InStat (your club access) or ASRA-provided sample exports

• Optional: Python (Anaconda) for advanced learners (not required)

Delivery & Schedule

• 3 months: two weeknight sessions + one weekend lab most weeks

• All live sessions recorded; replays & lab notebooks provided

Support You Receive

• Office hours & troubleshooting with ASRA analysts

• Template pack: KPI library, data model, Tableau/Power BI starters, style guide

• Sample Wyscout/InStat datasets for practice

Certification

• ASRA Data Analytics Scouting Certificate (serialised PDF + digital badge) after passing all module assessments and the capstone.

FAQs

Do I need coding?
No. We teach a no/low-code path in Tableau/Power BI. Optional Python is provided for those who want it.

Can I do it on a Mac?
Yes,Tableau works natively. For Power BI, run Windows via Parallels or use a Windows device.

What if I don’t have Wyscout?
We supply practice exports; you can plug in your club data later without changing the workflow.