SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums SCHSSCA 2015 Scoring

My biggest gripe over the years with stats has been the fact that stats can say whatever you want them to say.

Take a GK from Irmo HS that has a 0.50 GAA and another from Greenville HS that has a 1.10 GAA. They've played different competition in different regions/classifications. It's a tough comparison.

Then you throw in the Podunk High teams that play NO ONE and they have some gaudy stats (both offensively and defensively), but get drubbe 10-0 in the first round of their playoffs.

It's fine for kids to get recognized, but stats are just that -- STATS.

My first response to such a statement is who does Governor's School play? No Hartsville, nor any of the Florence schools. Seems a tough sell as far as credibility Mr. Cady.

Stats are more than just stays. They help in telling what a team has/doesn't have. If a kid can score against low tier competition but is shutout every game against mid level & up competition, then that tells me that maybe he's not as good when faced against a decent or strong defense. If a keeper is averaging .21 GAA but allowed 9 goals in 3 games against the Wandos of the world, that also tells me something. Plus these stats on this level are mostly for the kids & the programs. Some programs who don't have the luxury of being in the "top tier" of HS soccer programs can give some shine to players that may get overlooked because they play for a "low tier" school.

I enjoy keeping stats for our boys program because the players can keep up with it during the season. If any have aspirations of playing in the next level, then there's numbers to backup the videos. Can they be misleading? Of course, but last I checked HS soccer wasn't ran on analytics. It's not like we're doing a true score rating or some Sloan conference data grabbing. It's just giving the kids shine.

Folks, this thread had a question/recommendation to make the scoring part of the stats more in line with the goalkeeper stats. If its right to have Goals Against Average why not have Points Scored Average?

Eaglesfutbol, that's more or less how I look at it. I was just recommending adding another level of comparison to the equation. I can't do anything about the number of games we play, but because it seems other coaches can then our player's talent should have an asterisk next to it. Likewise, I can't do anything about the level of competition we face, but because it seems other coaches can then our player's talent should have an asterisk next to it.
With respect to GRR15, you are right we are limited in who we play - but you are probably referring more to the GSSM boys team, because the girls team has played Hartsville twice, and no we haven't played a Florence team but it is not because we don't want to, it's because there is no room in THEIR schedule for us. But this thread wasn't about how good or bad the GSSM programs are. I'll debate the fairness of the SC High School Soccer community all night long - but let's do it in a different thread.

Coach Cady I actually like your idea, but I like analytics. That's something I hadn't thought of doing & am going to try that formula w/ my teams & see what that tells me. Doubt it'll get any traction because some teams have a hard enough time keeping goals much less minutes played by players

Dick, if GSSM keeps track of minutes played by field players then by all means include those in your statistics report. However, I don't know of many teams that keep that stat.

Kyle, we do keep track of minutes played - but only to aid me in trying to give the players a fair shake in playing time. Minutes for the scoring stats is probably too fine a detail. Next you'd have to qualify the minutes by what position they were playing. It works for goalkeepers because it's only one position. My thoughts were just to use number of games. It certainly isn't perfect, it just seemed to address the fact that some teams only play 15 or 16 games while others play 24 or 25. Another way to look at it would be two players on the same team - same opponents. Player A scores 2 goals a game, player B scores 3. Player B only plays in 10 games due to an injury - 60 points. Player A plays in 20 games - 80 points. From a soccer player point of view, which is the better scorer?

[quote=Then you throw in the Podunk High teams that play NO ONE and they have some gaudy stats (both offensively and defensively), but get drubbe 10-0 in the first round of their playoffs. [/quote]

Podunk High? What an insulting post. There are plenty of teams in Greenville & Columbia that play NO ONE either.

Really? Out of everything posted, you pick up on the Podunk High... You must be bored. I feel your pain.

It was hard to miss