The rise of the ‘Coach Analyst’

The focus of this week’s message is about the role of the 'coach analyst'. Having seen more and more of these roles appear and noticed some talk about them on social media, I figured it's as a good a topic as any to write a little piece on.

It's important to note this touches on a something we have spoken about before where the lines between a coach and analyst are now much different to what they used to be. But where are these roles coming from? Are they to act as a bridge between coach and analyst? Are they being taken by coaches that are just embracing analysis tools, or analysts as we used to know them, just doing more coaching these days.

I've spoke before about the need for coaching knowledge when being an analyst, especially if you want to work at the highest level of the game, and that goes for any sport. You can read a previous post that touches more on that HERE.

A few people I know that are now in these positions have moved over from being in a 'traditional' analyst role. A role that they have been in for many years whilst learning from countless different managers and also becoming much more immersed in the coaching side of things as time went on.

I mean you could argue that a lot of what analysts do in top clubs is actually coaching; just off-field coaching. What do you think? I'm working on getting a coach analyst on for a podcast episode actually so if you would like to submit some questions, just let me know and hopefully I can make that happen soon.

A lot is said about relationships and trust when working in sports and this is what leads to head coaches taking staff with them into new jobs. The ability for a 'coach analyst' to have the trust from the other coaching staff and players and work closely with them makes perfect sense. I think this trust is created by their high level of football and coaching knowledge and how they can use their 'analysis' skills to give another dimension to the coaching process and help facilitate the other coaches.

So is the coach analyst another of the niche roles we are seeing in the modern era or are they just coaches that have a better understanding of analysis. Are coaches and analyst merging into one, especially at the highest level? As always, curious to hear people’s thoughts and opinions...

While you are here, why not check out a recent podcast I did with Alessandro Barcherini who is the current head of GK at Sunderland AFC. He would probably describe himself is a coach but in part of the conversation he explains his views on analysis and how he uses video and data as part of his match prep and ongoing work with the Sunderland GKs.

Check it out here...

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