How to Keep Soccer Stats
Keeping track of soccer stats can be valuable for you and your team’s performance. But, is it always necessary?
Soccer stats provide an overview of individual and team performance, allowing you to identify strengths and weaknesses and adjust your focus accordingly. By measuring your progress over time, you can set goals and track your improvement.
For the younger ages, stats can be a distraction. At the same time, may still provide some value so let’s explore the list of stats and how to keep them during a soccer game!
List of All Soccer Stats
When it comes to keeping soccer stats, there are a lot of different metrics you can track. Here is a list of the most common soccer statistics you might want to keep track of:
- Goals (G): This is the total number of goals a player or team scores during a game, season, or career.
- Goals per Game (GPG): This is the average number of goals scored per game. This would be the total goals divided by the # of games played.
- Assists (A): This is the number of times a player sets up a goal for a teammate.
- Assists per Game (APG): This is the average number of assists per game. Divide the total assists on the season by the # of games played so far.
- Shots (SH): This is the total number of shots a player or team takes during a game, season, or career.
- Shots on Goal (SOG): This is the number of shots that are on target and require a save from the opposing team’s goalkeeper.
- Possession: This is the percentage of time a team has the ball during a soccer game.
- Goals For (GF): This is the total number of goals a team scores during a game, season, or tournament.
- Goals Allowed (GA): This is the total number of goals a team concedes during a game, season, or tournament.
- Goal Differential (GD): This is the difference between the number of goals a team has scored and the number of goals they have conceded.
Other soccer stats include:
- Minutes (Min): The minutes played during a game or season.
- Yellow Cards (YC): The amount of yellow cards received in the match or season.
- Red Cards (RC): The number of red cards given to a player during a game or season.
- Touches (T): The number of touches a player gets on the ball during a game. This stat shows how active the player was in the game.
- Turnover (TO): This shows how many times the ball was turned over by a player or team. Unlike American football and basketball, soccer naturally has many turnovers during a game.
These statistics can be used to evaluate individual player performance and team performance. By tracking these stats over time, you can identify trends and patterns that can help you make better decisions about your team’s strategy and tactics.
Recording Basic Soccer Stats
When it comes to tracking soccer stats, it’s important to start with the basics. Here are the essential stats you should be recording for each game.
Tracking Goals in Soccer
The most obvious stat to track in soccer is goals. For each game, record the number of goals scored by each team. You can further break down goals into categories such as:
- Penalty kicks
- Free kicks
- Header goals
- Shots from inside/outside the box
By tracking these different types of goals, you can get a better understanding of your team’s strengths and weaknesses.
Counting Assists in Soccer
Assists are another important stat to track in soccer. An assist is awarded to the player who passes the ball to the goal scorer. Recording assists can help you identify players who are good at setting up goals, as well as players who may need to work on their passing skills.
Calculating Save Percentages
For goalkeepers, save percentage is an important stat to track. To calculate the save percentage, divide the number of saves by the number of shots on goal. This will give you a percentage that represents how effective the goalkeeper is at stopping shots.
It’s also important to track other goalkeeper stats such as:
- Goals allowed
- Clean sheets (games where the goalkeeper doesn’t allow any goals)
- Penalties saved
These stats will provide players, coaches and directors a good story of how effective a keeper is.
Advanced Soccer Stats
In my personal experience, advanced soccer metrics can be a distraction for most players and teams. They are just unnecessary.
However, for elite players and high-level teams, they can be helpful to understand player and team performance. This will help teams fill in the weak gaps and focus their training on specific aspects of the game.
Measuring Possession
Possession is a crucial aspect of soccer, and measuring it accurately can provide valuable insights into your team’s performance.
One way to track possession is by calculating the percentage of time your team has the ball compared to the opposition. To do this, simply divide the amount of time your team has possession by the total time of the game.
Another way to measure possession is by tracking the number of passes your team completes compared to the opposition.
This can give you a better idea of how well your team is controlling the ball and maintaining possession.
Analyzing Pass Success Rate
Pass success rate is another advanced soccer statistic that can help you evaluate your team’s performance.
This metric measures the percentage of passes your team completes successfully compared to the total number of attempted passes.
A high pass success rate can indicate that your team is playing well and maintaining possession effectively.
On the other hand, a low pass success rate may suggest that your team needs to work on their passing accuracy and decision-making.
Determining Expected Goals (xG)
Expected goals (xG) is a statistic that measures the quality of goal-scoring opportunities. This metric takes into account factors such as shot location, shot type, and the number of defenders in the way to determine the likelihood of a goal being scored.
By tracking xG, you can gain a better understanding of your team’s offensive performance and identify areas for improvement. For example, if your team consistently generates high-quality scoring opportunities but struggles to convert them into goals, you may need to work on your finishing skills.
Choosing the Right Tools for Keeping Soccer Stats
Keeping track of soccer statistics can be a daunting task, especially if you’re doing it manually. Luckily, there are many tools available that can make the process much easier. Here are some things to consider when choosing the right tools for keeping soccer stats:
1. Type of Statistic
The first thing to consider is what type of statistic you want to keep track of. Some common statistics include goals, assists, shots, saves, and fouls. Depending on what statistics you want to track, you may need different tools.
2. Level of Detail
The level of detail you want to track is another important consideration. Do you want to track every single touch of the ball by every player on the field, or are you just interested in the final score and basic statistics like shots and saves? If you want to track a lot of detail, you may need more advanced tools.
3. Ease of Use
Another important consideration is ease of use. You don’t want to spend more time inputting data than actually watching the game. Look for tools that are user-friendly and intuitive.
Simpler the better. More automated the better.
4. Cost
Cost is also a factor to consider. Some tools are free, while others require a subscription or purchase. Make sure to weigh the cost against the features offered to determine the best value for your needs.
For example, GPS trackers are very helpful in the process but they can cost north of $200 per player.
5. Compatibility
Finally, make sure the tools you choose are compatible with the devices you’ll be using to input and access the data. Some tools may only work on certain operating systems or devices.
How Are Soccer Standings Usually Determined?
Soccer standings, also known as league tables, are determined by the points that teams accumulate over the course of a season.
Points are awarded based on the outcome of each game, with three points typically awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss.
In addition to points, other statistics are taken into account when determining standings. These include the number of games played (MP), wins (W), draws (D), losses (L), goals scored (GF), goals conceded (GA), and goal difference (GD).
Goal difference is calculated by subtracting the number of goals conceded from the number of goals scored. For example, if a team has scored 12 goals and conceded 7 goals, their goal difference would be +5.
In the event of a tie in points between two or more teams, tiebreakers are used to determine their final position in the standings. The most common tiebreaker is goal difference, followed by goals scored and head-to-head record.
It is important to note that different youth leagues and competitions may have slightly different rules and regulations when it comes to determining standings.
It is important to familiarize yourself with the specific rules of the league or competition you are keeping stats for!
Final Thoughts
Keeping soccer stats is an essential part of understanding the game and player performance. By tracking key metrics such as goals, assists, and shots on goal, you can gain valuable insights into how your team is performing and identify areas for improvement.
Most youth leagues will keep track of the team wins, losses, goals, etc. on their website.
However, there may be times when you want to track player stats. This requires more effort and detail.
Overall, by taking a thoughtful and strategic approach to keeping soccer statistics, you can gain valuable insights into your team’s performance and make data-driven decisions that lead to success on the field.
I hope this explanation helps! That’s what I’m here for 😃
