Frank Russell, of Bath, embraces the concept of analytics but admits that no matter what the number say, his team will always lean on the side of being aggressive.
Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
Analytics.
It’s a topic that draws responses from all ends of the spectrum.
To certain football minds, it’s something that should be left at the tables in Las Vegas. Do I hit on 16 or pray that the dealer busts?
To others, it’s about playing the odds. Can you demoralize the opposing team by recovering an onside kick? Is it ever worth kicking field goals or extra points?
What about punting? The rules give you four downs to gain 10 yards. If a coach takes punting out of the equation and uses all four of those downs, maybe instead of throwing the ball beyond the sticks on third-and-long, the offense runs a different play that has the upside for a big gain but at worst, sets up a fourth-and-short.
On the other side of the ball, it could just be about studying the opponent’s tendencies. What kinds of plays do they lean on in certain situations?
Some area teams, such as Columbus Grove, give a headset to a statistician. Other teams, like Celina, have one person on the payroll dedicated solely to analytics.
A common theme among area coaches interviewed was game flow.
Even the ones who embrace the data to the highest degree conceded that sometimes it’s not about the numbers, it’s about how their team is playing that night and what the situation presents.
“Defensively it’s something we use all the time,” said Keith Recker, Van Wert’s head coach. “We gameplan throughout the week, and we’re getting information from the press box on Friday night about what other teams like to do in specific situations. Our calls go off of that, and we track things during the game to see if teams are following their usual tendencies.”
The in-game replay system teams use on Hudl has not only been useful for watching opponents but for also scouting themselves.
“It’s been valuable to us in terms of self-scouting, not trying to create tendencies,” said Travis Moyer, Wapakoneta’s head coach. “At the end of the day, I’m still a believer in putting the ball in the hands of your best players, no matter what. It’s more about personnel in the situation and relying on the feel of the game.”
Frank Russell, of Bath, shared the same sentiment. No matter what the numbers say, both teams want to be aggressive, determine their own fates and not leave the outcome in anyone else’s hands.
“We’re going to be very aggressive because that’s who we are as a team and who I am as a coach,” Russell said. “The score and game clock can also dictate that decision, but more times than not, we’re going to be on the aggressive side of things.”
For Andy Schafer, at Columbus Grove, it’s about having the right personnel, not just on the field but also up in the booth.
Ned Stechschulte is Grove’s team statistician. He created a system in Microsoft Excel that provides Schafer with any number, anytime he wants it.
Stechschulte, who hasn’t missed a game in years, relays the information in-game over a headset directly to the coaching staff. Schafer credits Stechschulte, saying his dedication to the program is the main reason they have access to numbers that help them in real-time.
“No. 1, there’s not a lot of systems out there that do it during the game. No. 2, how do you get somebody who cares about your program enough to volunteer their time and do that? We just have a special person in Ned, and every time I ask for something, he provides it,” Schafer said.
“Technology-wise, we almost look like ESPN studios when we show up to our field. To me, it’s like, ‘Why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that? You have to have the right people to do it.’”
But how much is too much? How many numbers or tendencies can be put in front of a coach before he overthinks a decision?
Defiance’s Travis Cooper and Bluffton’s Jeff Richards think there’s a point where teams can take it too far.
“It’s a fine line,” Cooper said. “I think there are times when it can be information overload, but there are some things out there that are really helpful. You can get tendencies and percentages in certain situations when coaches like to do certain things. Those kinds of things definitely help.”
Richards added, “It’s huge, but just like with anything, you can go too far, one way or another. We’ll go as far back as we can if a team has a long-term coordinator, we’ll look at what they did three or four years ago to see if things have changed.
“At the same time, you can tell me that 100% of the time a team is going to do this, then they might decide to do something else, and you get burned. We definitely look at the analytics, but it’s not a crutch. It’s not something we’re going to lean on 100% of the time.”
Then there’s the other end of the argument.
Some schools believe in the “old school mentality” of conservative play. It relies on a stout defense, strong special teams play and minimizing offensive mistakes to win football games. It’s something that Jim Tressel made famous during his run as coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Sometimes it’s about the style of play; other times it’s about program numbers or even special teams being the strongest unit on the team.
Pandora-Gilboa, a program that has a 35-man roster, might not develop true tendencies because players might be forced to play a number of different positions in the same game.
“Where we’re at, we don’t have the time to really focus on the analytics too much, because we never know who’s going to be in the game,” Rockets coach Matt Hershey said. “We don’t have backups at positions so if somebody goes down, we might start moving players around to different spots on the field.”
Cole Harting, of Crestview, said the whole concept might have already hurt the game. The former math teacher went on to say his in-game decisions haven’t been impacted by the use of analytics.
Harting also has the luxury of having Hayden Perrott, who’s a strong kicker with the ability to knock through a field goal or pin a team deep with a punt.
“You see guys not taking field goals even when they should because they have a good kicker,” Harting said. “They make decisions based on analytics, and I get it, but I’d rather put some points on the board and force the other team to score than miss a fourth down in field goal territory.”
Some programs attempt to gather as much intel as possible, while also relying on game flow.
Other teams have shrugged off the extra information entirely.
It’s hard to say who’s right or wrong because numbers don’t lie, but instincts are important.
Analytics or no analytics, every team just wants one thing — to win football games.
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