About

This project began as a thought experiment and a dream of working in professional sports data and analytics. At many of his post-game press conferences, Coach Schmetzer will tap his pen on the table and reference his preferred statistic: duels won. If working for the Sounders data and analytics team, how could we deliver a fuller picture to the coaching staff of how possession is won or lost by a particular player. Understanding when a player is more likely to gain or lose possession, can inform tactical decisions, highlight areas for individual improvement, and shape game strategy for opponents and matchups.

To achieve this goal, we developed a Contested Possession Metric — a composite statistic using a custom algorithm to weight aerial duels won and lost, tackles won, interceptions, and recoveries in order to reflect the in-game contribution of creating turnovers or securing possession. Since “Contested Possession Metric” is a bit of a mouthful, we have dubbed it the Schmetzer Score.

Nick Edwards architected the data environment, developed the ETL pipelines which ingest the data, designed the algorithm to calculate the scores, and built the API routing which delivers hard numbers to the front end.

Juanita Samborski brought all the stats to life in a vibrant and interactive Next.js dashboard that leverages an intuitive UX/UI, centers the user, and offers a seamless experience.

Read more about the thought process supporting our approach and how the statistics were weighted on the Methods page.