New Stat -- Short Time Scoring

Short Time Scoring a new stat report in Takedown Scoring and Stats Release 1.1. This is the first of many advanced stats we intend to implement.

Short Time Scoring is More Important than First Takedown

One of the reasons we created Takedown was to uncover the coaching insights that are hidden inside paper scorebooks.

Coaches are always wondering "how does my wrestler do in short time?" The reason is simple: points scored in short time are difficult to make up because a time-out will occur soon as the clock expires. Short time scoring is similar to edge scoring in this sense (though the time out is less certain in edge scoring and, in fact, can be avoided entirely if action migrates away from edge).

Many coaches feel that scoring the first takedown as being the most reliable indicator of match outcome (win or loss). However, after reviewing thousands of match outcomes we believe that short-time scoring is a better predictor of match outcome. This isn’t a feeling — it’s data driven.

Implementation in Takedown Scoring and Stats

This new report can be found in the Reports section of the app.

Recognizing that ‘short time’ means different things to different coaches, Takedown allows you to set a short time value of 5, 10, 15 or 20 seconds. The report displays for each wrestler the number of points scored and conceded within this short time ‘bucket’. As with all reports, narrow or expand the scope over which short time scoring is calculated by using report filters.

The report also provides a ratio - Average Point Differential (APD) - that allows you to quickly evaluate a wrestler's short time performance.

APD is simply the difference of points scored and conceded divided by the total number of periods.

If the APD value is positive, then your wrestler is scoring more points than conceded. A positive APD can be an unassailable competitive advantage.

If the APD is negative then the opposite would be true. This wrestler will be far less likely, on average, to win matches.

As a coach that's what you want to know.

Here's a real-world example of the Short Time Scoring report:

The accuracy of the Short Time Report depends on your having scored the match live because the stat requires an accurate match clock.. If the match has been marked as “transcribed” then the match will be excluded from the Short Time scoring stats.

Check out the Short Time Scoring report in the current release, available on the App Store

We Can Do Better

Wrestling Needs Better Stats

We don’t keep very good statistics in scholastic wrestling.  Our primary scoring repository -- handwritten scorebooks -- isn't good for retrieving and analyzing data.  Also, the statistics getting the most attention -- individual match and team results -- don’t get us to the next level. To be sure, these stats are fundamentally important, but coaches, athletes and fans deserve a richer and more interesting statistical view of our sport.  We can and should do better.

Save a Tree and Some Time

Recently, I took a peek inside a high school coach’s desk drawer and found this.

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Wrestling Coach Drawer

Look familiar?  Thought so.

Some coaches or team managers, bless their hearts, will painstakingly comb through pages of manually scored matches and tally up takedowns, pins and so forth.  This process is time-consuming, inflexible and error-prone.  Also, a coach undertaking manual tallying wastes precious coaching time on a task easily avoided.

To date, alternatives for electronically recording live match results have been few and not very user friendly.  Legacy approaches include DOS-, Windows- and browser-based programs, none of which take full advantage of today’s more user friendly technology.  However, tablet computers, like the Apple iPad, and native, user-friendly apps, like Takedown Scoring and Stats, make the transition to electronic scoring both easy and compelling.

More Than Runs and Hits

What if professional baseball recorded only runs and hits?  These essential stats determine game winner and individual performance, respectively, and are really all that’s needed for figuring out the best team and batter.  

But, professional baseball teams and players are measured with a seemingly endless array of stats.  Why?

Because coaches and players find the statistics helpful for assessing team and individual performance and taking corrective action.  

And, from a fan’s perspective, rich stats make for objective discussion and engaging debate.

For the most part, wrestling is concerned mostly with runs and hits.  We know which team won an event and which wrestler beat another wrestler and this data is fundamentally important.  

But, from a statistical perspective, do we really understand our sport?  Maybe, but I haven’t seen anything published in the US since Gurby’s “Scoring Patterns in High School Wrestling” in 2005.

Certainly some teams maintain a comprehensive statistical understanding of team performance.  But, the practice isn't common for good reason: the task is too hard.  Most often, the data doesn’t exist in a usable format or might not exist at all.

Further, better stats is part of building a larger, more engaged wrestling fan base.  Fans love stats! Statistics offer a deeper understanding of competitor and team performance, and provide an objective departure point for lively discussion and debate.  Having a larger group of engaged fans would surely be great for our sport!

Enter Takedown Scoring and Stats

Our scoring and stats app, Takedown Scoring and Stats, helps teams save time by digitizing all of their wrestling information: scoring, stats, video, schedules, rosters and contacts. It’s free to use for a trial period during which you can explore all the capabilities and understand how easy it is to move your team into the 21st century.

If you’re interested in developing comprehensive stats for your team and saving time as well, give it a try.