We recently received a very good bit of publicity from an article in the Belfast Telegraph on our work with Irish League one side Bangor FC.

You often fear what is going to be written after an interview and hope that the article represents your view accuratly. Well i would like to commend Kieth Bialie the reporter for what turned out to be a very interesting read.

Since the article we have had an excellent response from a range of sports and have scheduled a course to run in Belfast and Dublin later in the year.

The article concluded our thoughts and passion that analysis is the way forward for grass roots sport.

Today I want to put some analysis terminology into 'lay man's terms' for you. You will often hear academics in the sporting arena talk of quantitative and qualitative analysis. While this is straight forward for those that understand the terms in the context of sport there are many  

I am sure that will appreciate these terms describe in the sporting context.

Analysis – collating information

Quantitative Analysis
Quantitative analysis is numerically oriented and requires significant attention to the measurement of events/tactics/skills involving vast statistical analysis. For example we may count the number of tackles attempted made and missed during a game. This will provide quantitative information that can be analysed statistically. The main rule with quantitative research is that every time we analyse the information the same series of tags are identified. The approach is must be very structured.


Qualitative Research
Qualitative analysis provides an understanding of how or why things are as they are. For example in Rugby we may ask a scrum half why he chose to go down the blind side rather than the open side or a fullback why he chose to kick possession away instead of counter attack. Unlike quantitative research there are no fixed set of questions but, instead, a discussion is used to explore various issues in-depth. The discussion between the coach and the player are largely determined by the players own thoughts and feelings.

Next   month we will look at Intrinsic and Extrinsic feedback in the context of sport.....

This is my first blog on the site and i would like to dedicate it to my passion. For many years sports video analysis technology has been reserved for the elite levels of sport. There are numerous innovative products out there namely Dartfish, Sportscode and Silicon Coach etc. While these products offer an outstanding solution for deep pockets the very important grass roots still find this technology out of reach.

This become so frustrating for me that I decided to use my Educational Experience to develop a learning program to teach those involved at the grass roots how to undertake this science in-house. I have identified some innovative products that make this science at last not only available but affordable at grass roots.

Our learning program is currently undergoing the endorsement process with an Ofqual registered Awarding Body to attain external certification for the program. The current cost of our Level 1 Award in Sports Performance analysis is £350.00 plus   Awarding Body Reg/Cert fees which are still to be confirmed. This price includes training on software that is freely available during   and on completion of the course. The only additional cost a club or individual will have is the purchasing of a camera system again we demonstrate   video clips from a full range of cameras from £180.00 to   £3,600.00 to let you decide the quality you require.

Why would we need it? think about the development opportunities at grass roots. Image having the ability to produce training videos of good technique to demonstrate to young players then   record the actual performance and compare it.   Video technology has never been so accessible   for grass roots to embrace the use of technology and instill a high level of professionalism into the coaching process.

over the coming weeks I will be blogging on   a range of   issues and opportunities to   go some way to   enhancing the development process of sporting athlete's players and organisations. I will be looking at the issue of how do our graduates get real work experience and what we at LEAR training are doing to try and contribute to   overcome this key issue and also about innovative ways to deliver sports education programs.

If you   have any questions about this blog please email me on sportsPA@leartraining.com