Although Moneyball brought sports analytics to the attention of the general public, it has been the introduction of tracking data which has been a game changer for researchers. With tracking data, we have big data where the location of the ball and each player are recorded at high frequencies (say, 10-25 times per second). Such data permit the evaluation of off-the-ball activities, something that is not possible with box score data and event data. The spatio-temporal aspect of tracking data has been exploited in major sports such as soccer, basketball and hockey.

In this Workshop, attendees will bring in their own computer, and will be given a sample game of tracking data from soccer. Attendees will learn how to manage the data, and carry out some basic calculations. Hopefully, they will gain an appreciation of the opportunities that are available with this new source of data.