I'm curious as to how coaches keep track of their team's stats today. My coaches in the past have used custom spreadsheets, but that seems old-school.
If you're a coach, how do you keep track of your team's stats?
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Welcome to the site!
I am familiar with all of the SK software available today. It's all really great. But, for our HS program, we keep a standard book the old fashioned way and keep a Quality AB chart. We have the players keep them, encourage them to ask questions on questionable calls and a coach reviews for accuracy immediately after the game before they are posted. So, the players know they can't fudge anything.
We do it this way because it helps keep the players thinking and talking baseball, paying close attention to the game and learning this aspect of the game. It also helps keep anxiously volunteering parents from keeping it for us, although they do anyway
You have a faithful scorekeep poster or two here that take HS stats to the next level and beyond, to say the least. I'm sure you will hear from him/them if you are looking for more detailed or more high-tech solutions. Or, you can just check the "statistics and scorekeeping" section for plenty more info. Or, if you want to specifically ask coaches, you may want to throw it in the coaching forum.
I am familiar with all of the SK software available today. It's all really great. But, for our HS program, we keep a standard book the old fashioned way and keep a Quality AB chart. We have the players keep them, encourage them to ask questions on questionable calls and a coach reviews for accuracy immediately after the game before they are posted. So, the players know they can't fudge anything.
We do it this way because it helps keep the players thinking and talking baseball, paying close attention to the game and learning this aspect of the game. It also helps keep anxiously volunteering parents from keeping it for us, although they do anyway
You have a faithful scorekeep poster or two here that take HS stats to the next level and beyond, to say the least. I'm sure you will hear from him/them if you are looking for more detailed or more high-tech solutions. Or, you can just check the "statistics and scorekeeping" section for plenty more info. Or, if you want to specifically ask coaches, you may want to throw it in the coaching forum.
Yes dhopper, welcome. You started of with what is a very very good question
Being one of those who take HS stats more seriously than most, I’ll give answering your question a shot.
To begin with, the answer hinges on what you plan to do with the stats. If you’re looking for something that you can use to analyze your players every which way but loose and to give you answers to many questions that have typically been unavailable, that’s one thing. If you’re looking for the standard stats that one would find on a site like MaxPreps, and are the ones most baseball people are familiar with and understand pretty well, that’s another thing. And if you’re just looking for a replacement for the old spreadsheets, no matter how customized they are, its another thing still.
If you’re looking for the 2nd or 3rd option, then there are literally hundreds of pieces of software available, and the quality and number of them is growing every day. In fact, I’m guessing most of them that have been put out in the last 2 years will give you everything you’re looking for and more, to the point where you literally won’t have time to analyze what you have available.
Its kinda like if you want to write a letter on the computer and e-mail it to a friend. You can use something as simple as your e-mail program, or you can fire up Word. Both will get the job done, but you could literally spend years figuring out how to use everything available in Word. The result is, pick something easy to use and flexible that will meet your needs, but make sure you have access to the raw data anytime you want.
To tell the truth, I feel that for a coach in HS just getting into this stuff, I’d say just get a MaxPreps password, and use what they have. Once you have that password, as a coach you can do all kinds of things on line like rosters, schedules, pictures, videos. Plus, you can get some things the public can’t get, including some stats. I’m not at all saying it’s the best out there, but I am saying it’s the best as far as a national service goes, and you can use it for Fr, Jv, and V, all for free, with excellent support.
If that doesn’t suit ya, there are one heck of a lot of other things out there that are far more sophisticated, like TurboStats, IScore, and GameChanger. I really don’t know enough about what you’re trying to accomplish to really advise you, other than to say, TRY ‘EM ALL, then choose the one which best suits your needs.
Now a nut like me is far beyond what’s offered off-the-shelf, so I’ve created my own software. It can generate stats as simple as Batting Average, and so complicated they often make even my head hurt. But here’s the deal. It doesn’t matter how simple or complex the stats are, if you don’t have much time to actually just sit and analyze them, stay away from the more complex stuff. I’m retired and sometimes spend 6-8 hours “mining” data just to see what it looks like, but I know most active HS coaches have a few other things to do besides sitting in front of a keyboard playing with numbers all day.
Remember, easy to use and flexible!
I hope I gave you something to think about. Good luck!
Now I have to direct my attention to cabbagedad. Whenever I see someone use the words “Quality At Bat”, my brain’s emergency brake won’t allow me to go on until I ask a couple questions.
Can/Will you please describe what you feel a QAB is. And if you feel like you’re using too much detail and don’t want to bother others who might find details boring, PLEASE send it to me in a PM!
For almost a decade I’ve been trying to find the definition of a QAB that any scorer could use, but not have it be dependent on a lot of subjective things. It sounds as though you might be the 1st person who’s come up with a definition I could program.
Being one of those who take HS stats more seriously than most, I’ll give answering your question a shot. To begin with, the answer hinges on what you plan to do with the stats. If you’re looking for something that you can use to analyze your players every which way but loose and to give you answers to many questions that have typically been unavailable, that’s one thing. If you’re looking for the standard stats that one would find on a site like MaxPreps, and are the ones most baseball people are familiar with and understand pretty well, that’s another thing. And if you’re just looking for a replacement for the old spreadsheets, no matter how customized they are, its another thing still.
If you’re looking for the 2nd or 3rd option, then there are literally hundreds of pieces of software available, and the quality and number of them is growing every day. In fact, I’m guessing most of them that have been put out in the last 2 years will give you everything you’re looking for and more, to the point where you literally won’t have time to analyze what you have available.
Its kinda like if you want to write a letter on the computer and e-mail it to a friend. You can use something as simple as your e-mail program, or you can fire up Word. Both will get the job done, but you could literally spend years figuring out how to use everything available in Word. The result is, pick something easy to use and flexible that will meet your needs, but make sure you have access to the raw data anytime you want.
To tell the truth, I feel that for a coach in HS just getting into this stuff, I’d say just get a MaxPreps password, and use what they have. Once you have that password, as a coach you can do all kinds of things on line like rosters, schedules, pictures, videos. Plus, you can get some things the public can’t get, including some stats. I’m not at all saying it’s the best out there, but I am saying it’s the best as far as a national service goes, and you can use it for Fr, Jv, and V, all for free, with excellent support.
If that doesn’t suit ya, there are one heck of a lot of other things out there that are far more sophisticated, like TurboStats, IScore, and GameChanger. I really don’t know enough about what you’re trying to accomplish to really advise you, other than to say, TRY ‘EM ALL, then choose the one which best suits your needs.
Now a nut like me is far beyond what’s offered off-the-shelf, so I’ve created my own software. It can generate stats as simple as Batting Average, and so complicated they often make even my head hurt. But here’s the deal. It doesn’t matter how simple or complex the stats are, if you don’t have much time to actually just sit and analyze them, stay away from the more complex stuff. I’m retired and sometimes spend 6-8 hours “mining” data just to see what it looks like, but I know most active HS coaches have a few other things to do besides sitting in front of a keyboard playing with numbers all day.
Remember, easy to use and flexible!
I hope I gave you something to think about. Good luck!
Now I have to direct my attention to cabbagedad. Whenever I see someone use the words “Quality At Bat”, my brain’s emergency brake won’t allow me to go on until I ask a couple questions.
Can/Will you please describe what you feel a QAB is. And if you feel like you’re using too much detail and don’t want to bother others who might find details boring, PLEASE send it to me in a PM!
For almost a decade I’ve been trying to find the definition of a QAB that any scorer could use, but not have it be dependent on a lot of subjective things. It sounds as though you might be the 1st person who’s come up with a definition I could program.
Stats,
Here's our QAB formula... we simplified from last year when we had some higher point values. This is for our program. I don't claim this to be free of subjectivity or a great tool for all to use. It just serves it's purpose for us.
Result / Points
Extra Base Hit (XBH) 2
1B 1
BB 1
Hard Hit Ball - out (HH) 1
Successful Sac/Hit & Run (SAC)1
7+ Pitch AB (7P+) 1
Move runner w/ 0 out (MR) 1
out or error (OUT) 0
missed signal (MSIG) -1
popped up bunt (PUB) -1
failed sac bunt/hittable pitch (FSAC) -1
failed hit & run/hittable pitch (FH&R) -1
weak swing w/0 strikes (WEAK) -1
K looking (K) -1
For each AB, select the highest single value that applies - deduct lowest single value that applies - total is QAB value.
Cumulative rating is AB value / total AB's
example - 10 AB's
2 singles 2
1 double 2
1 BB 1
1 hard hit out 1
1 Fly Out 0
1 sac 1
1 failed hit & run -1
1 weak swing w/ 0 strikes -1
1 K looking -1
total 4 4 pts / 10 AB's = 400 QAB Avg
Here's our QAB formula... we simplified from last year when we had some higher point values. This is for our program. I don't claim this to be free of subjectivity or a great tool for all to use. It just serves it's purpose for us.
Result / Points
Extra Base Hit (XBH) 2
1B 1
BB 1
Hard Hit Ball - out (HH) 1
Successful Sac/Hit & Run (SAC)1
7+ Pitch AB (7P+) 1
Move runner w/ 0 out (MR) 1
out or error (OUT) 0
missed signal (MSIG) -1
popped up bunt (PUB) -1
failed sac bunt/hittable pitch (FSAC) -1
failed hit & run/hittable pitch (FH&R) -1
weak swing w/0 strikes (WEAK) -1
K looking (K) -1
For each AB, select the highest single value that applies - deduct lowest single value that applies - total is QAB value.
Cumulative rating is AB value / total AB's
example - 10 AB's
2 singles 2
1 double 2
1 BB 1
1 hard hit out 1
1 Fly Out 0
1 sac 1
1 failed hit & run -1
1 weak swing w/ 0 strikes -1
1 K looking -1
total 4 4 pts / 10 AB's = 400 QAB Avg