Mitch Thompson

📢 xPPDA: A smarter way to quantify real pressing in real space 🔍 Traditional metrics like PPDA measure passes allowed in fixed zones. But football doesn’t happen in static maps — it moves, it adapts, and it flows with tactical intent. That’s why we developed xPPDA (Expected PPDA Disruption) at the 👉 Football Intelligence & Performance Department at LALIGA — a new model that dynamically evaluates defensive pressure based on what truly happens on the pitch. Instead of simply counting passes before a defensive action, xPPDA asks a more important question: 💡 Where is your team actually defending — and what kind of danger is it truly disrupting? Here’s how it works 👇 🧱 First, the model builds a frame-by-frame convex hull around the defenders and midfielders — dynamically capturing the real shape of your pressing block. 🎯 Only passes that start or are received inside this live defensive zone are counted — not just any pass that flies over or around. 🔥 Each pass is assigned a threat value, similar to xG. The more likely a pass is to create danger, the more value it has — and the more credit your team gets for disrupting it. 💡 But the real breakthrough? Orientation. Thanks to skeletor tracking data, xPPDA doesn’t just check whether a defender is close to the passer or receiver. It evaluates whether they are truly engaged in the action — based on their body orientation. ✅ Are they facing the ball? ✅ Are they in a position to intercept, press, or block? ✅ Or are they nearby but turning away, reacting late, or simply jogging back? This layer transforms the definition of effective pressure. It allows us to separate: 1️⃣ Presence from intent 2️⃣ Closeness from impact 3️⃣ Running from reading The result? A model that values defenders not just for being near — but for being ready. 🔹 For coaches, analysts, and performance staff, xPPDA offers immediate value: ✅ Detect when your team applies real pressure — and when it only looks like it ✅ Train body shape and orientation as pressing fundamentals ✅ Build defensive drills that reward proactive positioning, not just recovery runs ✅ Scout players based on their ability to prevent danger, not just accumulate actions ✅ Replace volume metrics with contextual intelligence In a game where pressing defines identity, xPPDA challenges how we measure and teach defensive behavior. Because defending isn’t about being close. It’s about being ready, oriented, and disruptive. 💬 How would your team’s pressing look if you measured pressure not by presence — but by posture? 🎧 Podcast episode: https://lnkd.in/dSsD4v-Z 📄 Scientific article: [Coming soon] 🔗 Blog post: https://lnkd.in/dnqgeqZq

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How can we measure the value of a player's actions in football? Hudl Statsbomb's On-Ball Value (OBV) model scores each action a player takes in terms of the positive or negative impact it has on the probability of their team scoring and conceding. Learn more ▶️ https://lnkd.in/gjxeT9h9 #HudlStatsbomb #AdvancedAnalytics

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Craig Dalrymple has built a career defined by resilience, adaptability, and an obsession with player development. From early adversity that fueled his drive, to over a decade at Vancouver where he oversaw the progression of more than 80 academy players into the first team — including global stars like Alphonso Davies — Craig has consistently found ways to turn potential into performance. Now as Head of Professional Player Development at Seattle Sounders, his mission is to design environments where every player can thrive. This episode is an insight into what it truly takes to stand out in high performance environments. Listen to find out more including; - The balance between relentless effort and the pursuit of quality in a young coach’s career. - Designing learning environments across diverse settings, from Miami to the Pacific North West. - Why he chose to focus on developing players as individuals rather than just coaching teams? - What elite talent really looks like and the traits that separate the few who make it? - The purpose and power of Individual Development Plan (IDP) meetings — and what many academies get wrong. -Insights as to how he designs and directs resources plus attention to Sounders top talents. Apple; https://lnkd.in/eXHQvi-D Spotify; https://lnkd.in/e8fBc9Ei #football #podcast #coaching #leadership #highperformance

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📈 Saudi sports market to reach US$22.4B by 2030 From roughly US$8B today to US$22.4B by 2030. The sector is on track to nearly triple within five years. Why it matters ✅ Bigger market invites private investment and new entrants ✅ More room for innovation across venues, media, data, and fan experience ✅ Stronger alignment with global sport and event ecosystems What must keep pace 🧭 Governance and transparency 🧑‍🏫 Capacity building for coaches, admins, and operators 🌿 Sustainable models that work year-round, not just event weekends This is a real runway for founders, clubs, federations, and brands. Where do you see the highest upside: media rights, venues, wellness, or youth development? #SaudiSports #SportsBusiness #Vision2030 #Investment #Innovation #AlwaleedAlkeaid

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The sports data rights model is being transformed by technology. At Genius Sports, we have a proven track record spanning over a decade of empowering leagues and federations with world-class technology that enhances all aspects of their competitions. Not just writing the biggest cheque. In the last two months alone, we have demonstrated this strategy by: 1. Giving the European Leagues' Members access to our data & AI platform, GeniusIQ, that sees and understands everything on the field to power automated officiating, performance analysis and limitless fan engagement opportunities. 2. Connecting Lega Serie A with new audiences worldwide through BetVision, the world's first immersive streaming solution that combines stats, augmentations and integrated betslips. 3. Extending our exclusive partnership with the National Football League (NFL) to deploy our full technology stack across sports, betting and media to enhance the biggest league in the world. Read more in SportBusiness following yesterday's earnings call here: https://lnkd.in/erP-dZQN

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7 emergent trends redefining Sports Performance in late 2025. (and what smart teams are quietly doing about them) Elite performance departments in sport aren’t chasing more data, as they have it. But what they are doing is designing better systems. From Premier League to pro rugby to Olympic prep rooms, the conversation has shifted. It’s no longer “How do we train harder?” It’s “How do we sustain performance across impossible schedules?” 1. Calendar congestion is now a governance problem Fixture overload isn’t bad luck anymore - it’s a strategic risk to a degree. Leading clubs are codifying red lines: max min'/month, min. rest windows, and enforced rotation rules. Performance is no longer just physiology. It’s scheduling architecture. 2. Sleep has become a competitive moat Sleep isn’t a recovery metric anymore, but a team norm. Training-time curfews, light-exposure management, and rituals are built into programming. Teams can 'engineer' rest, not just measure it. 3. AI is a staff member Forget the hype. The best use of AI in sport is boring, and brilliant. It could be used to auto-tag biomechanics clips, generate daily risk memos, and prep pre-match briefings. AI isn’t replacing coaches. It’s reducing cognitive load. 4. Women’s performance systems are becoming core infrastructure Menstrual-cycle tracking, load mapping, and staff education aren’t initiatives anymore...but baseline. The smartest programs should be designed around female physiology, not adjusted for it (*inclusivity as a design principle). 5. Concussion and ACL policies are culture tests How a club handles head injuries or ACL prevention is a mirror of its leadership. Of course they can still happen but great teams empower medics to make conservative calls, backed publicly, acted on consistently. Policies are now proof of integrity. 6. The Hamstring renaissance Years after the Nordic hamstring revolution, adherence is finally catching up to the evidence. Blending NHE with hip-extension, publishing adherence rates, and correlating them with availability. It’s the new hygiene metric. 7. Travel, state setting and circadian science are the Next Frontier Flights, light, meals, and melatonin - the details matter. Scripting travel like training, leveraging circadian science to protect readiness and prevent soft-tissue issues. Small edges. Big availability wins. Every one of these shifts reflects a truth. The modern performance department is becoming an ecosystem of clarity... where culture, systems, and science align around sustainable excellence. The next frontier of performance isn’t physical - It’s organisational. Ideas - Audit your governance, not just GPS data. Codify red lines, not just rehab protocols. And build habits that make recovery inevitable, not optional. The system. 👉 What’s one change your team has made this year that’s had the biggest performance impact? Drop it in the comments - the best ideas often come from the room. #performance #sports #systems

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