By Indeed Editorial Team
Published September 29, 2021
The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed's data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.
A career in sports analysis can be highly satisfying for anyone with an interest in sports. Sports analysts use data to enhance the performance of sports teams and sports businesses. Understanding what sports analysts do and their qualifications can help you decide whether an occupation in sports analysis interests you. In this article, we define what a sports analyst is, discuss what they do, outline the importance of sports analytics, discuss their work environment, including skills and salaries, and show you how to become a sports analyst.
What is sports analytics?
Sports analytics is the analysis of sports data, including components of sports such as player performance, business operations, and recruitment. The data offers an advantage to both individuals and teams participating in a competition and sports enterprises. Sports analytics uses the application of mathematical and statistical rules to sports. It's divided into on-field and off-field analytics. On-field analytics enhance the performance of players and coaching staff by focusing on their strategies and fitness. Off-field analytics use statistics to assist the owners of the sport entities to arrive at decisions leading to increased growth and profitability of their business.
Why is sports analytics important?
Advancement in technology has enabled easy and in-depth data collection, leading to developments in data analytics and machine technologies. This helps sports companies in their marketing strategies to increase their fan base and improve merchandise sales. It also helps them accumulate sponsorships and conduct simulation games on matches they are yet to play.
Data analysis helps sports entities evaluate the performance of their athletes and assess the recruitment necessary to improve the team performance. It also evaluates the strong and weak areas of their challenger, enabling coaches to make the right decision on their tactics. The use of data helps increase income, reduce operating costs, and guarantee high returns on investments.
Related: 12 Exciting Careers in Sports
What do sports data analysts do?
The roles of a sports data analyst involve collecting and analyzing sports data, then updating individual players, coaches, or team managers who use this data to make informed decisions during or before sports competitions. These roles can be classified into two categories. The first is business, where data is used to improve the performance of a team or sports organization. The second category deals with the entertainment aspect and provides fans with details they want to know about athletes.
Read more: 12 Essential Life Skills for Improving Your Career
Where do sports analysts work?
Sports analysts apply their skills in various set-ups, which include:
Professional and college sports programs
Data analysis is important in all sports. Analysts help teams to get valuable information from the data and practise them to enhance the performance of the team. Analysts use figures from individual players to measure their performance and make informed decisions on how to use them in their team. They also provide information that helps in the recruitment of sports persons and diet programs to maximize their performance. Sports analysts use data to improve the participation of fans and increase sales of tickets and merchandise, leading to higher profitability.
Sport media companies
There is a surge in the application of data analytics by sports media outlets to aid in sports reporting. Sport media companies use sports analytics to enhance reporting of sports activities, involve fans, and increase the entertainment value offered by the media. Data analysts prepare this information on sports events and results, which also enables fans to appreciate the performance of an athlete or the outcome of a game.
Wearable technology companies
Wearable technology companies require sports analysts to help them develop quality products. These companies collect a lot of data from sports personalities. It's the responsibility of a sports analyst to analyze this data for specific results, which the company uses to develop optimum performance products.
Training technology companies
There's an increase in technological developments to improve the performance of athletes. Training technology companies manufacture simulators and virtual reality devices. They employ sports analysts to ensure these devices are accurate. Sports analysts do this by deploying different simulations and game scenarios. The simulations help coaches and staff to come up with diverse tactical approaches in different situations during games.
Human performance labs
Companies employ sports analysts to help enhance the performance of athletes. They collect and analyze training data from individual athletes. They then analyze the data and develop efficient training programs aimed at improving their performance.
Sports gambling industry
Sports gambling is another area that has developed due to sports analytics. Sport betting companies and sport webpages employ sports analysts who use data to predict probable outcomes of matches. They use their skills to find value for bets on behalf of their customers.
Related: Analytical Skills: Essential for Every Job
How to become a sports data analyst
Here are four steps you can take to become a sports data analyst:
1. Earn an undergraduate degree
If you opt for this career, the first step is to get a bachelor's degree in sports analytics. The program covers math, statistics, computer programming, sports management, and business. The coursework emphasizes sports primarily but also covers other courses, such as business, programming, and statistics. Another suitable option is taking courses in statistics, engineering, or business with sports analytics as a minor. You can complement your bachelor's degree with a master's degree in sports analytics.
2. Choose an area of specialization
There are several sectors where sport data analysts can find employment, such as sports management. When starting your career, it's key to identify the field to specialize in before moving to the next step. Sports supervision is becoming data-driven, meaning that with analytical skills, you are usually better placed to get leadership roles in organizations. You can also seek positions dealing with the creation of sports websites. Other potential employers are sports teams and confederations. Another alternative is working for a private company that may sell data analytics.
3. Develop an interest in sports and sports analytics
To become a sports analyst, it can help if you have a passion for sports. With this interest, you can better understand the rules and dynamics, which may make analysis easier for you. You can show your sports analysis through blogs and newsletters. While this enables you to gain valuable experience in data analysis, it might also provide you with the opportunity to network with other professionals in the industry.
4. Get relevant work experience
Sports analysts require experience to perform well in their roles. You can seek internship opportunities that equip you with practical knowledge in sports data analytics. You can also volunteer and look for tasks that expose you to various aspects of this field. Experience gives you a definite advantage when attending job interviews. Prepare an exceptional resume showing your education qualifications and work experience, then find jobs you qualify for and apply.
Average salary of a sports data analyst
The national average salary of a sports data analyst is $41,393 per year. Salaries may differ based on the province and city of employment. To increase your chances of earning a higher salary, consider mastering relevant skills and gaining extra experience. Earning an advanced degree might also help.
Related: Top 12 Highest Paid Sports Careers in Canada
Skills required in the sports analytics field
Here are some essential skills that hiring managers may require when looking for a sports data analyst:
A good understanding of sports
An important element for a sports analyst is to understand the dynamics of the sport they're analyzing. This enables them to know the aspects of the game which are important for the success of the team. Sports analysts form their conclusions based on these aspects.
Relationship management skills
Analysts are part of the non-coaching staff when working for a sports team, which means they need to have a good working relationship with coaches and players so that they can gain their trust. This increases the chance that they work well with you and implement your suggestions based on your analytics. It's also important for sports analysts to understand what the coaches require and provide them with relevant information and explanations.
Data awareness
There are many sources of data that analysts can access. It's essential that they identify information that's important to the specific analysis they're preparing. They also require knowledge in data management to enable them to evaluate if the data they use is correct and reliable. Poor data management leads to wrong analysis, which can mislead coaches and team managers.
Presentation skills
Analysts show their reports and analysis to players, coaches, and team managers. Good presentation skills come in handy to help them explain their findings properly. The ability to articulate their findings clearly to the coach and other members improves teamwork.
Technical skills
Data analysis requires the use of analytics software and programming languages. Sports analysts need skills in coding and programming. They may also benefit from strong math and IT skills to generate and understand complicated data. Technical ability helps them collect quality data, analyze it properly, and gain valuable information from it.
Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organization and a candidate's experience, academic background, and location.
FAQs
Why is analytics important in sports? ›
On-field analytics enhance the performance of players and coaching staff by focusing on their strategies and fitness. Off-field analytics use statistics to assist the owners of the sport entities to arrive at decisions leading to increased growth and profitability of their business.
How important is data in sports? ›Big data is helping us create better sporting strategies
Data science allows coaches of professional teams, in particular, to create hyper-personalised athlete matchups and other strategies for every match the team plays. This way the team's tactics are left unpredictable yet effective.
Sports Data Analytics is simply the study of analytical data involving players and their performances in order to determine their weaknesses and strengths. Sports Data Analytics is now used in a variety of different ancillary industries, and there's significant potential for growth.
What are the three parts of sports analytics? ›- data management.
- predictive models.
- information systems.
Early history. Baseball was one of the first sports to embrace sports analytics with Earnshaw Cook publishing Percentage Baseball in 1964. This was the first publication citing sports analytics to garner national media attention.
What is the most analytical sport? ›In fact, the sports analytics market is expected to grow from $2.5 billion in 2021 to $8.4 billion by 2026. As a result, safely and efficiently storing and accessing this data has become a critical component of how sports teams operate as a business.
What can be predicted using sports analytics? ›From coaches and players to front offices and businesses, analytics can make a difference in not only scoring but signing contracts, predicting which players will provide the best return on investment, as well as predicting and preventing injuries.
Can you major in sports analytics? ›Bachelor's in Sports Analytics
Many undergraduate programs offer a Sports Analytics degree through their Sports Management department. Reputable programs offer a well-rounded curriculum that includes business, programming/database, sports management and math/statistics coursework.
- Enroll in a Sports Analytics Online Course. If you're looking to work on Sports Analytics, the best action you can take today is to enroll in a Sports Analytics course. ...
- Get a Sports Analytics book. ...
- Learn Python to perform Sports Analytics.
What do you do in data analytics? ›
A data analyst reviews data to identify key insights into a business's customers and ways the data can be used to solve problems. They also communicate this information to company leadership and other stakeholders.
How are sports analytics used? ›What Is Sports Analytics? Sports analytics is the process of plugging statistics into mathematical models to predict the outcome of a given play or game. Coaches rely on analytics to scout opponents and optimize play calls in games, while front offices use it to prioritize player development.
How is sports analytics used in football? ›Data analytics services only improve the experience for the player and the fan. The technology used in sports like football to develop game insights is only growing, and big teams like Real Madrid and Manchester United are utilising them to improve their performance.
How is data science used in sports? ›Sports simulation is often used in sports wagering and fantasy sports leagues, and it's made its way into sports organizations where sports statisticians/data scientists construct mathematical models based on a combination of various game theory types and perpetual data ingestion from player and team statistics.
When was analytics first used in sports? ›The first usage of analytics in sports is known to be in a baseball sport. Henry Chadwick, a sportswriter, developed a metric called the box score back in 1858.
How do I become a sports data analyst? ›The primary qualifications for a sports data analyst position are a bachelor's degree in a related field and experience with predictive modeling, trend analysis, and other statistical information techniques. Employers prefer applicants who have some experience, but this isn't mandatory for most roles.
Is mind sport a sport? ›Mind Sports consists of a family of sports in which the objective is to test mental strength rather than physical strength. The term "Mind Sports Olympiad" was first used in 1997 to describe a set of games that constituted Olympics for the mind.
Which sport has the most strategy? ›American football is the most strategic sport, since every play is planned over and over again. It's like a set play in football but the whole game has only set plays, thus a high level of planning is required.
How can advanced analytics help football teams? ›Data analytics have come to play an important role in the football industry today. Clubs look to gain a competitive edge on and off the pitch, and big data is allowing them to extract insights to improve player performance, prevent injuries and increase their commercial efficiency.
What other analytics uses can you envision in sports? ›- Simulations. ...
- Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing (NLP) ...
- Player and Ball Path Optimization. ...
- Telemetry. ...
- Player Health, Training, and Performance Optimization.
What do you mean by sports industry? ›
Sport industry is an industry in which people, activities, business, and organizations are involved in producing, facilitating, promoting, or organizing any activity, experience, or business enterprise focused on sports.
How can analytics assist in developing skills and techniques in your selected sport? ›- Advanced Analytics in Sports.
- Injury prediction. Many athletes and teams' most sought-after information is insights into when conditions may heighten the risk of injury. ...
- Player scouting. ...
- Strategy. ...
- Season Ticket Churn. ...
- Player Valuations & Development. ...
- Pricing. ...
- Conclusion.
...
North America sports market size from 2009 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)*
Characteristic | Sports market revenue in billion U.S. dollars |
---|---|
2019** | 73.04 |
2018 | 71.06 |
2017 | 69.14 |
2016 | 67.29 |
Most NBA teams have data analysts as staff on their team. These data analyst work with coaches and players to maximize the talents of the players and of course like “Money Ball”, identify under valued players. NBA players use wearable technologies to track their health, avoid injury, and track their fatigue levels.
What is sports real time analysis? ›But when we're talking about real-time in terms of analysis, we're basically talking about all the tasks an analyst performs live, while the match is still in progress.
What are the objectives of performance analysis? ›The goal is to help the participants understand that analyzing worker performance is a vital aspect of improving worker performance.
How do you Analyse performance? ›- Do variance analysis. ...
- Research variances. ...
- Analyze metrics. ...
- Review goals. ...
- Review competitor performance. ...
- Review customer and market context. ...
- Decide on changes.
Yes, data analytics is a very good career. Simply put, there has never been a better time to be a data professional. About 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created every day—and that pace is only quickening.
Where do sports statisticians work? ›Sports Statisticians work at major television networks, sports data organizations, and even directly with coaching staff for professional sports teams. The largest employers of Sports Staticians also include top universities and colleges.
How can I be a sports agent? ›- Step 1: Earn A Sports Management Bachelor's Degree. It would be wise to pursue an undergraduate degree in sports management. ...
- Step 2: License and Registrations. ...
- Step 3: Proceed to earning a Master's or Professional degree.
Is sport a science? ›
You might think Sports and Exercise Science is just about exercise and playing sport. That's part of it, but there's so much more at play. It's the scientific study of physiology, psychology, biomechanics, nutrition, and understanding the social role of sport and exercise in social policy, ethics and philosophy.
How do I access sports analytics UK? ›- Earn a bachelor's degree. The first step towards becoming a sports analyst is to get a bachelor's degree. ...
- Gain experience. ...
- Find work experience. ...
- Create a CV and portfolio. ...
- Begin your job search. ...
- Take advantage of advancement opportunities.
Machine learning (ML) is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that allows software applications to become more accurate at predicting outcomes without being explicitly programmed to do so. Machine learning algorithms use historical data as input to predict new output values.
Why is data analytics important? ›Data analytics is important because it helps businesses optimize their performances. Implementing it into the business model means companies can help reduce costs by identifying more efficient ways of doing business and by storing large amounts of data.
Why do we Analyse data? ›Data analysis is important in business to understand problems facing an organisation, and to explore data in meaningful ways. Data in itself is merely facts and figures. Data analysis organises, interprets, structures and presents the data into useful information that provides context for the data.
How is research data analysis? ›Data analysis is the most crucial part of any research. Data analysis summarizes collected data. It involves the interpretation of data gathered through the use of analytical and logical reasoning to determine patterns, relationships or trends.
How is business analytics used in sports? ›The core purpose of sport business analytics is to convert raw data into information that enables sport business professionals to make strategic business decisions that result in improved company financial performance and a measurable and sustainable competitive advantage.
How is data analytics used in football? ›It Improves the Efficiency of Training Sessions and Player Performance During Games. Data analytics is used in-game to monitor players' performances and make sure they are following instructions from coaches without making any mistakes during games.
What is the future of sports analytics? ›In fact, the sports analytics market is expected to grow from $2.5 billion in 2021 to $8.4 billion by 2026. As a result, safely and efficiently storing and accessing this data has become a critical component of how sports teams operate as a business.
How can analytics assist in developing skills and techniques in your selected sport? ›- Advanced Analytics in Sports.
- Injury prediction. Many athletes and teams' most sought-after information is insights into when conditions may heighten the risk of injury. ...
- Player scouting. ...
- Strategy. ...
- Season Ticket Churn. ...
- Player Valuations & Development. ...
- Pricing. ...
- Conclusion.
What is business analytics in simple words? ›
Business analytics is the process of transforming data into insights to improve business decisions. Data management, data visualization, predictive modeling, data mining, forecasting simulation, and optimization are some of the tools used to create insights from data.
What degree is best for sports analytics? ›BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
They gather data and statistics on players and use it to help teams perform better. A combination of math and sports, sports analytics is a fun career option for those interested in sports of any kind.
Using evidence to feedback to athletes helps them to understand exactly what they have done to be successful or unsuccessful. This knowledge helps athletes and coaches make the right decisions at the right time and deliver consistent performances.
When did analytics start in football? ›One of the earliest examples of data science being used to measure potential football performance were the psychometric tests used by Brazil's team management ahead of the 1958 Fifa World Cup in Sweden.
Why is data important in football? ›Football: More than a Game
They provide answers. They identify trends. They help us to assess value for money. They are necessary for risk assessment and informed governance.
Scope of the Report
Sports analytics is the management of organized historical data, the application of predictive analytic models that use that data, and the use of information systems to update decision-makers and allow them to help their organizations in gaining a competitive advantage on the field of play.
Sport industry is an industry in which people, activities, business, and organizations are involved in producing, facilitating, promoting, or organizing any activity, experience, or business enterprise focused on sports.
How big is the sports performance industry? ›...
North America sports market size from 2009 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)*
Characteristic | Sports market revenue in billion U.S. dollars |
---|---|
2019** | 73.04 |
2018 | 71.06 |
2017 | 69.14 |
2016 | 67.29 |
Performance Analysis is a specialist discipline involving systematic observations to enhance performance and improve decision making, primarily delivered through the provision of objective statistical (Data Analysis) and visual feedback (Video Analysis).
What are the three kinds of performance analysis? ›There are three basic approaches to a performance analysis: graphic, analytical, and computational.
What is performance analysis software in sport? ›
Sports performance analytics software helps coaches turn on-field gameplay videos into actionable data insights for improved team performance.